A review by kadomi
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

What a debut. This is a very dark book, set onboard the Matilda, a giant spaceship with an artificial sun that is taking people away from Earth from an unnamed catastrophe. But society on the ship is strictly segregated. Led by white supremacists in the upperdecks, all people of color live in the lower decks and are held like slaves to do all manual labor. One of those slaves is Aster, the main character. She works as an assistant for the Surgeon, a very religious medic who is also a bastard of a previous leader, and a lowerdeck woman. Aster's mother died under strange circumstances shortly after Aster's birth, and now she is trying to make sense of the many notes that her mother left behind. As the new leader starts a brutal vendetta against Aster, she learns the truth about Matilda's journey and what her mother achieved.

It's really not for the faint of heart, this book, because it needs a lot of content warnings.
It really shocked me to see how casually Aster treats herself with creams in preparation of common sexual assault from the guards, for example.
It's brutal, sometimes confusing, doesn't always make sense why Aster gets so singled out, but it was also a good book to read.
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