A review by bbrights
Altered Straits by Kevin Martens Wong

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.5

📚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔: I really wanted to like this book. I read its description and I genuinely wanted the book to be good. 

It wasn’t. 

Okay, let me try to be a little optimistic and share some of its better aspects. (1) I think this book is written in a technically commendable or even beautiful manner and (2) I appreciated the slight LGBTQ+ representation in it too. But, that’s about all of the good things I have for the book. 

Regarding point 1, a technically well-written book doesn’t necessarily mean the end-result would be something enjoyable. This book is perhaps the best example. There exists a creative and complicated plot written in an overly convoluted manner, constantly trying too hard to play with structure and what not. This made it incredibly difficult for me to understand what is actually happening where meaning is lost in between the seemingly needless jumps between the minds and voices of different characters. If I had to summarise my review into one word, CONFUSING (to the point where you can’t actually understand the plot lines). 

Moreover, towards the end (last 8 chapters or so), the plot developed into something extremely cringey in a manner where I could already tell that the author was trying so hard to deepen his plot. The entire “we are after all just one mind of consciousness” trope to me was so lame and unfulfilling, and it almost seemed to me like a cop-out of a resolution. The last few chapters seriously did nothing but add additional layers of winter clothing to a plot akin to an Eskimo drowning in his own sweat in the Sahara desert. 

I also questioned heavily about how the Concordance was formed and what they really were. Sadly, the book didn’t fully establish their origins nor helped to begetter explain what they were. Surely, the abstract and “deep” nature of important plot points certainly didn’t help. 

Lastly, beyond just being a disappointing read, it was a depressing one. In most dystopian-like novels, there always seemed to be hope - something for readers to cling on to. Yet, this book is consistently filled with people dying in the most grotesque ways and I’m honestly not here for it - I read books to escape the harsh realities of life, not to feel disproportionately dejected. 

To be fair, some may characterise the plot as “creative”. I beg to differ. I just found it all ridiculous, almost as if the author has ran out of convincing ways to resolve the conflict and to provide us with a proper resolution. Lastly, the most infuriating part would probably be the extremely unfulfilling and unconvincing “conclusion”. However, at this point, I was just glad that I have reached the last page and wouldn’t have to read it further. 

OH AND DONT GET ME STARTED about how the whole LGBTQ+ aspect of this book was used in such a performative manner, it was almost as if the 2 queer characters were written for the sake of representation. Problematic Queerphobic sentiments in the plot were NEVER resolved nor addressed fully. Infuriating.