Scan barcode
A review by claudiap
Cold Earth by Sarah Moss
5.0
Rating 4.5
Read this book for the O.W.L.s Readathon in the prompt Defence Against the Dark Arts.
I can't say whether this was the best or the worst reading choice given the current world situation. Reading about a group of people in forced isolation, and it’s impact while there is the development of a global pandemic, looks like a nonfiction book at the moment.
The truth is that I was able to immerse myself in this story with an understanding that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do a few months ago. Sarah Moss does an excellent job in building characters that are by no means likable. But, how to be pleasent in mandatory isolation? How many of us will have hallucinations and paranoid ideas? How many will be aggressive and stripped of our humanity?
The author shines in the descriptions of isolation and in the description of characters, especially in female characters. There is a constant feeling of irritability towards the characters, hopelessness and desolation. You can almost breathe the icy Greenland air.
My only complaint is that I wouldn’t have included the last chapter. I would rather not know the end of the characters and remain with an inconclusive story.
It may not be a book for everyone, but I can't help but point out that even in her first book Sarah Moss doesn't disappoint.
"(...) a proper pandemic might be quite good for the envonment, (...) probably about the only way of arresting climate change now. Depopulation from the plague did wonders for medieval fauna and flora (...)"
Read this book for the O.W.L.s Readathon in the prompt Defence Against the Dark Arts.
I can't say whether this was the best or the worst reading choice given the current world situation. Reading about a group of people in forced isolation, and it’s impact while there is the development of a global pandemic, looks like a nonfiction book at the moment.
The truth is that I was able to immerse myself in this story with an understanding that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do a few months ago. Sarah Moss does an excellent job in building characters that are by no means likable. But, how to be pleasent in mandatory isolation? How many of us will have hallucinations and paranoid ideas? How many will be aggressive and stripped of our humanity?
The author shines in the descriptions of isolation and in the description of characters, especially in female characters. There is a constant feeling of irritability towards the characters, hopelessness and desolation. You can almost breathe the icy Greenland air.
My only complaint is that I wouldn’t have included the last chapter. I would rather not know the end of the characters and remain with an inconclusive story.
It may not be a book for everyone, but I can't help but point out that even in her first book Sarah Moss doesn't disappoint.
"(...) a proper pandemic might be quite good for the envonment, (...) probably about the only way of arresting climate change now. Depopulation from the plague did wonders for medieval fauna and flora (...)"