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A review by kierstyn
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really had to hype myself up to speed read finish this book. I really wanted to quit when there were a few chapters left.
this book is about a pandemic that breaks out across earth and through different chapters we see how the pandemic affects different Japanese families around the world in different years after the pandemic hits. this book is sad and full of grief. it also introduces far-fetched future ideas like talking pigs, a disease that turns hearts into lungs, and rollercoasters to kill children.
I am so disappointed because on chapter 1 I was like omg this is gonna be a 5 star book. but my rating kept going down and down as the chapters went on.
every single chapter explores the same theme (grief and loved ones dying) but with different characters and a different setting. it's very repetitive and some chapters I was just like wtf am I reading??
there are only 2-3 chapters with women as the main characters. there are no queer characters and everyone is in a hetero relationship. each character talks exactly the same so I cannot distinguish one person from the next.
the last chapter felt like it was from another book altogether.
this may be a good book for you to read if you're struggling with grief or if you lost a loved one in the pandemic. it may help you know you are not alone in your feelings. but other than that I wouldn't recommend it.
this book is about a pandemic that breaks out across earth and through different chapters we see how the pandemic affects different Japanese families around the world in different years after the pandemic hits. this book is sad and full of grief. it also introduces far-fetched future ideas like talking pigs, a disease that turns hearts into lungs, and rollercoasters to kill children.
I am so disappointed because on chapter 1 I was like omg this is gonna be a 5 star book. but my rating kept going down and down as the chapters went on.
every single chapter explores the same theme (grief and loved ones dying) but with different characters and a different setting. it's very repetitive and some chapters I was just like wtf am I reading??
there are only 2-3 chapters with women as the main characters. there are no queer characters and everyone is in a hetero relationship. each character talks exactly the same so I cannot distinguish one person from the next.
the last chapter felt like it was from another book altogether.
this may be a good book for you to read if you're struggling with grief or if you lost a loved one in the pandemic. it may help you know you are not alone in your feelings. but other than that I wouldn't recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts