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REVIEW: Who Wants To Live Forever by Hanna Thomas Uose


Yuki and Sam are soulmates.

They are destined to spend the rest of their lives together.
They are supposed to love one another, forever.

But when a miracle drug is released which can extend a human's life indefinitely, Sam chooses to live forever, instead of loving Yuki forever - and the world they know is spun inside out.

Review:

I was not ready for this. Romantic, breathtakingly bittersweet, time bending and beautifully poetic - Who Wants to Live Forever is a timeless tale about humanity, love and loss.

Starting with immediately crafting the most stunning settings - a cool spring in Tokyo, 2039 or a rainy London afternoon in 2019 with such vivid intensity that I could smell the cherry blossoms and wet grass; and it only got better, with tiny details that created in-depth scenes, small notes that fully immersed us in the story.

The story moved weirdly, but it works — almost dreamlike, moving easily from scene to scene and slipping from the past and future and across continents with brilliant pacing, meandering through different stories and places first, taking just enough time to let us settle before time marches slowly onwards.

We meet Yuki as a young idealistic liberal woman; speaking out against the political, social and healthcare concerns an untested immortality drug could bring and I fell in love with her. Strong, outspoken, realistic but always desperately hoping for good things and not accepting reasons why they’re not possible. And of course, she makes us wonder too — what would we do in that situation? 

As we watch Sam and Yuki, scientist and creator Frank, new loves and the other players from above, snapshots of life - science, heartbreak, love, friendship, work - slowly merging together to create a complex tapestry of people and places — fragmented little moments that work together and create one amazing story. Almost like a fly on the wall, we watch all the characters in the third person moving between them; at first it was dizzying switching so quickly but it soon falls into a familiar and easy to follow style that resembles a dreamscape more than a straight narrative. And while we look away for a moment, we see how society has changed around our cast - people living more, or being even more scared of dying, people dividing and new rifts and communities forming all around. 

If you’re looking for something neatly wrapped up, this isn’t going to give you that satisfying rounded conclusion; at first the ending felt entirely out of character based on the style of the storytelling throughout but once I’d sat with it for a moment, it worked in an oddly real way.

Love a sweepingly thoughtful sci-fi with a side of romance and existential moral crises? Here you go!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • WWTLF is available from March 27th with Octopus Publishing
  • I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for a review. 




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