Another BookTube Prize selection for 2023, this was not a book I even had on my radar, let alone my TBR. And it was not at all what I expected, based on the very little I read before picking it up. Rather than a true novel, this book takes the form of a series of interconnected short stories that chart the progression of an ancient pathogen, from its unearthing by archaeologists who are exploring an area in the Arctic, to its spread and the devastation it causes throughout the world. Some of the stories are directly connected. One is about the actual archaeologist who unearthed an ancient skeleton that harboured the virus. Another is a macabre account of an actor working at an amusement park whose function is not to entertain families, but to give them one last moment of joy before fatally ill children are euthanized to save them from a horrible and painful death. Another deals with the slow demise of robotic pets who are a connection to their previous owners – in some cases the last connection to a lost family member.
It’s not a cheerful book, obviously. I didn’t enjoy reading it, because I don’t think that’s the point of this particular book. It explores the implications of a widespread pandemic in both current and future times. It looks at how people react, what they will do to save or spare loved ones, and the horrible wrench when it is children who are the ones who cannot survive. It looks at the interplay between technology and a situation of this nature, and how it can both help and cause pain. But mostly it looks at humanity, and what it means to be part of the world, of a family, of a community and of a dying race.
There are twists and turns, and the twist at the end is one I did not see coming (and will say nothing about). It’s a really interesting concept for a book, and much of the writing is unflinchingly explorative and opens up new mindscapes for the reader. In some ways I’m glad I went into it not knowing anything, because figuring it out as I went along made it more powerful. At the same time, given the subject matter, it was jarring to find myself in this apocalyptic and horrifying narrative, and to live through some of the experiences the characters had.
I wondered often as I was reading how I would have felt about this book if it weren’t for two things: being a parent to a young child who has dealt with medical issues, and the proximity of our own worldwide pandemic. These two things collided in me while I read and made it a nearly unbearable experience. The pandemic isn’t over for me – I have medical issues and still live in dread of what COVID-19 could and will do to a body that’s already anything but healthy – so it’s not a comfortable topic for me to visit, even in fiction. And being a parent has made it really difficult for me to read any book that deals with the loss, death or suffering of a child. It’s something I actively avoid and am not at all happy to encounter. This being a Prize book, I had to keep going with it, but I can guarantee you that, in other circumstances, I would not have. I don’t think that would have led to any regret down the road.
Because of the discomfort I experienced while reading this book, it is hard for me to assess it objectively. It’s not a type of book I’d ever gravitate towards, even without the personal trigger points. It’s just not my jam. But I can see why it has been getting the attention it has. It’s a unique structure, the different stories are skillfully woven into a complete narrative, and it continually offered new and interesting ideas and twists. Some of the characters have stuck with me, as have some of the emotions that they evoked. I think that for those who lack my particular sensitivities and are fans of this type of speculative fiction, this book will probably be a home run.
A debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague.
Beginning 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 journey spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe. – Goodreads
Book Title: How High We Go in the Dark
Author: Sequoia Nagamatsu
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook
Published By: William Morrow
Released: January 18, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Pandemic
Pages: 304
Date Read: August 15-20, 2023
Rating: 6/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.84/5 (51,935 ratings)
BookTube Prize 2023 Ranking: 5/6