Sharks in the Time of Saviors Book Review

Rawr Reader,

I think I blinked. Where did 2022 go? I hope it had fared well with you. I want to get back on my review game because I did *checks notes—eek!* 3 reviews last year. Hehehe, suffice it to say my reading goal total for 2022 also underperformed. New Year, New Me, right?

The synopsis for Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn is provided by Goodreads:

In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.

Nainoa's family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family's legacy.

When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawaii - with tragic consequences - they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.

Review:

   Firstly, can we take a moment to gush over this title? Author, editor, whoever came up with this—thank you. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was the author, every page in this novel is pure art. Washburn is the sort of writer that by the time you finish reading the first sentence you know you're going to be in good hands.

    Since we're in the area, I'd like to start off with the writing. I mentioned the first sentence because I think for myself, and for a number of avid readers, a first sentence if not a first page gives incredible insight into what the rest of the book will be like. Beginnings are hard. Many writers know this. Which makes it even more satisfying when the pages that follow continue to blow you away. I called the words art, and Washburn is a true artist. What's promising is this is his first novel. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for him. (Check out two of my favorite passages below in the Quote section.)

   His writing pulls an even further punch by the care he takes when writing in multiple voices, switching from one POV to the next like skipping a stream. Dean, Kaui, Nainoa, Malia (the mothers), and Augie (the father) all form thoughts and speech different from one another, and because of their unique voice when jumping between Hawaii to Washington to Oregon, etc, I immediately placed myself with the character. There is also another voice. I won't dive into who or what it is, but it's something Washburn created to transcend one place and one person. This addition made the story richer and more riveting and I want to leave you with as little as possible so you can discover it for yourself.

    In technical aspects, this novel is almost perfect. Why then, might you ask, did I give this such a low rating? Well, it comes down to my personal preference and particular interest. The writing it beautiful, the characters are beautiful, but the pacing of the plot itself would drag in parts, and there were a few days I had absolutely no interest in picking it up. I was tempted to drop it altogether and it got me into a short-lived reading slump. Books that do that to me are not likely to be rated high. (To be fair, books that I have rated 4 stars on this blog or in my Goodreads I look back fondly and regard as favorites and would highly recommend them.) 

   At its core, SitToS is about a family who struggle to find their own ways to survive from the struggles of the outside world and from the dynamics of their household. Every character was treated with respect and given the virtues and vices normally only one or two characters would be given in a novel—implementing First Person POV being the most beneficial. You see the relationships between the parents and the kids, between the siblings themselves, and the kids and friends, and all of these relationships felt derivative of a real person. All of the characters wanted something to prove yet wanted to be enough. It's heartbreaking when people who are loved can feel unloved, undervalued. It made each of the kids' journeys feel something anyone would want to root for.

   There are themes Washburn explores: identity, poverty, survival, and others. They are the feathers that allow this bird to fly. This is a coming-of-age story, but on another level, coming-to-acceptance story. All of our characters grapple with how they can move on from the shark rescue, remain true to their Hawaiian culture, while also survive in a twentieth century and twenty-first century Hawaii (and America).

   Now not to discourage you, but I would have to say the beginning, the catalyst of the novel, is my favorite part of the entire book. Arguably, that scene might be in my top favorite literary scenes of all time. There was something profound in the images you picture when reading Nainoa's unbelievable shark rescue. I had chills. This moment and many moments following alluded to magical realism, drawing from Hawaiian mythology, yet it never scared away from placing these characters with real-world, everyday, relatable human problems. Nainoa's rescue wouldn't have happened in real life. It's a spectacle, but more than anything, it's nothing short of a miracle. However this living miracle and the events that follow are studied and inspected for the rest of the novel by the multiple points of view, with the multiple understandings that each member of the family walk away with. What is a miracle in one person's eyes can be a bane to another.  

   Move aside Jaws, Sharks in the Time of Saviors trumps you in best fictional shark encounter.

   

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

(Ratings aside, I would highly recommend this. Down the road I would definitely be open to rereading.)

Quote:

"Like he was back out in the ocean among the sharks, bobbing alone. I could see him there, the waves and tides and gods dragging him around. But I'm in the water, too, I wanted to say. And there are plenty eyes on you. No one's watching to see if I stay afloat."

"When our language, 'Ōlelo Hawai'i, was outlawed, so our gods went, so prayers went, so ideas went, so the island went."

—Kawai Strong Washburn, Sharks in the Time of Saviors

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l

Next To Read:

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Spoilers:

   I don't know if it's just me, but I was on the verge of tearing when Dean pushed Kaui out of the car so the cops would pull him and him alone over. Big brother love. I don't have a brother, but man if I did I would only hope they would do that for me. 

   I would really like to discuss the climax of the book: Noa's death. In part, I shouldn't have been surprised it was going to happen. A man with miracle hands living to a ripe old age in literature seems as unlikely as a boy being saved by a shark. Better for this novel to be classified as fantasy. However I think the most grabbing quality of his death was for the fact that it seemed undramatic. I have no doubt it likely was done with that exact intention. His survival was miraculous, yet his death was far from it. It was done alone, in pain/not in pain(?), unknown for weeks, and the act was something that could happen to anyone. I think it will take a reread, but I would really like to grab the consistency of his powers? Why did it work at times and other times it didn't? It wasn't linked to affection or desire, yet it wasn't entirely to luck/chance and it wasn't exclusive to humans/animals. Was it like God, meant to service life, give and take life as a whole fairly with no bias? 

   And there was no bias in Noa's eyes. We see it in the pregnant woman's death as it unraveled Noa. It was the reason he returned home. Sought sanctuary, enlightenment, freedom from responsibility or possibly even caring? I can't imagine what someone who believed himself to possess godlike powers yet the compassion a god doesn't possess for humankind, and failing when he felt that with strong conviction, with adamant resolve that he could not. All the more tragic that he would slip back into folds of the ocean without a whimper, without a person to comfort him or even be thinking of him when he was his most lonely. People dying alone and without the comfort of anyone knowing where you are is high up on saddest deaths in fiction. Washburn treated the Flores siblings so beautifully . . . man why didn't give this book 4 stars?!

    

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

Fire and Blood Book Review

Rawr Reader,

Woah, where has the time gone? It's been five months! Hi! Hello! It is me. I am back.

I have had a very love-hate relationship with this book. I was interested in reading this a couple years ago—not long after it was released, but dropped it because I found it boring. 

BUT THEN they decided to make a prequel on HBO and while I have a very strong opinion of how Game of Thrones (the TV series) ended—because who didn't—I gave it a chance despite my better judgment and man oh man, I missed Westeros (GRRM Westeros, not so much Benioff and Weiss Westeros).

I decided to give Fire and Blood another shot and long story short (impossible with GRRM... ((~but we love it~)) ), WHAT. A. TREAT.

Due to the surfeit of names and convenience of a quick search in an ebook, I read this both both in physical form and through Kindle, which is a first time for me but something I felt was necessary and I would recommend to others. (Along with reading with a map of Westeros open. It really helps you ground yourself as the characters travel.)

P.S. Please don't ask me how many times I borrowed the ebook from the library.

>__>

Without further ado, let's jump in!

The synopsis of Fire and Blood is provided by trusty Goodreads (by the way, anyone else not totally loving this partially renovated Goodreads?):

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen--the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria--took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & 

                                                                   Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the 

Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel's worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty-five black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley--including five illustrations exclusive to the trade paperback edition. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire & Blood is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Reference:

   Publishers announced we would be receiving another George R.R. Martin masterpiece.
   Could it be?... Book Six in the coveted and acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire series?!?!

   No. Hahahaaa we got you!

   It will instead take place nearly 300 years before the events of A Game of Thrones. 

   Yes, I was as beguiled then dismayed as the rest of the world. 

   And it's insane when I realize, I haven't done a review about Westeros since A Storm of Swords back in 2013, nearly TEN years ago. Time is a-flying~~

Review:

   Fire and Blood stretches back 300 years before A Song of Ice and Fire begins so it's safe to say there will be a lot of ground to cover, beginning with six generations before Aegon the Conqueror. While not an extensive history, Martin offers readers the Targaryen genealogy as far back as twelve years before the mystical migration from Valyria to Dragonstone (roughly 130 BC—Before the Conquest).

   This is only a warm-up to the events that follow. Fire and Blood documents the Targaryens as they fight to establish and secure their rule over the "Seven" Kingdoms of Westeros. They often clash with the great and smaller Houses of Westeros as they are tested time and time again to their right to rule. Not only for politics, they also fight religious sects and foreign threats and epidemics. Over the generations we'll meet Houses from as far north as the Wall to down near the Arbor in the southwest corner. Those familiar with Westeros will revisit or learn about how the Kingsroad was formed, how certain castles on the Wall were given their names and had been constructed, and of course, the creation of the Dragonpit and the capital city: King's Landing.

   Now this is a major factor which I have seen be its greatest strength or its greatest weakness. This novel reads as a history text, with wars and battles and celebrations and births and deaths galore. And plenty . . . plenty of characters to make this world feel larger than the book. I've seen many reviews where this is a deal breaker or where the heart of the story is completely sapped out because of the fact. But don't be dismayed, in true Martin fashion, there are still scandals, assassinations, kidnappings, murders, and tragedies that strike out the very names we become attached to. While I wrote down the names as I was introduced to a new character, Martin often explains who is who and how they're related to someone else in the text. Additionally, the format of the novel doesn't detract from the humor and wit of our scribes, who detail and source their accounts from others who directly or indirectly witnessed the events. But what is history but the stories that have been approved by the ruling country and its governments? Here we are met with unreliable sources and even with accounts being openly ambiguous and met with much debate. One of my favorite aspects of this tale was the fact that there were times people disappeared and there was never an answer given as to why, or deaths occurred and it was unclear if it had been one factor or another.

   All of this done with the magic of Martin's mastery of storytelling. In 700 pages, I rarely found myself unable to stay hooked to the saga, which stops about 150 years after Aegon's Conquest (shortly after the infamous Dance of Dragons—a pivotal point in Westerosi history for the Targaryen House and name). Fire and Blood is only the first part to their story in Westeros, with the second unpublished part I believe meant to fill in the gaps between the Dance of Dragons up until Robert's Rebellion, roughly another 150 years later. (I would love to read more about Aemon Targaryen, the last known Targaryen in Westeros at the start of A Song of Ice and Fire).

   If you can commit to reading a gripping story, then the pages will fly. It took me over a month, a bit longer than normal to read a GRRM novel, since I enjoyed making a Targaryen family tree along with the list of names, but you could easily read this in a few days or a few weeks, depending on your reading speed rate and free time. 

   Upon completing Fire and Blood (the first season of HBO'S House of the Dragon has already been finished for about a month), and I can tell you episodes 1-10—the amount of pages in the book that that time period covers—is about 10-20 pages. When I caught up with where the season ended, I laughed. It's insane, although entirely necessary, for the showrunners to have filled in much of the plotlines—with even the major time jumps between episodes not making much of a dent in the book. It's a given there will be differences from the book to the show, with certain people and events occurring differently than in the text, but something I really appreciated from the show was its illumination of ambiguities in the text, ambiguities due to complete mystery or different accounts contradicting the same event. I'm not sure where the show will decide to end—strictly following the Dance of the Dragons or going all the way to Robert's Rebellion (unlikely but I'd still watch it), however regardless, the show has plenty to work off of.

   Now this is Westeros so there are dragons. And dragons in their peak in Westerosi history. We meet Balerion and Vhagar and Vermithor and Caraxes, along with many minor dragons I'm sure we'll meet soon in the show: Sheepstealer, Stormcloud, Silverwing and more. Dragons are what made the Targaryens the rulers of Westeros. They are as colorful and charismatic and temperamental as their riders. They also serve as red herrings and surprises as their human counterparts. But, I warn you now, don't get too attached. 

   I won't reveal any spoilers, but because one of the things I love about Martin are the people he gives life to, I will list a few of my favorite characters to look out for, for good or for bad:

   Elissa Farman

   Aegon I Targaryen, Aegon the Conqueror

   Corlys Velaryon

   Racallio Ryndoon

   Aerea Targaryen

   Benjicot Blackwood

   Alyn Velaryon

   This list could have another twenty names. These are just some of my favorites. There are plenty others I enjoyed reading about and following on their adventures. 

   Safe to say, I have little to nothing to complain about of Fire and Blood. Only that I now need to wait for another GRRM series to be completed.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Quote:

"The world is like that— incomprehensible and full of surprises."

—Jorge Amado

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l

Next To Read: 

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Spoilers:

    Can I start off by saying I wrote down another list while reading, the list of unanswered mysteries of Westeros, and I ended with about 22 questions GRRM didn't or couldn't answer. Some of my top questions: What was in the letter that the Dornish Prince Nymor sent to Aegon I? Where did Aerea Targaryen go with Balerion for a year? Who killed the Rogares brothers a day apart from one another, across the sea from one another? Was that Elissa Farman's ship Corlys Velaryon saw in Asshai?

   I think that last one is one I feel if given the chance, I'd ask GRRM to answer for me. I feel the showrunners of Game of Thrones read about Elissa's character and tried to make Arya into that. I love Arya, but Elissa is a force to be reckoned with. Arya can be anyone she wants, let Elissa be the fearless sea adventurer.

   You know what, scratch that. My question to GRRM would be: are the three eggs Elissa stole from Dragonstone the same three dragon eggs Daenerys's receives three hundred years later? I mean, it can't be coincidence right??

   Also (I forget the page), but the scribes make a point to note how Viserys' rule was one of the best reigns in Westerosi history, but personally I found Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys Targaryen's rules much more interesting and beneficial to the kingdom than Viserys' rule. I felt all he did was have children and sow the seeds for future war by his inaction. Honestly I was okay with and it made sense that there was such little time spent in the novel devoted to his rule. As for his television counterpart, Paddy Considine did a phenomenal interpretation. I hope he wins awards for his role. All the awards. Every single one he's nominated for. In fact, the book counterpart deeply disappointed me (since at this time I had nearly finished the show when I reached Viserys in the book, so TV Viserys was my standard). Along with Rhaenyra. Book wise, disappointingly. Ironically, I felt the Dance of Dragons would better suit Princess Rhaena or Princess Rhaenys—both much stronger characters than Rhaenyra.

   Another few people I think the show added depth and better illumination to was Daemon and Aemond (who someone online rightly noted the anagram of the names and now I can't unsee it—now neither can you, you're welcome~~). Matt Smith did a phenomenal job as Daemon. It wasn't only how he was written. Smith knows how to play and exceed at playing a gray character and use charms and vices to their advantage to the benefit of the audience. However it was in part to the writing that Aemond is a much more complex character in the show than in the novel. In fact, Aemond was one of my favorite characters of the show. Honestly, I think he gets way too much hate. There were moments he tried to bond with his family and they teased, bullied, or ostracized him. Aemond lacked proper emotional support and add the stress of being in the royal household—with his unstable mother and power-hungry grandfather—they turned him into a villain. That being said, the showdown between uncle and nephew will be one of the ages. 

    Honorable shout out to Corlys Velaryon though. He survived everything and was still a man of integrity and character. I didn't expect to love him as much as I did.

    I am super happy they made a show though because like I mentioned earlier, I tried reading this twice before and gave up both times. But this has been one of my favorite reads of the year. I only wish Martin would release the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire. I read somewhere once that a reader felt Martin's writing wasn't that remarkable, but I never felt that way. There was actually a bit of humor in the accounts that I don't quite remember from A Song of Ice and Fire. 

    Dragons were to be expected in Fire and Blood and I loved every appearance they made. Their downfall, due to the ambitions of man, was hard to swallow. Almost more than some of the people. I attribute that to the fact that I know their end. By Daenerys's time, they are extinct, and it's heartbreaking to know such powerful, beautiful creatures will crumble much like the Targaryen name.

    The Winds of Winter and Blood and Fire—or whatever name is given to part 2, cannot come soon enough.

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

P.S. More favorite characters:
Jaehaerys Targaryen, "The Old King," "The Conciliator"

Alysanne Targaryen, "Good Queen Alysanne"

Queen Rhaenys Targaryen

Visenya Targaryen

Aemon Targaryen

Baelon Targaryen, "Baelon the Brave," "The Spring Prince," "The Silver Fool"

Daemon Targaryen

Princess Rhaenys Velaryon

Baela Targaryen

Rhaena Targaryen

Princess Meria Martell of Dorne, "The Yellow Toad of Dorne"

Torrhen Stark, "The King Who Knelt"

Rogar Baratheon

Septon Barth, Hand to Jaehaerys

Cregan Stark

Black Aly

Lord Marq Farman

Nettles

Maester Norren

Addam Velaryon

Samantha Hightower, "Lady Sam"

Grand Maester Orwyle

Thaddeus Rowan

Viserys II Targaryen

Pate the Woodstock

Lord of Barrowton

Prince Nymor of Dorne

P.P.S. If only the men at the Great Council of 101 AC declared Rhaenys Queen . . . 

The Marrow Thieves Book Review

 Rawr Reader,

Where has the year gone! I haven't written to you my dear reader in a while. I hope your reading voyages have fared well. Before completing this book I was as many books behind schedule for my 2022 reading goal of 30 as I've read so far this year (7!!). I hoped this would help me catch up and although it hasn't propelled me forward, it has been an excellent story to get me cracking open a book again.

I've been wanting to read a novel by a Native American (Is Native American still correct if they're Canadian?—if not I sincerely apologize. Reach out and I'll amend this review) with a fantasy twist in it. This story had a premise right up my alley.

The synopsis for The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline is provided by Goodreads:

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing "factories."

Reference:

I'm starting to lose sight of this section because as I add books to my To-Read list, I never remember where I learned of them. Safe bet: Goodreads. 

Review:

   The lands have changed.

   Set in the near future, the world is not what it was. Climate change has reforged the communities that have survived the drastic shift since our present, resource-devouring, world economy. One consequence of this shattered world is the people's inability to dream. At least, for the majority of the population. 

   The narrative follows one individual spared from this haunting nightmare. In fact, only those of Indigenous bloodlines still possess the ability to dream. The Marrow Thieves follows one such individual, Francis aka "Frenchie," who now spends his life on the run from Recruiters: people who have lost the ability to dream and who believe the cure can be found in the Indigenous people's bones.

   From Frenchie we meet other survivors, and across the desolate landscape they hope and dream and always, always stay on the move. Because they have survived. They must continue to survive.

   One thing I'd like to note is that the speculative elements aren't as prominent as I thought they'd be. It definitely leans more toward dystopia than fantasy. The wilderness has deserted buildings, remnants of the past we in the present day don't think twice about, scarce resources, and leaves the possibility of surviving until the next day as tentative as flipping a coin. We find this a buddying tone from page to page. Not to say it's gloomy clouds, tears shed every day the sun rises, only that you never forget the stakes. Getting caught means your life is over.

   And what's second best to having to endure this cruel world if it can't be with your family? Surviving with a found family. I am a huge sucker for this trope and Dimaline's found family in The Marrow Thieves doesn't disappoint. We have our two elders, our four young adults, and four younglings. All strangers, all coming at different points in time. Across the landscape of Canada they try to salvage the cultural nutrients from their toxic plight.

   One struggle for me—which was far and few between— was regarding Frenchie's chronological journey. There are time jumps that are apparent only nearing the end of the novel when stated explicitly and often times I had to reread a paragraph to ground myself and discern the accurate passage of time. At the beginning Frenchie is around 16, and even though weeks, months, years pass, he never quite outgrows his youthful mindset. And I don't mean that in a critical way toward the author or judgmental way toward the character, only a reflective one. Frenchie makes big decisions and his internal fears and longing for his family intertwines so well into the narrative, what at once I thought was jarring—a grown man having immature thoughts and behaving like a child—plays well into the trauma he's witnessed. He is in the older bracket of the group, however his old-fashioned concerns and traits mixed with this insecure—at times misguided—bravado, really shapes Frenchie and sets him apart from other young adult protagonists I've read. 

   Frenchie is a remarkably written character and the spotlight is on him most of the novel, however none of the other characters should be swept aside as being merely secondary. We have our twins: Tree and Zheegwon, who endearlingly share a hat at times in ticks of nervousness; our spark of light Riri, whose position as the youngest of the group doesn't displace her drive and commitment to being considered a responsible, capable member of the tight-knit community; Slopper, whose surface level laziness, fears, and selfish attitudes in truth parallel to present day immaturity in children, a lovely connection that kids are kids no matter the circumstances; Rose, our multi-racial member, whose headstrong nature isn't outweighed by her vulnerable concerns toward her new found family; Chi-Boy, the reticent eldest of the young adult subgroup, whose protective nature is a comforting blanket amongst the dystopian storm; Wab, our brooding member who has suffered unshakeable crimes and yet still shows the capacity to love and nurture and keep moving forward; Minerva, our female eldest whose grandmotherly nature is encapsulated in her wisdom and knowledge; and Miigwans, our male eldest and leader, whose experience and survival skills have enabled the found family to live to another day.

   All of them are more than my simple descriptions. They flesh out to such remarkable characters, I wanted to give you a peek into their personalities instead of simply listing them off. One of my favorite parts in the book (around pg. 79) is when Frenchie mentions he and the others asked Miigwans about the "Coming-to" story of one particular member, and Miigwans responded that everyone has to tell their own creation story at their own time. It isn't something to push. It's about respect.

   Respect. Duty. Responsibility. Miigwans teaches and instills these moral compasses into the group members during their travels. Even despite the circumstances. Even despite the lack of community; the lack of society. They are more than what is said of them. Their culture, their language, their ancestors. They themselves can survive. They must have the will to survive the harrowing world and all its failures.

   The Marrow Thieves is far more character-driven than plot-driven. A does plot exist, and while it accumulates to a climax—or several climaxes which may or may not dip its toes into magical realism, at its heart this is a story of survival. The twist is surviving more than the environment, more than outrunning the Recruiters; it's surviving to maintain your humanity, surviving to keep your heritage alive when the world wants to erase it, surviving to be who you are versus what this broken world wants to mold you to be.

   Which comes to my final note. Dream stealing isn't as literal as it sounds. Which both does and does not play into magical realism which I'll expand on further in the spoilers below. Are dreams simply internal and personal? Can dreams be something to be understood and shared with those in your close circle? Or are dreams simply stories? Should we address how different people define dreams? Dimaline does a fantastic job of presenting these questions and interweaving it into the narrative.

   These characters aren't perfect. They are tragically beautiful, flawlessly flawed, and a window into ourselves all through an exquisitely-depicted, marginalized lens. None of it would be impressible without the author, whose skill in her prose shines like a light in the dark. In my eyes, I think the story could only be improved by another 50 pages to better expand on certain topics. I'll mention a few in the spoilers below.

   I wish there were more Indigenous stories mainstreamed and female-written Indigenous stories circulating bookshelves and reader's hands. I'm only happy I stumbled across this and fell in love with the title. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I give his book 4.5 stars.

Quote:

"I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow."

—William Blake, "A Poison Tree"

(I finished watching the Peaky Blinder's final season and this William Blake quote from the first episode gave me chills.)

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read:

Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin

Spoilers:

   I do want to address that if Dimaline wanted dream-stealing to be literally about dreams, dreams themselves rarely take a role in the narrative. I was expecting more of them to unfold as they journeyed, more dreams of Frenchie's experiences or others' premonitions of the Recruiters/the future. But aside from the beginning, namely the first half of the novel . . . nada. Did you?

   Also I thought we'd see more scenes of Recruiters performing dream-stealing experimentation, like a subject being captured and us being given insight into the procedures and tortures of "dream stealing." This is the technical, scientific side. But what of the fantastical? We were given a taste of it when the Council's inside man in Espanola described Minerva's destructive episode, but it only ever remained a taste. Miigwans in the school, then escaping, then returning to the school to look for Isaac is the only other example we readers get into what the Recruiters are doing once caught—it's all snippets. I know keeping to the borders makes the schools seem more frightening from the group's point-of-view because they don't know what happens in detail, but me the reader wanted more. This reminded me a bit of my previous review of The Memory Police in which (*spoiler*) (*spoiler*) (*spoiler*) we don't get a definitive insight into how the Memory Police operates and who runs it and how they "erase"—which of course ties into its themes on dementia. (*end spoiler*) (*end spoiler*) (*end spoiler*) 

   My interpretation of dream-stealing means more about holding onto our humanity, holding onto Indigenous cultures and what makes their languages and customs special and worth protecting and preserving. Dreams can be preserving history and heritage. Frenchie's eagerness to hold onto his dreams after all he's lost by pursuing to learn more words from his elders about their ancestral language is heart-warming. He wants more than himself. He wants his culture to survive.

   I will address the big plot hole though. If they spent so much time together, why didn't Frenchie learn more words? How come none of the other members tried to learn more? Rose learned a little from Minerva but it was from small talk. Why didn't the elders push to teach their language as equally as they did about surviving? Is it a Native American custom to not be as open about teaching about history? Or is it merely reflective of the dire circumstances of this dystopian world? The only one who pushed to learn more aside from Frenchie was Riri, his adorable, trusty sidekick, and I really think 50 more pages would have been able to answer that appropriately.

   (I really just want more out of their story~) ;)

   A qualm I had, maybe even another plot hole, was concerning the sense of direction the group made during the narrative. My first issue with it was when the group kept saying they were going north and yet after *years* they never reached the North Pole or the Arctic Ocean. Is "travelling north" more like a True North situation? They go whichever direction they need to survive? The book never details them going south so I assumed they were literally always travelling north? 

   Another direction hiccup that I couldn't wrap my head around that I don't know is a story error or grammar error or just my personal misreading error, but halfway through the novel in the chapter "The Potential of Change" (around pg. 115) when the group comes across the strangers Travis and Lincoln it's stated they are camped WEST of their own camp. When discussing the options to confront them or avoid them, Miigwans first says they will continue travelling EAST to avoid the strangers, however after three days they make progress and eventually catch up to them. So what happened, did they end up going WEST? Or were the strangers always EAST and it was a typo? It's unclear.

   I would be remiss to never discuss the climax no one was present for (around pg. 172). (What a triumphant scene after a stone-skipping, domino fall of captured characters. My heart broke with Riri's death and with both the youngest and eldest's sudden departures from the family, this book was getting uncomfortably dark. But victory! Victory even if no one got to see it!) Minerva's song. Her song, her ancestors, that brought down the Recruiters institutions. I found it very powerful, exponentially so after the sacrifice she'd made to help the others escape. Our elders teach and guide, but they are as pivotal as leaders, as warriors, as healers, and as children. It's the one we overlook who may play the most important role. What a beautiful message along a beautiful story. 

  

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

The Memory Police Book Review

 Rawr Reader,

   While I failed my reading goal last year, I'm glad that I am having such a good start to 2022. Two books in just over two weeks? When in all honesty I really feel like I haven't spent any time reading? I'm feeling good about this year ya'll. 

   The synopsis for The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa is provided by Goodreads:

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. 

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning 

                                                           new work from one of the most exciting contemporary 

                                                                  authors writing in any language.

Reference:

   A little—okay maybe a lot ironic, but I don't remember where I first saw this. All I know is I added this to read on Goodreads in March 2020, around the time I really feel like time stopped for the world.

Review:

   Something I want to commit myself to doing more this year is reading non-American authors. Reading authors from other countries not only introduces you to obvious cultural differences in conversation and plots but also the contrasts and uniqueness of tones and structures. It's very refreshing. While stories that have been translated may lose some of its meaning, Ogawa and her translator Stephen Snyder handled a melancholy subject with grace and gentleness. Memories in this world are treasured by few and hunted by a faceless government whose greatest weapon seems to be of having no apparent goal. When we meet our unnamed narrator, there are no immediate national pressures for war, there are no internal politics, there are simply phenomena running parallel to magical realism in the sense things disappear from people's memories and the easy acceptance that follows in those losses in day-to-day life.

   One thing that pulled me into the story that I loved was its simplicity. Reminiscent of a children's story in worldbuilding and character casting, yet still heavy with the weight of its themes. Never once did I find the narrative an imposition. It's handled with the respect and carefulness it deserves. There are few named characters, no geographical markers in the formal sense of city or country names, so apart from few expository things being mentioned like kimonos and ramune, you could place this regimented, borderline fascist society anywhere in the world, anytime in the future. This is dystopian, without the sensation I normally characterize dystopian novels with. 

   Not to say this is about a writer simply rolling with the punches, she takes action and sets out to save her editor with a cape of heroism not seen in others in her community. The most heart-warming twist is that the man she saves in turn sets out to save her. They work on her novel together as they endeavor to survive this troubling time and the increasing loss of items and her memories attached to those items. 

   The novel the writer and her editor work on dances with the main narrative. While I won't go in depth about the details, I love how Ogawa has the unnamed writer explore the writing process, the theme of forgetting and powerlessness against it, and the struggle to want to remember when others seem to almost own the memories more than you who lived them. 

   Nearing the end you begin to see how things disappearing can worsen. In fact it's hard to believe what those extremes are, but stepping back, looking at what Ogawa is examining, the subject matter and its relation to the people in our lives, it seems natural that it would come to that conclusion. The ending is as gentle as the pacing of the storyline, like a leaf falling from its stem. Without rush. Without purpose. Life is lived in the fall and for me that's the beauty of The Memory Police.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Quote:

"I thought I could hear the sound of my memory burning that night."

"When the surface of your soul begins to stir, I imagine you want to capture the sensation in writing."

-Yōko Ogawa, The Memory Police

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read:

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Spoilers:

   It was near the end but I was ruined by Squid Games (spoiler ahead for the show!!!) (seriously don't read on if you haven't seen the show and plan to) (LAST last chance friends, okay continue at your own risk) but I believed that the old man was going to have something to do with the Memory Police. Or that there would be a man behind the curtain of it all. But this assessment is heavily influenced by Western storytelling and the need for action and death and an evil genius with an enviable laugh and a tangible reason behind the destruction and withering elements of a plot. Which I'm glad there wasn't since the story is literally about something you can't hold and see disappearing from your eyes but not necessarily from all others.

   The ending is rough for me. I needed to ruminate on it because of my conditioning to needing that man behind the curtain, but upon reading others' reviews and reflecting on the passing of time in the story, I am satisfied with this ending. It's not as open as I was led to believe nearing its final pages, but there is a delicate silence left remaining. The hidden man R finding the courage to leave his hidden space (although it was less courage than more means to survive as his source of food and other necessities had "disappeared") could be interpreted as either a physical release of colorful memories into the world that had become gray and lifeless, and also the spirit of the unnamed writer, whose main character had lost her voice had found freedom and escape. Did the unnamed writer find the escape her voiceless typist character couldn't? The unnamed writer's memories lived on in R and while her body may not continue on in life, his memories of her did. 

   One of my favorite moments, the most visually appealing, which was also one of the saddest moments in my eyes was the disappearance and "funeral" of roses. I could picture the town watching as the river of shades of red flowed into the ocean for days until the last of the petals were gone. Such a beautiful scene, and an omen for what would come.

   A heartwarming series of events was the realization that the unnamed writer wasn't the only one hiding someone who retained their memories. Who knows how many more people did it in fear of others finding out the truth. It's likely that there were more people hiding and sheltering these memory retainers than not. Which brings me to the real shining message (of people not necessarily about memories and TMP), that more people are decent in the face of injustice and confusion and will risk themselves to help someone else than not. We see it over and over again with the unnamed writer and the old man. We see it in unnamed townsfolk. It's sad that our protagonists both fade and pass on without us ever getting to know their names. But maybe that's what Ogawa wants. Us to remember their spirits more than their names. It's about how we feel about the memories, about how we feel about the people we made memories with, not specifics, not names. 

    Man what a story. I'm going to need to reread this soon.

   

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

The Sea Around Us Book Review

 Rawr Reader,

October was a taxing month. With work and trying to read a book a week, November became my wind down month reading wise, but still super stressful work wise so at the end of the day I only finished one book. I exhausted myself of fiction and wanted to take a break. I loved Silent Spring earlier this year and wanted to check out another one of Carson's works. Let's see how it fared.

The synopsis of The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson is provided by the 2018 edition published from the Oxford University Press:

Originally published in 1951, The Sea Around Us remains one of the most enduringly influential and beloved books ever written about the natural world. It has inspired generations of readers---future scientist among them---with its combination of insight and poetry. One of them was Sylvia Earle, a pioneer of deep-sea exploration and research, who introduces this new edition. For Earle and countless other readers, Carson's power lies in giving her readers the sense that "she was the living ocean, flowing in a continuously changing dance through time with islands and continents, the sea floor below, the skies above."

Reference:

   I read Silent Spring and this was listed first among her other works.

Review:

   What I love most about Carson's writing is that she interweaves history with science with literature and paints a mural that showcases the different studies and yet still cohesively creates a single image. Her storytelling is enlightening, enriching, and reflective. Carson doesn't shy away from showing how powerful and destructive the ocean is and has been for millions of years. At the same time she describes how sensitive the ocean and its inhabitants are against the whims of man. How seemingly predictable and immutable and endless it is but also how it has evolved over time. She discusses ocean currents, the tides, the winds, plankton, the ocean floor and the remnants of every creature that ultimately found its way onto its stygian depths, along with many other tiers of nature.

   What I take away most is while we have studied the ocean for sixty more years since The Sea Around Us was published, we're no less in the dark about what is found there and how animals survive and why animals rise from the depths to come to the surface but only at certain times. Our interest, our money, and our time is spent on beyond our atmosphere. Being that TSAU was written and published before the Space Race gained traction, Carson doesn't highlight the emphasis the world has had since the late 50s/early 60s looking beyond and not valuing what remains here. Even it had been post-Space Race kickoff, I don't think she would have. She doesn't need to. Carson focuses on what's here, what we have to marvel at. The ocean isn't just a tool for us, it isn't just a beauty to behold, it's a home and a filtration system and a power for us to respect as much as utilize.

   The ocean is a mystery, but it connects continents, allows trade, feeds communities, maintains economies—all man-focused benefits, not including what the ocean does for the planet itself like stabilizing the atmosphere, balancing world temperatures, even play a part in the rotation of the earth (with the trusted help of the moon). It's not only a vast expanse, it's the home to billions upon billions of creatures who rely on it to survive. 

   The details become minute, which is all the more impressive reminding oneself that this was pre-Internet and research was through books and networking and long stretches of patient study, because Rachel Carson was a brilliant mind and it displays in her language and how she portrays her deep love of the oceans. 

   

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Quote:

"And then, as never on land, he knows the truth that his world is a water world, a planet dominated by its covering mantle of ocean, in which the continents are but transient intrusions of land above the surface of the all-encircling sea."

—Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read:

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

Spoilers:

   While there isn't really much to spoil with my complete lack of expertise on marine biology and oceanography and related fields, and adding to the fact this was published over seventy years ago, it's safe to say there have been advancements in science that would make any "spoiler" something we might have already learned in high school or college.

   I would like to point out that Carson has a moving rhetoric of galvanizing her readers. Not in a dramatic sense, spewing propaganda like an election TV ad, however her rhetoric's calm and patient like the timeline of the oceans over time. Mankind is very much the guest. We have made our impact on earth in our short time here and as destructive as we can be, we cannot defeat the planet. It will always win against us. It will survive and recover, even if it takes thousands or millions of years after humans are gone. The planet will take care of us. 

   So long as we take care of it.

   

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

Infinite Country Book Review

Rawr Reader,

It's only when you stop looking that you find what you were looking for. Most people imply love, I imply book slumps. >_>

The synopsis for Infinite Country by Patricia Engel is provided by Goodreads:

At the dawn of the new millennium, Colombia is a country devastated by half a century of violence. Elena and Mauro are teenagers when they meet, their blooming love an antidote to the mounting brutality of life in Bogotá. Once their first daughter is born, and facing grim economic prospects, they set their sights on the United States.

They travel to Houston and send wages back to Elena’s mother, all the while weighing whether to risk overstaying their tourist visas or to return to Bogotá. As their family expands, and they move again and again, their decision to ignore their exit dates plunges the young family into the precariousness of undocumented status, the threat of discovery menacing a life already strained. When Mauro is deported, Elena, now tasked with caring for their three small children, makes a difficult choice that will ease her burdens but splinter the family even further.

Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself the daughter of Colombian immigrants and a dual citizen, gives voice to Mauro and Elena, as well as their children, Karina, Nando, and Talia—each one navigating a divided existence, weighing their allegiance to the past, the future, to one another, and to themselves. Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality for the undocumented in America, Infinite Country is the story of two countries and one mixed-status family—for whom every triumph is stitched with regret and every dream pursued bears the weight of a dream deferred.

Reference:

Bookseller newsletters.

Review:

   I think there should be a petition to make this book mandatory to be read in high school. 

   Not only is this a beautiful, tragic story, it's woven and stitched with so much heart and perseverance and empathy and spirit. We explore the two generations, from the parents' youth to the end of their three children's adolescence, straddling two eras that shaped one generation for a life they could never prepare for in another foreign land. And Engel knows how to write. I borrowed this as a digital copy from my library—but I highlighted so many lines.

    While it's been some time since I read it, Infinite Country reminded me a lot of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. They both follow young children having to face the mercilessness of the real world at an early age, and while they both face tribulations, they endure because they believe what life could be is worth enduring through the ruthlessness of the present. Both stories follow hard times for these families, as books tend to do I know, but you just can't get them out of your head. Life is so beautiful because they're able to endure and remain hopeful.

   What was a pleasant surprise from the narrative was the inclusion of South American mythology incorporated in Talia's chapters. The stories her father as child told her were more than childhood comforts, they connected her to her distant family and guided her on her way back to them. This dive into Colombian folklore felt so rich and magical and inserted in the story to exist as Talia's lifeline when circumstances turned for the worst. And maybe for us as readers too.

   Engel also brilliantly folded the children's nationalities overtop one another. The oldest Karina is born in Colombia, raised in the States. Nando is born and raised in the States. Then Talia is born in the States, raised in Colombia. While I won't get into how and why this was done, I really loved how beautifully simple and complex Engel wrote their lives.

   All the praise to the author because something else she brilliantly showcases throughout her story is the penetrating fear of deportation. Every decision Elena and Mauro make is for their family, and they make difficult choices to avoid the dreaded circumstance of being taken away, or worse, separated. They want a safer, happier life than the violent and poor life they left behind in Colombia, however over the months and years they understand the States may not be the fantasy told to them. But it's very much a real fear because Americans with citizens as their protective shield commit all sorts of crimes and immoral acts to manipulate, take advantage of, and humiliate foreigners who only want a good, peaceful life. While I'm not Colombian, I am Hispanic, and felt it very easy to resonate with the struggles this family went through. 

   Set upon a contemporary backdrop, this narrative jumps to the present, because this isn't about a third world nation centuries, even decades ago. The people living like this are a short flight away in the very same world as untouchable to us as we are to them. Immigrants are not a burden on society. They are not criminals. They are just people who don't have the United States of America as their country of origin on their passports. We can't stereotype. The government and society need to do better in protecting immigrants and children of immigrants because if we look deeper, we'll become more compassionate and more worldly to the circumstances in other countries. Because logically, why would people who have good lives uproot and abandon everything they know just to ruin someone's ordinarily boring life? 

   At the root of Infinite Country, much like Encanto which I watched last week in the theater, is family. It's tenacity. It's love. It's life and moving forward, not just moving on.

   And any book that can make me get teary-eyed, which to this day is only four books (The Fellowship of the Ring, Noughts & Crosses, this one, and honestly another book although I forgot which one so okay I guess it doesn't count so just three books . . . ) deserves all the stars. I can't wait to read another one of Engel's books.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Quote

(soooo many good ones but I'm gonna go with my top three): 

"I hate the term undocumented. It implies people like my mother and me don't exist without a paper trail."

"I remember wondering what it must feel like to belong to American whiteness and to know you can do whatever you want because nobody you love is deportable."

"I told her I understood what it was to want to create justice to fix an injustice even if my justice could be considered a crime." 

-Infinite Country, Patricia Engel

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read:

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Spoilers:

   Chapter Nineteen for me is when it really started to get good. I really appreciated Engel brought the other two siblings forward and gave them their own voice. While not formatted as a letter, I felt the voices of the two American-raised kids, particularly Karina who I had highlighted a bunch of lines from her chapters, sounded very authentic. Karina is a highly intelligent woman who unfortunately cannot show her true potential because she would risk her anonymity. Nando is a middle child who wants to do more but can't, and is probably forgotten about more than the eldest or the missing youngest. I'm not a middle child but I felt for him.

   While Talia might get most of the trophies for being strong and independent, I have to acknowledge and nominate Elena because she is exactly the sort of female character I love to read about. The power of a mother. Mothers are the strongest creatures on Earth and Engel kindly showed us and not told. But Mauro has a place in my heart because yes, Latin men can be sensitive and faithful and family-oriented while still have their downfalls and flaws.

   Immigration policies in America are and will be a political debate for a long time. I know one book can't suddenly change the mind of someone who believes immigrants should be sent back no questions asked, however I do think this one book can definitely make the subject open for discussion and even lead the way to understanding. I haven't read a book about immigration that's hit so hard before and it's probably because there isn't a lot of positive, commercialized narratives on Hispanic people persevering and living, but I definitely think this deserves a place on my bookshelf.

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel