Book Review: The Memory of Animals

 

Book Review: The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller

Goodreads Description: In the face of a pandemic, an unprepared world scrambles to escape the mysterious disease’s devastating symptoms: sensory damage, memory loss, death. Neffy, a disgraced and desperately indebted twenty-seven-year-old marine biologist, registers for an experimental vaccine trial in London―perhaps humanity’s last hope for a cure. Though isolated from the chaos outside, she and the other volunteers―Rachel, Leon, Yahiko, and Piper―cannot hide from the mistakes that led them there.

As London descends into chaos outside the hospital windows, Neffy befriends Leon, who before the pandemic had been working on a controversial technology that allows users to revisit their memories. She withdraws into projections of her past―a childhood bisected by divorce; a recent love affair; her obsessive research with octopuses and the one mistake that ended her career. The lines between past, present, and future begin to blur, and Neffy is left with defining questions: Who can she trust? Why can’t she forgive herself? How should she live, if she survives?

My Review: Written in the wake of Covid, this novel captures the emotional uncertainty of quarantine and ramps it up to a nightmarish, apocalyptic extreme. It strikes an interesting balance between the external and internal - between the mystery of Neffy's past and the mounting apocalypse outside her window. While this book has speculative elements, it's a literary novel first and foremost, with most of the narrative focused on reflection and introspection. The characters do eventually contend with the chaos outside, but the climax primarily revolves around the emotional and internal conflicts, rather than large scale action. 

This book has excellent tension and pacing. The narrative flip-flops between the past and the present at just the right moments, creating a series of mini-cliffhangers that kept me devouring pages. At the beginning of the book, I found the flashbacks to be the most engaging part of the story, but near the end, it was the present timeline that I was eager to return to, which mirrors their roles in the story. Neffy retreats into her memories at the beginning of the novel as a form of escapism, but eventually it becomes a maladaptive coping strategy which ends up taking her away from what she needs to focus on. I'm curious if other readers felt the same way towards the flashbacks, because the effect certainly seems purposeful, but maybe that was just my experience while reading. 

I would recommend this book on vibes alone, because the writing is GORGEOUS! The atmosphere, the prose, the very likeable and very flawed people trapped together. The climax doubles as a reveal, where the people we thought we knew turn out to have committed heinous acts out of fear, yet in order to survive the very real apocalypse outside, Neffy still has to find a way to work with these people. The end comes with this loss of innocence, yet despite everything, Neffy is able to pull her crew together and forge ahead. Even in the face of tremendous uncertainty, loss, and betrayal, the book seems to say: we will persevere and life will go on. I found that really beautiful. 

TL;DR: 5/5 stars. An introspective sci-fi that explores the psychological and interpersonal effects of quarantine.

Book Review: Self-Portrait With Nothing

 

Self-Portrait With Nothing by Aimee Pokwatka 

Goodreads Description: Abandoned as an infant on the local veterinarian’s front porch, Pepper Rafferty was raised by two loving mothers, and now at thirty-six is married to the stable, supportive Ike. She’s never told anyone that at fifteen she discovered the identity of her biological mother.

That’s because her birth mother is Ula Frost, a reclusive painter famous for the outrageous claims that her portraits summon their subjects’ doppelgangers from parallel universes.

Researching the rumors, Pepper couldn’t help but wonder: Was there a parallel universe in which she was more confident, more accomplished, better able to accept love? A universe in which Ula decided she was worth keeping? A universe in which Ula’s rejection didn’t still hurt too much to share?

My Review: What a weird little book. 

If I had to sum up this book in a single word, it would be: contrived. Everything in this book is so forced that it was difficult to read at times. Characters often acted against their own established motivation in order to advance the plot. Pepper, the main character, acts on flimsy assumptions that turn out to be correct, making it feel like she's pulling answers out of thin air. She also comes across as a Mary-Sue in the sense that nearly every character falls over themselves to help her. Characters she's never met approach her with critical plot information because she "seems nice." Some even wait on her hand and foot, literally, like in the scene where a supporting character rubs Pepper's feet. Her boyfriend has no life outside her, people fall over themselves to help her for no reason-- after a certain point, it all started to feel a little narcissistic. Perhaps this story works as wish-fulfillment for people who dream of being the center of the universe, but it just reminded me that this was some writer's fantasy, which kept pulling me out of the story. 

It's a shame, too, because there's an interesting idea at the core of this story -- painted portraits as portals to parallel worlds-- but sadly Pokwatka doesn't do anything interesting with this concept. It ends up being a lame excuse to make clones, as Pepper soon finds herself overrun with multiple versions of her mother. This could have been an interesting analysis of motherhood -- how does each version respond to Pepper, and what does that say about her relationship with the mother from her own universe? Instead of exploring the concept with any depth, the book focuses on the 'wacky hijinks' of a bunch of clones who need to do a Serious Job™ yet can't stop fighting like the Three Stooges.

TL;DR: All in all, 2/5 stars. A great concept wasted through a horribly contrived execution.

Book Review: The Buried Giant

 

 

 

Book Review: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro 

 

Goodreads Description: "You've long set your heart against it, Axl, I know. But it's time now to think on it anew. There's a journey we must go on, and no more delay..."

The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years.

Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in nearly a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge, and war.

 

My Review: Ugh. That's all that comes to mind when I think of this book. Just, ugh. I WISH before I'd picked it up that it was mentioned SOMEWHERE that this book is based on Arthurian folklore. I've never been a fan of Arthurian-style stories (the only exception being Monty Python) and would have never picked it up had I known this was the case. However, I did finish it, and while I was very unsatisfied on the whole, Ishiguro's writing style was enigmatic enough to keep my attention. I'd be interested in checking out more of Ishiguro's work just based on his use of language and atmosphere; I just wish this wasn't my first introduction to him.

A lot of the faults in this book could be attributed to its Arthurian style -- but perhaps that's my bias showing. The book is slow, it's boring. It fully embodies the traits of a mythical knight's tale, with plenty of armored men standing around, preaching about honour and chivalry. The characters felt less like people and more like archetypes serving a role, which made the story feel wooden. There are certainly some gems within the text, like the dynamic tension and intimacy between the married couple, but these small sparks are drowned out by the blandness surrounding it. I'd hoped that the ending and the reveal of the mystery -- why the mist made people forget-- would compensate for the boring journey to get there, but that sadly wasn't the case. Unfortunately, the book was utterly flavourless and not worth sinking my teeth into. 

TL;DR: All in all, 2/5 stars. A bland Arthurian journey story with a lackluster ending.

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society

Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 

Goodreads Description: When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls "an animal rights organization." Tom's team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that's found its way to the alternate world. Others have, too--and their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

My Review: Oh man, this book was so much fun. It's a perfect dose of wish-fulfillment to combat how fucking depressing the world is these days. There's another world filled with wonder and majesty and kaijus? Jobs that offer stability, community, a decent salary, BENEFITS?? And to top it off, the corporate cronies destroying our environment and taking advantage of workers finally get what's coming to them? Sign me the fuck up! 

This book calls back to the old days of sci-fi, with a dose of hearty science and expansive world-building. The narrative doesn't linger on the science aspects, but it does offer more technical explanations than many other modern sci-fi novels, which may be a hit for nerdy world-building types. I was particularly fascinated with the science behind the kaijus, as they're often described as living worlds unto themselves. The book also dives into multiple ethical quandaries that are deeply applicable to our own world: should unregulated capitalism be allowed to reek havoc on the natural world? How much does corporatism influence science? How do we balance our needs while being environmentally sustainable? While these questions are explored throughout the text, at its core, this book is a wish-fulfillment fantasy that doesn't dive too deep into introspection. Most of the characters are fairly static, including Jamie himself, who doesn't learn a lesson or grow over the course of the story. Jamie functions as an everyman who has been screwed over by late stage capitalism in a way most of us can relate to, and serves as stand-in that readers can project themselves onto. Because of that, he doesn't come with much personality, or goals, or purpose of his own besides paying his rent. But this lack of dimension doesn't hurt the book at all, as it allows readers to turn their brain off as they wrangle some wily kaiju and take back a sense of control. 

TL;DR: All in all, 4/5 stars. A delightful action-comedy romp with heavy world-building and a heart of gold.

Happy Book Birthday to Nightmare on Queer Street

On October 17th, Nightmare on Queer Street officially went live on Amazon!! (I'm a little late to the party, but cue the balloons and confetti anyway.) This Halloween anthology features a collection of short horror stories (and poetry!) from the YYC Queer Writers group in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). The anthology is self-published by the group and 100% of sales are donated to Camp fYrefly, a leadership camp for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Alberta.

The YYC Queer Writers is a group of (you guessed it) queer writers that get together about twice a month to share ideas, write to prompts, and get those creative juices flowing. The group has put out several holiday themed anthologies so far, including one for Christmas and two for Valentine's Day, Screw Chocolate and Screw Chocolate 2. This Halloween anthology is the newest addition to the collection and features some of the scariest storytelling of all - writers who write about writing, haha. 

The collection features: 

- A poem about the horrors of dating apps. 

- A clown serial killer loose at a college party. 

- Vampires hunting vampires. 

- The Devil visiting the child of a Satanist family. 

and more. 

As mentioned, all proceeds from book sales will be used to send kids from lower income families to Camp fYrefly, an arts and leadership camp for 2SLGBTQ+ youth. I'm so proud to help out this camp in any way I can - they do incredible work. When I worked in the child welfare system, I worked with several kids who were able to attend this camp through initiatives like this, and they had nothing but positive things to say. Even kids who never had anything positive to say about anything still liked this camp. The camp is run through the University of Alberta and uses evidence-based and Indigenous led programming, with Indigenous Elders running the camp's ceremonies and some programming. They also provide mental health supports, an artist in residence, and it's located in the mountains of Kananaskis Country. The camp also keeps its doors open to cis, straight, questioning or curious youth, which helps to educate allies as well as empower queer youth. 

Check out Nightmare on Queer Street and the YYC Queer Writers Group through the links below. 

Amazon  |  Goodreads  |  Facebook 

Book Review: You Could Make This Place Beautiful

 

Book Review: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith 

Goodreads Description: In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes. With the spirit of self-inquiry and empathy she’s known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. The power of these pieces is cumulative: page after page, they build into a larger interrogation of family, work, and patriarchy.

My Review: Maggie Smith is a poet by trade, so it's no surprise that her memoir is part prose and part poetry. The book is very much a conversation between you, the reader, and Smith herself, as she personally invites you into her emotional reality. Smith frequently breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader and even addresses them as such. This kicks up the sense of intimacy, but also seats you inside her story as an active participant. Many books invite you to disappear into the story of another, to become someone else, so I found it particularly striking that in this memoir about self-actualization, Smith never forgets that you, dear reader, have value just as you are. 

There's a fair bit of repetition to the book, from framing devices to certain phrases, but this gives structure to a story that largely has no structure -- healing, after all, does not follow the plot beats of the hero's journey. By re-using certain poetic structures, such as the strawmen conversation or the way her house looks on Google maps, Smith is able to beautifully communicate the imperceptible inner change taking place over the course of the book. While some readers may be put off by this style, there's a cadence to the repetition that gives the narrative a melodic rhythm. 

While I enjoyed the book on the whole, I will admit the story loses steam in the second half as the more dramatic elements of Smith's divorce conclude. However, some of the best moments come from this slower-paced half of the book, including some of the best musings on life and happiness. The book culminates with powerful messages around self-love and learning to be single again after a long relationship, which could be very meaningful for those facing independence after spending their life as half of a whole. How do you build a life about you, for you, and filled with all the love and joy you deserve, when you've only ever built a life around someone else? Smith's book makes an excellent case for how.

TL:DR: 5/5 stars. A deeply emotional reflection on marriage, happiness, and love.  

Book Review: What Moves the Dead

 

Book Review: What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher 

Goodreads Description: When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruravia.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

My Review: What a creepy, atmospheric read! Kingfisher reimagines Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher with a fantastical twist: the rotting house of Usher, both the building and the family itself, have been infested with a fungus that makes the dead walk. The thematic rotting of the Usher House is made literal through Kingfisher's fungi, which behaves similarly to the real family of cordyceps mushrooms that make zombies out of their living hosts. This omnipresent infestation creates a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere that is so tangible it's almost another character. Even before readers know exactly what it is, there's a sense that the characters are constantly being watched by a predator waiting for its moment to strike. What Moves the Dead follows Poe's original story quite faithfully, with the added elements only serving to flesh out (heh) the original story. 

While Poe's story was not particularly queer, Kingfisher changes that up by playing with gender identity and neo-pronouns in her retelling. The novel features the made-up country of Gallacia, where gender and pronoun use differ from the rest of Europe. They draw from an expanded set of personal pronouns with individual pronouns for God, minors, and soldiers. The main character, Alex Easton, is also a transgender man or trans-masculine nonbinary, which was really cool to see representation-wise. Since Alex is a soldier, the book explores the 'soldier' gender category and how it manifests differently from masculinity. While the 'soldier' gender is presented as masculine, the way it is expressed is tied more closely to the role of a warrior than the typical 'male' role, i.e., more concerned with duty than domination. I really enjoyed how Kingfisher wove these ideas into the overall plot. While gender and pronoun use do have a role to play in the plot, it's not Alex's gender that comes under the microscope. It's refreshing to see gender feature as a main plot point without focusing on bigotry, coming out, or a crisis of identity. 

All in all, this was such a delightful read. The writing was gorgeously haunting. Kingfisher's ability to blend modern slang with the formal language of Poe's era added a musicality to her text that made it a true joy to read. Plus, at less than 200 pages, this novella reads quick but leaves a lasting impression. 

TL;DR: 5/5 stars. Freaky fungi, some queering of gender, and a whole lot of atmosphere.