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A review by laelyn
The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta
3.0
What a unique, fascinating read this was. "The Moonday Letters" is the first book by Emmi Itäranta that I've read and I am more than intrigued by her lyrical, at times almost poetic prose. The translation is superb, or at least reads amazingly (I obviously don't know the original). I very much enjoyed the overall theme of love, longing, loss and I'm always a fan of books broaching the topic of nature and environmental collapse. It's done beautifully in this time, showing clearly the consequences of the way we treat our planet in a soft science fiction setting that takes us to different planets of the solar system.
The pace is a very slow one, and I admit the book didn't manage to keep me engaged all the way through. The entire middle part of it drags on and the lyrical prose can only do so much to make up for it. This isn't helped by the fact that it's an epistolary novel, which is, admittedly, not my favourite. It's still very well done, no doubt. It's generally a book that is rather light on its plot and the mystery driving it forward. Its central focus is the relationship between our protagonist, Lumi, and her spouse, Sol. The latter disappears surprisingly, and Lumi tries to follow them and find out what happened to them. It's an intriguing mystery at first, when she finds information that link Sol to a group of ecoterrorists. None of the characters are very memorable though, and I couldn't tell you that much about them. I did enjoy Lumi and Sol's relationship, it was a beautiful thing.
In general, this is a gorgeously written epistolary novel that is both nuanced and very slow, focusing less on plot than the relationships between the central characters and ending on a bittersweet note. What it really achieves is make you want to save our beautiful planet.
Many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!
The pace is a very slow one, and I admit the book didn't manage to keep me engaged all the way through. The entire middle part of it drags on and the lyrical prose can only do so much to make up for it. This isn't helped by the fact that it's an epistolary novel, which is, admittedly, not my favourite. It's still very well done, no doubt. It's generally a book that is rather light on its plot and the mystery driving it forward. Its central focus is the relationship between our protagonist, Lumi, and her spouse, Sol. The latter disappears surprisingly, and Lumi tries to follow them and find out what happened to them. It's an intriguing mystery at first, when she finds information that link Sol to a group of ecoterrorists. None of the characters are very memorable though, and I couldn't tell you that much about them. I did enjoy Lumi and Sol's relationship, it was a beautiful thing.
In general, this is a gorgeously written epistolary novel that is both nuanced and very slow, focusing less on plot than the relationships between the central characters and ending on a bittersweet note. What it really achieves is make you want to save our beautiful planet.
Many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!