Scan barcode
A review by colwellcat
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"This is a fucking heavy book. Desolate and sad, but also ambitious and lightly insane."
How high we go in the dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, released earlier this year.
An utterly haunting and beyond strange book about death, resilience and moving on from loss in an uncertain future. Not really a novel as much as a series of short stories or vignettes with a central thread.
The pace is slow, and it does feel a bit muddling for a while in the second half - I very nearly DNF'd, so I can't recommend this unreservedly. But despite the constant morbidity, there's an odd beauty to its meditative reflection.
"You had a vision of what life would be like for future generations and acted like the planet had a gun to our head. And maybe it does."
Uncannily prescient, this is (another) global plague narrative, written before the present pandemic, against the backdrop of a dying, climate afflicted Earth.
Hard content earnings for, well, most things, but especially child death, terminal illness, medical trauma and suicide. Save this read for when you're in a good frame of mind.
4 stars.
How high we go in the dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, released earlier this year.
An utterly haunting and beyond strange book about death, resilience and moving on from loss in an uncertain future. Not really a novel as much as a series of short stories or vignettes with a central thread.
The pace is slow, and it does feel a bit muddling for a while in the second half - I very nearly DNF'd, so I can't recommend this unreservedly. But despite the constant morbidity, there's an odd beauty to its meditative reflection.
"You had a vision of what life would be like for future generations and acted like the planet had a gun to our head. And maybe it does."
Uncannily prescient, this is (another) global plague narrative, written before the present pandemic, against the backdrop of a dying, climate afflicted Earth.
Hard content earnings for, well, most things, but especially child death, terminal illness, medical trauma and suicide. Save this read for when you're in a good frame of mind.
4 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma