How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu

Genre: Speculative Fiction | Literary Fiction

Release Date: Expected 18th January 2022

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Nobody really knows what is lurking beneath them - not even Dr Cliff Miyashiro. When he arrives at the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his late daughter, he finds that underneath the melting ice a virus is waiting to take hold of the world above.

The consequences spread further than anyone could have imagined - it doesn't just ravage through the continents, but throughout time as humanity try to fight this plague. Whether a scientist, a comedian, a mother, a teenager or an astronaut, humanity tries, fails and tries again to survive and thrive in the face of danger.

This beautifully moving collection of carefully interlaced short stories from across time and space manages to show thousands of years of life and death in a totally mesmerising way.

Nagamatsu creates an engrossing universe with euthanasia rollercoasters, unbelievable virtual reality and interstellar voyages juxtaposed with the sobering and very timely reality of living with a virus looming over the world at all times.

The writing is clear, simple, it doesn't describe or detail the characters or places but still invokes beauty and emotion throughout. Each character is masterfully created to show the resilience and complexity of the human condition, keeping us just out of reach and isolating the reader while still creating a sense of kinship with each and every one. Each characters story weaves into another in a rich tapestry that grows as each page turns and flows seamlessly despite the sheer force of this novel.

This is a surprisingly tender look not only inwards but at the beautiful connections we have not only with the people we know, but the people who have come before and after us - and the burdens and dangers that can carry across time on our shoulders.

Make no mistake, this story takes you to the darkest depths of humanity but then reminds you to look up and realise how high we can really go, even in the dark.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

CW: Euthanasia, death, pandemics, viruses, child death, terminal illness.

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