Scan barcode
A review by dembury
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
4.0
I think this is probably the most ambitious debut novel I've ever read. Martine has created such a deeply, multi-layered, and intricate novel that it boggles my mind to think about all the work that must have gone into writing this! "Memory" is a novel about political intrigue, cultural imperialism, history keeping, and belonging. At times the narratives were so deeply tied up and obfuscated that I had little idea what was going on, but (as a friend pointed out to me - thank you, Chris!) that actually helps to emphasize the bigger themes of the book. The main character, Mahit, struggles so much with her ideas of where she belongs and is often overwhelmed by the culture in which she finds herself; as a reader, I felt the same sense of displacement at everything related to Texicalaan.
That being said, I probably (definitely) missed some things. Even with rereading certain pages over again, I still don't think I fully understood what exactly happened at times. Aside from the main four, characters became muddled in my mind, and honestly just seemed to speak in riddles to each other. And while it heightens that sense of the unknown I also would have like to have been less confused at key moments. This is definitely a book that needs a reread to grasp what goes down.
Again, I'm so impressed by just how much went into writing this! Texicalaan is well fleshed-out and has a deep, rich presence, full of its own literature, poetry, characteristics, nuances, etc. that just make reading the book feel like a trip to the city itself. I'm very interested to find out where this story is taken next.
That being said, I probably (definitely) missed some things. Even with rereading certain pages over again, I still don't think I fully understood what exactly happened at times. Aside from the main four, characters became muddled in my mind, and honestly just seemed to speak in riddles to each other. And while it heightens that sense of the unknown I also would have like to have been less confused at key moments. This is definitely a book that needs a reread to grasp what goes down.
Again, I'm so impressed by just how much went into writing this! Texicalaan is well fleshed-out and has a deep, rich presence, full of its own literature, poetry, characteristics, nuances, etc. that just make reading the book feel like a trip to the city itself. I'm very interested to find out where this story is taken next.