Scan barcode
A review by clarabooksit
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I had such a hard time rating this book because parts of it are stellar and other parts ruined it for me.
Things I liked:
-The lengthy fallout of a devastating pandemic, i.e. not just immediate aftermath but inherited trauma.
-Moving, intricate portraits of grief that opened a chasm in my chest.
-Fascinating exploration of how societies alter and form around death, the death industry and practices.
-The everyday ordinariness of getting used to things even in the most horrific times.
-Each voice felt distinct to me—the audiobook is fantastic, each chapter has a different reader.
Where the book lost me:
-The weird, out-of-the-blue sci-fi elements that did not mesh with the story I thought was being told.
-The blanket heteronormativity. This is a contemporary setting, so where are the queer people? Also, the disabled? Neurodivergent?
-Almost no dates or timestamps, so the timeline is difficult to keep track of. While sometimes obvious, a lot of the time I wasn’t sure how far away we were from the initial outbreak in each chapter—a year? 30? 100? I don’t know.
The biggest letdown, though? The ending. I hated it. I was okay with the sci-fi elements because I can see what they were doing, even if they weren’t my favorite. But that ending was like hiking up a tall mountain only to discover that the mountain is fake and so is the view.
This book took me on a roller coaster and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s clever and beautiful, and I even thought it would be rewarding to reread it to see all the threads I missed. But the ending was beyond disappointing. So, I won’t be returning to this one. Ever.
Things I liked:
-The lengthy fallout of a devastating pandemic, i.e. not just immediate aftermath but inherited trauma.
-Moving, intricate portraits of grief that opened a chasm in my chest.
-Fascinating exploration of how societies alter and form around death, the death industry and practices.
-The everyday ordinariness of getting used to things even in the most horrific times.
-Each voice felt distinct to me—the audiobook is fantastic, each chapter has a different reader.
Where the book lost me:
-The weird, out-of-the-blue sci-fi elements that did not mesh with the story I thought was being told.
-The blanket heteronormativity. This is a contemporary setting, so where are the queer people? Also, the disabled? Neurodivergent?
-Almost no dates or timestamps, so the timeline is difficult to keep track of. While sometimes obvious, a lot of the time I wasn’t sure how far away we were from the initial outbreak in each chapter—a year? 30? 100? I don’t know.
The biggest letdown, though? The ending. I hated it. I was okay with the sci-fi elements because I can see what they were doing, even if they weren’t my favorite. But that ending was like hiking up a tall mountain only to discover that the mountain is fake and so is the view.
This book took me on a roller coaster and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s clever and beautiful, and I even thought it would be rewarding to reread it to see all the threads I missed. But the ending was beyond disappointing. So, I won’t be returning to this one. Ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Terminal illness, and Animal death