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affyfe's review
4.0
I read this book because of its review on the tournament of books without realizing I had previously read a book by this author. As soon as I started it I knew the writing sounded familiar and sure enough she also wrote on the small backs of children which I read last year. I wasn't quite ready for that level of depression and had I realized that I may have held off and read something else. But knowing what I was in for I powered on, and I'm happy I did. The book switches back from Joan on what is left of earth to Christine who lives on a space station of sorts. There were times I got confused about whose story it was since Christine tells Joan's story at times, but other times it switches fully to her. I was not a fan of the narrator, I understand the feel she was going for, but it was a bit too air-y and unworld-ly to connect with. I think this book would've been much better to read the physical copy.
quietdomino's review
2.0
The idea of a post-apocalyptic eco-terrorist Joan of Arc is cool and all, but honestly this book is just too gross for me to enjoy.
karp76's review
1.0
“One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are, and to live without belief-that is a fate more terrible than dying.”
We have no choice but to begin. To digest this book is not so much to take it in but to swallow it whole in between dry gags, hoping to gulp it down before its taste and odor nauseates you. There is little good here. Nothing lies in the background, only the foreground. Its symbols and metaphors are not subtle accents but screaming airhorns. Subtlety is for art, and this is neither subtle nor art. Its poetry, its feminism, its environmentalism is heavy-handed and swung with a 20-pound mallet. You get hit again and again, each blow so slathered and drenched in juvenile language, gratuitous body horror, and poor sci fi elements (the bleached androgynous future humans, the "wars"), any narrative value is trodden and forgotten. At the end, if we can struggle through to it, we can only ask through strained senses, aching guts and boggled minds, why?
We have no choice but to begin. To digest this book is not so much to take it in but to swallow it whole in between dry gags, hoping to gulp it down before its taste and odor nauseates you. There is little good here. Nothing lies in the background, only the foreground. Its symbols and metaphors are not subtle accents but screaming airhorns. Subtlety is for art, and this is neither subtle nor art. Its poetry, its feminism, its environmentalism is heavy-handed and swung with a 20-pound mallet. You get hit again and again, each blow so slathered and drenched in juvenile language, gratuitous body horror, and poor sci fi elements (the bleached androgynous future humans, the "wars"), any narrative value is trodden and forgotten. At the end, if we can struggle through to it, we can only ask through strained senses, aching guts and boggled minds, why?
carlylottsofbookz's review
2.0
Such a strange book.
I don't remember how or when I put this on my library queue...but when it showed up I read it.
Very weird sci fi book a that takes place in the not too distance future. A world in which war has consumed everything. The only "humans" (if you can call them that--tbey have faced massive biological changes) live in space.
I'm not sure I get it.
I don't think I'd really recommend this book...but it was interesting
I don't remember how or when I put this on my library queue...but when it showed up I read it.
Very weird sci fi book a that takes place in the not too distance future. A world in which war has consumed everything. The only "humans" (if you can call them that--tbey have faced massive biological changes) live in space.
I'm not sure I get it.
I don't think I'd really recommend this book...but it was interesting
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
“When they own languages, she thought, we are terrorists. When we own them, we are revolutionaries.”
I really wanted to love this book. Last year I read The Chronology of Water and before that I read The Small Backs of Children. Both books are full of pain and suffering so I can’t say I loved them, but I did find the writing wonderful and imaginative. The Small Backs of Children was especially meaningful to me. Such a hard book, but so beautifully written. Since I was glad to have read Yuknavitch before and I like science fiction, I thought this novel might be one of my favorites from the Tournament of Books (ToB) this year.
Unfortunately, this was not destined to be a well liked read. I like Joan, the “savior” of this future world, but I didn’t really like the narrator or the world that Yuknavitch has invented.
There are reasons that many speculative fiction stories are long. One of them is that world building takes time. I missed the world building in this story. There was enough to know what was going on, but not enough for me to be able to immerse myself in this new world. When I put this book down, I didn’t think about it until I picked it up again.
I also struggled with the “science” behind CIEL, the spaceship where much of this story takes place. What happened to the characters was not scientifically possible. It jarred me out of the tale.
I am not sorry that I read this book. I will continue to read Yuknavitch because I do believe she can write and that her books will always be interesting. This was just a miss for me. She gets three stars because of her other works.
I really wanted to love this book. Last year I read The Chronology of Water and before that I read The Small Backs of Children. Both books are full of pain and suffering so I can’t say I loved them, but I did find the writing wonderful and imaginative. The Small Backs of Children was especially meaningful to me. Such a hard book, but so beautifully written. Since I was glad to have read Yuknavitch before and I like science fiction, I thought this novel might be one of my favorites from the Tournament of Books (ToB) this year.
Unfortunately, this was not destined to be a well liked read. I like Joan, the “savior” of this future world, but I didn’t really like the narrator or the world that Yuknavitch has invented.
There are reasons that many speculative fiction stories are long. One of them is that world building takes time. I missed the world building in this story. There was enough to know what was going on, but not enough for me to be able to immerse myself in this new world. When I put this book down, I didn’t think about it until I picked it up again.
I also struggled with the “science” behind CIEL, the spaceship where much of this story takes place. What happened to the characters was not scientifically possible. It jarred me out of the tale.
I am not sorry that I read this book. I will continue to read Yuknavitch because I do believe she can write and that her books will always be interesting. This was just a miss for me. She gets three stars because of her other works.
jovanh's review
I had such high hopes... a reimagining of Joan of Arc in a post-apocalyptic dystopia complete with gender exploration and environmentalism. Sounds good, right? At least intriguing? Too bad it was boring, confusing, and pretentious. Unsympathetic characters, next to no plot. I kept asking "why should I care?" and held out hope for an answer, only to make it to the last page without any sort of payoff.
I'm giving it two stars instead if one because some of the visuals were interesting. But honestly, a lot of the imagery was just gross. I made the mistake of reading a particularly graphic scene of mutilation over lunch and was put off my food.
I'm giving it two stars instead if one because some of the visuals were interesting. But honestly, a lot of the imagery was just gross. I made the mistake of reading a particularly graphic scene of mutilation over lunch and was put off my food.
kerrygibbons's review
3.0
Meh. It was an interesting, though somewhat underdeveloped idea I think. The change in narrator was not fully clear to me until probably 75% of the way through... or maybe that’s the first time the narrator actually changed? It’s unclear.
It was a VERY interesting idea but just... too in its own head to be a really good book.
It was a VERY interesting idea but just... too in its own head to be a really good book.
evelikesbooks's review
3.0
Sometimes authors don’t make much attempt to bring readers along for the ride, and sometimes they try too hard. This is definitely one of the former, to an extent where it was a bit hard to follow. There was some gorgeous apocalyptic writing and interesting historical connections, and I didn’t feel as lost as I have in some books. I had to take a star for the transphobia/gender essentialism though.
rwlongino's review
3.0
I was so excited about this book, based on reviews from a few folks I admire. And when I hit page 14 and read the line "We are what happens when the seemingly unthinkable celebrity rises to power" and I thought I was about to dive into a rich social commentary about our times and our current leader.
But I just couldn't get into this book. I'm not familiar with any of Yuknavitch's other work. From the sound of it, this is not her best. I finished it because I kept hoping it would get better, but the narrative was so blurred, I couldn't really follow it. And while Sci-Fi is supposed to be a bit absurd, I couldn't get on board with some of the weirdness of the book.
But I just couldn't get into this book. I'm not familiar with any of Yuknavitch's other work. From the sound of it, this is not her best. I finished it because I kept hoping it would get better, but the narrative was so blurred, I couldn't really follow it. And while Sci-Fi is supposed to be a bit absurd, I couldn't get on board with some of the weirdness of the book.
petragrlpwr's review against another edition
4.0
Libro decisamente particolare che più di una volta mi ha fatto strabuzzare gli occhi. Non tutte le spiegazioni date mi hanno soddisfatto fino in fondo. Detto questo, la scrittura di Yuknavitch mi ha stregato! Cruda, erotica e poetica.