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A review by honeyreads1066
The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was the strangest book I have read in my whole life and yet I loved every minute of it.
This book follows Tetley a girl shunned from her community for doing something that she thinks saved them all. You follow her through her life as she lives in garbagetown, a floating town of garbage in the middle of a world that is only sea. Only she believes that she is the most beloved girl in garbagetown.
So I don't know how to describe any of this outside of weird. The characters themselves were loveable in a way because they were complicated and you felt for them in this dead world.
The setting itself is something to mention. Valente describes the setting in such a way it all seems so clear in my head but I'm also sure that a lot of it is open to interpretation. I love how distinctly different each place was and how that impacted the story.
My only issue is that the plot seemed very here and there at times especially at the beginning of the book. Maybe it was because of how different the world is from ours and also that there are jumps in time but it did take me a moment to understand at the beginning.
Overall, it will take me a moment to fully actually realise what I've read but I recommend it because I did love it.
This book follows Tetley a girl shunned from her community for doing something that she thinks saved them all. You follow her through her life as she lives in garbagetown, a floating town of garbage in the middle of a world that is only sea. Only she believes that she is the most beloved girl in garbagetown.
So I don't know how to describe any of this outside of weird. The characters themselves were loveable in a way because they were complicated and you felt for them in this dead world.
The setting itself is something to mention. Valente describes the setting in such a way it all seems so clear in my head but I'm also sure that a lot of it is open to interpretation. I love how distinctly different each place was and how that impacted the story.
My only issue is that the plot seemed very here and there at times especially at the beginning of the book. Maybe it was because of how different the world is from ours and also that there are jumps in time but it did take me a moment to understand at the beginning.
Overall, it will take me a moment to fully actually realise what I've read but I recommend it because I did love it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence