How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
(Format used for this book: Audiobook)
In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus.
Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects—a pig—develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet.
From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resilience of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe.
Another book about the end of the world, the concept of humanity and community, and a horrible, world altering plague.
Familiar theme and foundation….but I promise, this book is DEFINITELY a unique one.
It is haunting, weird, thought provoking, and immersive.
It is about the horrors, magic and wonder of science and of human discovery.
AND DOPE AF.
The chapters are each separate but interconnected short stories of various characters…I LOVE multiperspective novels like this, where all the narrators are separate yet distantly related somehow.
The audiobook also has a cast of various people to read each chapter, which just adds to the brilliance of the story.
All these end of the world stories that are about plagues and pandemics and climate change feel ALL TOO REAL since 2020…which I think is COMPLETELY the point authors are trying to get across.
Are we going to learn from our experiences and from stories of what could be?
Or are we just gonna keep fucking everything up, hurting each other, and ignoring what is crumbling all around us like we’ve BEEN doing for all these bagillion years?
These are some of the various thoughts that were swirling around in my head while I was listening to this book (and also stayed with me after):
What will be humanity’s demise?
Will it be our fault?
Could we have done more to prevent it? To care for each other more? To care for the planet more?
Is there life beyond our own planet and beyond what we know now?
Is everything in the universe somehow connected in some bizarre, unexplainable way?
These are no new thoughts for me….but somehow this book had them landing in a whole different kind of way than they usually do.
One of the chapters the characters talk about how plagues are an opportunity for a hard reset for humanity…BUT…if we actually GET the chance to start again, do we EVER LEARN?
Side note:
One of my fave lines from the book was in that chapter: “Say no to capitalism and yes to community.”
I would like that on a Tshirt ❤️
This book is categorized as science fiction BUT I don’t think it FEELS like TOTAL science fiction in an outright, expected way…..that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I promise it will when ya read it!
This book was one that got my brain swirling and my heart twisting….it was about all the things I mentioned above and also about loss, grief, enviornmentalism, realism, acceptance, and hope.
The one part that my mama self got ALL UP in my emotions about was the chapter on Euthanasia Land.
Terminally ill children who are infected with the Arctic virus (which at that time was not transmissable to adults) or any other illness could go with their families for a day of amusement park fun…..before being sedated, placed onto their final ride, and pulled into a forever sleep by a lethal roller coaster that pulls deadly amounts of G forces.
OMGGGGGGGGG 💔💔💔💔💔💔
That entire chapter was GUT GRABBING, yall.
The final chapter is FANTASTIC in the way it clicks EVERYTHING into place…it is COMPLETELY out there and truly wonderful.
I absolutely adored this read…just so many things made it good.
The writing style, the format, the plot development, the deep thoughts, the life lessons….ALL OF IT.
And the ENDING….spot on PERFECT….the very most perfect way to end the book.
Loved. Loved. Loved.
Go get it.