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A review by tyrshand
& This Is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda
5.0
I've been pondering this book for days now, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. I don't know that I'm really there yet, but after watching "Midnight Mass" on Netflix, maybe I have some coherent thoughts.
Both stories explore what death means and what trying to avoid it does, though the show is obviously a horror rather than fantasy story, though I would also say that the character arcs are equally horrific -- but also strangely beautiful. Both stories are incredibly moving and don't pull their punches and, in the end, reach similar conclusions about what comes after. There's the grief and tragedy and trauma, for sure. It's not GOOD to die before your time. But... maybe what comes after isn't the worst.
Of course, that's where the two stories diverge with their messages. "Midnight Mass" is about outside forces, whereas "And This is How to Stay Alive" begins with a suicide. And believe me, reading about a queer person deciding they can't last in this world is typically the LAST thing I want to read about. I understand if that keeps you away from this. But, despite the tragedy, the musings on death and hopelessness were cathartic rather than misery porn. There's a lot of guilt to go around with the different perspectives, but not really blame, I think. (also, I typically dislike books with multiple POVs because they just slow everything down... but this tiny book used the POVs perfectly) A bit that resonated with me was how being "rescued" can feel from the other side... It certainly has me thinking about when I get into rescue mode, but also how I feel when I need it...
Anyway, I am ridiculously impressed with how much power and insight and emotion was packed into a hundred pages and I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Merged review:
I've been pondering this book for days now, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. I don't know that I'm really there yet, but after watching "Midnight Mass" on Netflix, maybe I have some coherent thoughts.
Both stories explore what death means and what trying to avoid it does, though the show is obviously a horror rather than fantasy story, though I would also say that the character arcs are equally horrific -- but also strangely beautiful. Both stories are incredibly moving and don't pull their punches and, in the end, reach similar conclusions about what comes after. There's the grief and tragedy and trauma, for sure. It's not GOOD to die before your time. But... maybe what comes after isn't the worst.
Of course, that's where the two stories diverge with their messages. "Midnight Mass" is about outside forces, whereas "And This is How to Stay Alive" begins with a suicide. And believe me, reading about a queer person deciding they can't last in this world is typically the LAST thing I want to read about. I understand if that keeps you away from this. But, despite the tragedy, the musings on death and hopelessness were cathartic rather than misery porn. There's a lot of guilt to go around with the different perspectives, but not really blame, I think. (also, I typically dislike books with multiple POVs because they just slow everything down... but this tiny book used the POVs perfectly) A bit that resonated with me was how being "rescued" can feel from the other side... It certainly has me thinking about when I get into rescue mode, but also how I feel when I need it...
Anyway, I am ridiculously impressed with how much power and insight and emotion was packed into a hundred pages and I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Both stories explore what death means and what trying to avoid it does, though the show is obviously a horror rather than fantasy story, though I would also say that the character arcs are equally horrific -- but also strangely beautiful. Both stories are incredibly moving and don't pull their punches and, in the end, reach similar conclusions about what comes after. There's the grief and tragedy and trauma, for sure. It's not GOOD to die before your time. But... maybe what comes after isn't the worst.
Of course, that's where the two stories diverge with their messages. "Midnight Mass" is about outside forces, whereas "And This is How to Stay Alive" begins with a suicide. And believe me, reading about a queer person deciding they can't last in this world is typically the LAST thing I want to read about. I understand if that keeps you away from this. But, despite the tragedy, the musings on death and hopelessness were cathartic rather than misery porn. There's a lot of guilt to go around with the different perspectives, but not really blame, I think. (also, I typically dislike books with multiple POVs because they just slow everything down... but this tiny book used the POVs perfectly) A bit that resonated with me was how being "rescued" can feel from the other side... It certainly has me thinking about when I get into rescue mode, but also how I feel when I need it...
Anyway, I am ridiculously impressed with how much power and insight and emotion was packed into a hundred pages and I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Merged review:
I've been pondering this book for days now, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. I don't know that I'm really there yet, but after watching "Midnight Mass" on Netflix, maybe I have some coherent thoughts.
Both stories explore what death means and what trying to avoid it does, though the show is obviously a horror rather than fantasy story, though I would also say that the character arcs are equally horrific -- but also strangely beautiful. Both stories are incredibly moving and don't pull their punches and, in the end, reach similar conclusions about what comes after. There's the grief and tragedy and trauma, for sure. It's not GOOD to die before your time. But... maybe what comes after isn't the worst.
Of course, that's where the two stories diverge with their messages. "Midnight Mass" is about outside forces, whereas "And This is How to Stay Alive" begins with a suicide. And believe me, reading about a queer person deciding they can't last in this world is typically the LAST thing I want to read about. I understand if that keeps you away from this. But, despite the tragedy, the musings on death and hopelessness were cathartic rather than misery porn. There's a lot of guilt to go around with the different perspectives, but not really blame, I think. (also, I typically dislike books with multiple POVs because they just slow everything down... but this tiny book used the POVs perfectly) A bit that resonated with me was how being "rescued" can feel from the other side... It certainly has me thinking about when I get into rescue mode, but also how I feel when I need it...
Anyway, I am ridiculously impressed with how much power and insight and emotion was packed into a hundred pages and I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.