This book sits in an interesting spot, culturally. Basically when the main character Ada (or “the Ada” as the spirits inside call her) was born, the gate to the spirit world malfunctioned and the spirits inside her were never truly joined to her in a healthy way. As she experienced moments of trauma and isolation (sketched with beautiful language by Emezi), the spirits inside her took turns piloting her physical body; they took on aspects of strength and caring that helped her get through hard times, but also acted out in unhealthy ways. Because she moved from Nigeria to Virginia, from a world where she would have been considered god-touched to one where she was considered mentally ill, she sank further into dysfunction; after suicide attempts and panic attacks, she was only able to turn towards recovery by embracing her native culture. I found out later that this was autobiographical, which is… even more disturbing considering some of the stuff that went on in the book. If that’s true though, I’m glad Emezi has found a balance with their inner selves.
Author: librarykat
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, by Michael Lewis
Lewis is a solid writer; he writes nonfiction like a thriller. We lived through the pandemic so when he starts describing the initial events, the rumors of illness, the blithe dismissal of the politicians, we know things are going south… but he still patiently lays the foundation: public health officers on shoestring budgets, with power on paper but very little in practice; government plans for pandemics drafted and discarded; politics and caution prized over effectiveness and rapid response. Reading this was an intensely frustrating exercise, punctuated by only brief moments of relief, especially since, let’s be real, we’re still in the middle of a public heath crisis, and now we know even more about how very few people are able (or willing) to do anything to manage it.
The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey
Zombie story with a nice twist in perspective from the norm. I liked the character of the titular girl; child geniuses in stories often come across as super-unbelievable tiny versions of adults, but I thought her characterization was really well done, both when she was the POV character and when she was seen through the eyes of the other characters. I also like what Carey did with the characters of the tough soldier and the empathic teacher, who each began as flat stereotypes and who were slowly and smoothly developed into sympathetic wholes. Also, mild spoiler, but I’m a sucker for any universe that involves mycorrhizal spores.
The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark
Set in the steampunk Cairo of Clark’s Dead Djinn universe, in which hapless ministry officials try to regulate supernatural occurrences given shoestring budgets and an unsupportive bureaucracy, Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi investigate a haunted tram car. I loved Hamed’s weary competence in tackling the case, set against Onsi’s exuberance; I also liked the suffragettes and other women in the story who insisted that Hamed make room for their competence and independence, and how it all managed to tie together at the end. Really tight, well-written novella.
book collage: March 2022
I realized about halfway through Women’s History Month that I was reading books entirely by women, so I put off a couple of books until next month in order to get an all-female-author* collage. Now I have 2 days to finish this ebook before the library repossesses it…
*it should be noted that author Casey McQuiston is nonbinary.
Links to reactions:
Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers
Under the Pendulum Sun, by Jeannette Ng
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo
One Last Stop, by Casey McQuiston
The Hands of the Emperor, by Victoria Goddard
The True Queen, by Zen Cho
Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
The Bride of the Blue Wind, by Victoria Goddard
Noor, by Nnedi Okorafor
Petty Treasons, by Victoria Goddard
Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty
Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander, by Victoria Goddard
Stargazy Pie, by Victoria Goddard
Stargazy Pie, by Victoria Goddard
Fifth book by Victoria Goddard this month, no regrets. This is book 1 of Greenwing and Dart, and I am so excited that this pair of dashing young gentlemen get more mysteries to solve. Jemis Greenwing, having slunk back from college with a broken heart, broken dreams, and severe hay fever, just wants to fade quietly into his job; his old friend Dart decides to cheer him up and they inadvertently stumble upon a secret society calling on the old gods with dark magic. I loved the mixture of gossipy small town atmosphere with cults, criminal gangs, and a general shared trauma over recent magical cataclysm, all overlaid with a Regency-level preoccupation with etiquette and social standing. Super charming read.
Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander, by Victoria Goddard
Another companion novella to The Hands of the Emperor, but from the point of view of Cliopher’s great-uncle and occasional spiritual guide. It wouldn’t stand alone well but it provides a nice bit of insight into one of the most opaque characters in the book, and also allows us to see Cliopher from the standpoint of his native culture, instead of seeing him filtered through his own critical gaze.
Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty
Dives right into the mess left at the end of the first book, but with enough detail that you remember exactly why each of the main characters is in so much trouble. Chakraborty does a good job giving them enough agency to express their wishes, but also hems each in with both internal and external pressures. The big showdown at the end is heavily foreshadowed, but she still finds room for a surprise ending and a huge change going into the third book.
Petty Treasons, by Victoria Goddard
I could not get enough of Victoria Goddard this month. This is a companion novella to The Hands of the Emperor, but from the Emperor’s view instead of Cliopher’s; the burden of the Emperor’s enforced solitude is hinted at in the first book, but here we get to experience its crushing weight firsthand, and we also get to see Cliopher from the Emperor’s point of view. Perfect for someone in withdrawal from the glory of The Hands of the Emperor. I will say though that the shifting first/second person viewpoints read a bit awkwardly for me; I got why it was done, but I think the Emperor’s isolation could have been hinted at another way.
Noor, by Nnedi Okorafor
This may be unfair, because this is only the second book I’ve read by Okorafor (I’m counting the Binti series as a single book), but I am beginning to see a pattern: 1) she comes up with really cool ideas and characters, and then 2) writes a frankly incoherent and rambling story around them. Born malformed and then further injured in an accident, narrator AO defies social norms by repairing and augmenting herself with mechanical parts. AO lives in a futuristic Africa which has harnessed the punishing effects of climate change (scorching sun, blistering windstorms) to generate solar and wind power. From that foundation, we devolve into an illogical and disjointed tale that unsuccessfully mixes together cool concepts such as an evil megacorporation, nomadic herdsmen in the age of technology, an entire hidden city of technocrat rebels, manipulation of crowds through social media and superstition, and the cherry on top: a rather abrupt love story between two characters with no chemistry and nothing in common. Quite a letdown, really.