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A review by beccamcostello
So Lucky by Nicola Griffith
5.0
4.5 stars.
A short but not easy read. If you tend to need trigger warnings for severe illness and/or violent crime, read with caution.
I appreciate any stories about disability that aren't inspiration porn. And this is absolutely about disability; MS isn't a side plot. The anger in this novel is tangible and I love it.
I would recommend this to just about anyone.
(Spoilers ahead)
The violent murders targeting people with disabilities, getting closer and closer to the narrator, felt like a good way to describe disability activism generally: a matter of literal life and death, yet the world at large doesn't connect the dots or recognize the urgency. Although I really like that interpretation, I'm glad the end acknowledges that disabled people are actually targeted for violence, not just metaphorically (or passively through public policy).
I heard about this book from a nonfiction disability rights book I read. I would like to hear different perspectives on it, especially from folks who have lived with a disability far longer than the narrator here. I like the personification of disability/emotions about disability. I felt a little uncomfortable with the final scene, in which Mara seems to be "overcoming" some of her negative reaction to MS. It has such a sense of finality, like she's figured out exactly how she should be feeling and acting, which is not how I've heard people talk about chronic illness. But I'm not one of those people, so my perception of the ending could be way off.
A short but not easy read. If you tend to need trigger warnings for severe illness and/or violent crime, read with caution.
I appreciate any stories about disability that aren't inspiration porn. And this is absolutely about disability; MS isn't a side plot. The anger in this novel is tangible and I love it.
I would recommend this to just about anyone.
(Spoilers ahead)
The violent murders targeting people with disabilities, getting closer and closer to the narrator, felt like a good way to describe disability activism generally: a matter of literal life and death, yet the world at large doesn't connect the dots or recognize the urgency. Although I really like that interpretation, I'm glad the end acknowledges that disabled people are actually targeted for violence, not just metaphorically (or passively through public policy).
I heard about this book from a nonfiction disability rights book I read. I would like to hear different perspectives on it, especially from folks who have lived with a disability far longer than the narrator here. I like the personification of disability/emotions about disability. I felt a little uncomfortable with the final scene, in which Mara seems to be "overcoming" some of her negative reaction to MS. It has such a sense of finality, like she's figured out exactly how she should be feeling and acting, which is not how I've heard people talk about chronic illness. But I'm not one of those people, so my perception of the ending could be way off.