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yawnsbooks's Reviews (510)
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Stop looking for me. I’m not missing; I do not want to be found. I wish to remain vanishing. I don’t want to go home - Lilia”
Just Finished Last in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel, which was a fantastic debut novel from one of my favourite authors.
Lilia Albert is not able to stay in one place, and has been leaving people behind ever since she can remember. Leaving people and abandoning places drives her. This story is what happens when one of her lovers, Eli, decides to follow her from New York to Montreal.
The writing in this book is fantastic. It felt like reading poetry, especially with both Lilia and Eli’s characters being obsessed with dying, endangered, or extinct languages.
This story explores themes of loss, loss, healing, memory, obsession, trauma, and the difficult choices people make to protect one another.
Emily St. John Mandel excels in writing complex, lyrical stories from multiple perspectives and I can’t wait to read another of her books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
After the climate catastrophe of earth, 23rd century earth exists by means of a human-led apartheid against the extraterrestrials, the Vantarians, that restored earth through carbon dioxide extraction. One of the human soldiers, Alder, becomes cognizant of the apartheid’s atrocities against the Vantarians, and finds themselves disillusioned by the human government’s propaganda and begins developing close partnerships with Sefynne, an alleged terrorist of the liberation movement.
This queer sci-fi read was very clever and enjoyable to read. I thought it had great world building without lengthy exposition. I am extremely interested in the new Earth that Zuidema has created, where there are new flora and fauna in the restored ecosystems, but fleeting remainders of human language, culture, and language.
I found myself asking so many questions while reading and was surprised that the saviours of earth, the Vantarians, were being policed by the human government, and found that the this was a surprising twist on the post-alien “invasion” trope.
I am extremely interested in the human’s Orchidism religion, where baptism involves a Honey Hawk ritual, and hope that this is continued in the next book in the series.
Thanks very much to Net Galley for providing me this Advance Reader Copy.
If you’re interested in a dystopian earth with a partnership between a non-binary soldier and alien freedom fighter, be sure to check out Honey Hawk !
“The effects of the Expulsion on Acadian culture are inseparable from its modern identity. The same does not have to be true for future displaced peoples.”
——
In Acadian Driftwood, Tyler LeBlanc discovers his connection to the Acadian expulsion and follows what happens to ten of his ancestors (all siblings) in the chaos of the expulsion.
LeBlanc illustrates the horror and human suffering enacted on thousands of people because of colonial powers, territory disputes, and politics.
I appreciated how easy LeBlanc made this book to read. He provides such amazing context surrounding conflicts, historical figures, and the constant power vacuums in North America.
LeBlanc presents the expulsion and diaspora of Acadians as only one account of imperial abuse, and encourages readers to examine historical and contemporary expulsions and relocations of populations (drawing specific reference to indigenous communities and the Rohingya).
This book was an excellent, concise introduction into the social history of a dark chapter in Canadian history. Definitely recommend.
——
In Acadian Driftwood, Tyler LeBlanc discovers his connection to the Acadian expulsion and follows what happens to ten of his ancestors (all siblings) in the chaos of the expulsion.
LeBlanc illustrates the horror and human suffering enacted on thousands of people because of colonial powers, territory disputes, and politics.
I appreciated how easy LeBlanc made this book to read. He provides such amazing context surrounding conflicts, historical figures, and the constant power vacuums in North America.
LeBlanc presents the expulsion and diaspora of Acadians as only one account of imperial abuse, and encourages readers to examine historical and contemporary expulsions and relocations of populations (drawing specific reference to indigenous communities and the Rohingya).
This book was an excellent, concise introduction into the social history of a dark chapter in Canadian history. Definitely recommend.
