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koalaautumn 's review for:
I Think We've Been Here Before
by Suzy Krause
OVERALL THOUGHTS:đź“–
OMG. This (audio)book certainly matches its publishing company's name. It was brilliant, indeed. What is it with death and doom that can bring our humanity so clearly into focus? I Think We've Been Here Before is a poignant, emotional story about human connection, even and especially in end times. It's October—also known as Thanksgiving time in Canada—and as the Jorgensen clan sits down to enjoy dinner, Hilda struggles with how to tell the rest of her family some devastating, earth-shattering news: her beloved husband Marlen has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Suddenly, broadcasts come through with even more, and this time, literal earth-shattering news. NASA has detected an unprecedented gamma-ray blast from the Sun, and without a doubt, the world will end by December 27th. Worse yet, not all the family is here for dinner. Hilda and Marlen's daughter Nora is living in Germany at the time of the announcement. (She practically just moved there. Talk about bad timing.) Strangely, as the end of times grows nearer, our characters get the eerie sense that this has all played out before.
I loved this book. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator Erin Moon does an exceptional job with her narration. Her accents were spot-on and endearing, the characters' voices were distinct and recognizable, and her tone and pacing were appropriate. I've said in previous reviews that the audiobook market is becoming a robust production in itself, and this one is no exception to this trend. Because of the many tiny plot elements with deeper meaning (see: Nora's cat or Hilda's necklace), I sometimes wished I had the physical book for re-reading or bookmarking. However, Moon's narration is so well done—and helpful for pronunciations, too!—that it would be great as a precursor to a physical re-read or done in tandem with the physical book. (Seriously, I don't think the little narrator in my head would have given Petra a better voice than Moon did.)
Beyond the great narration, the story itself was 👨‍🍳🤏💋 perfection. There were parts of the story that, at first, seemed like editing snafus. However, by the end of the book, all questions are answered and all little quirks ("clues") are explained. I thought I had predicted the ending, but Krause put a little spin on it that I didn't expect, which I appreciated! (It's nice to be surprised by a book.) I came for the story (since I love a good apocalyptical fic), but I stayed for the endearing cast of characters. Our culture is inundated with apocalyptic stories of panic buying and division among people, so it was nice to see a story where even the most abrasive characters can return to connection and family by the end. (Such a lovely story could only be set in the kind wilderness of Canada. Alas, the United States would burn itself down before the gamma blast even had its chance.)
The writing in this was so thought-provoking about life and death without falling into cheesy cliches. The dialogue was so human and not at all stilted. You might not expect to have found romance in this book either—but it's here and even better and more believably written than most books published in the romance genre nowadays. (It's been a while since I had a crush on a non-fantasy book character, but I can't say that anymore.) This was my first Suzy Krause book, but it won't be my last. I added her entire backlist to my TBR immediately after finishing this one. (I even signed up for her author newsletter. Officially part of your fan club now, Suzy!)
In closing, this is now a favorite of mine. I'm also adding it under my literary masterpieces shelf because it achieved my Good Book Trifecta Rule: during reading, I laughed, felt seen, and cried. Brava, Suzy.
Whenever I get the chance to buy a physical copy of this to reread and share with others, I will... and you should too! While they're not extremely similar in plot, if you enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures for its humanity, poignant life lessons, and multi-character perspectives, then I think you'd also like this one. You'd also probably enjoy this if you constantly catastrophize the end days, have eco-anxiety about the climate crisis, have (or have a loved one with) a terminal illness, or are just trying to make sense of a big, scary life change. Hm, I guess I'm really just saying, "if you're human, read this."
OMG. This (audio)book certainly matches its publishing company's name. It was brilliant, indeed. What is it with death and doom that can bring our humanity so clearly into focus? I Think We've Been Here Before is a poignant, emotional story about human connection, even and especially in end times. It's October—also known as Thanksgiving time in Canada—and as the Jorgensen clan sits down to enjoy dinner, Hilda struggles with how to tell the rest of her family some devastating, earth-shattering news: her beloved husband Marlen has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Suddenly, broadcasts come through with even more, and this time, literal earth-shattering news. NASA has detected an unprecedented gamma-ray blast from the Sun, and without a doubt, the world will end by December 27th. Worse yet, not all the family is here for dinner. Hilda and Marlen's daughter Nora is living in Germany at the time of the announcement. (She practically just moved there. Talk about bad timing.) Strangely, as the end of times grows nearer, our characters get the eerie sense that this has all played out before.
I loved this book. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator Erin Moon does an exceptional job with her narration. Her accents were spot-on and endearing, the characters' voices were distinct and recognizable, and her tone and pacing were appropriate. I've said in previous reviews that the audiobook market is becoming a robust production in itself, and this one is no exception to this trend. Because of the many tiny plot elements with deeper meaning (see: Nora's cat or Hilda's necklace), I sometimes wished I had the physical book for re-reading or bookmarking. However, Moon's narration is so well done—and helpful for pronunciations, too!—that it would be great as a precursor to a physical re-read or done in tandem with the physical book. (Seriously, I don't think the little narrator in my head would have given Petra a better voice than Moon did.)
Beyond the great narration, the story itself was 👨‍🍳🤏💋 perfection. There were parts of the story that, at first, seemed like editing snafus. However, by the end of the book, all questions are answered and all little quirks ("clues") are explained. I thought I had predicted the ending, but Krause put a little spin on it that I didn't expect, which I appreciated! (It's nice to be surprised by a book.) I came for the story (since I love a good apocalyptical fic), but I stayed for the endearing cast of characters. Our culture is inundated with apocalyptic stories of panic buying and division among people, so it was nice to see a story where even the most abrasive characters can return to connection and family by the end. (Such a lovely story could only be set in the kind wilderness of Canada. Alas, the United States would burn itself down before the gamma blast even had its chance.)
The writing in this was so thought-provoking about life and death without falling into cheesy cliches. The dialogue was so human and not at all stilted. You might not expect to have found romance in this book either—but it's here and even better and more believably written than most books published in the romance genre nowadays. (It's been a while since I had a crush on a non-fantasy book character, but I can't say that anymore.) This was my first Suzy Krause book, but it won't be my last. I added her entire backlist to my TBR immediately after finishing this one. (I even signed up for her author newsletter. Officially part of your fan club now, Suzy!)
In closing, this is now a favorite of mine. I'm also adding it under my literary masterpieces shelf because it achieved my Good Book Trifecta Rule: during reading, I laughed, felt seen, and cried. Brava, Suzy.
Whenever I get the chance to buy a physical copy of this to reread and share with others, I will... and you should too! While they're not extremely similar in plot, if you enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures for its humanity, poignant life lessons, and multi-character perspectives, then I think you'd also like this one. You'd also probably enjoy this if you constantly catastrophize the end days, have eco-anxiety about the climate crisis, have (or have a loved one with) a terminal illness, or are just trying to make sense of a big, scary life change. Hm, I guess I'm really just saying, "if you're human, read this."