Review 330: How High We Go in the Dark

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book surprised me. It’s almost a series of short stories, as every chapter begins with new characters, yet it is all the same world and time advances. It begins around 2030 with a father going to the artic where his daughter recently died, and an ancient girl was discovered. Unfortunately, the remains had a virus that ends up creating a pandemic.

Here is where I wondered if I should stop reading. Did I really want to read about a fictional pandemic while in the (hopefully) tail end of a real one? Well, the writing pulled me in, quickly connecting strongly with the characters.

Later as the years pass, decades, there may be a connection to previous characters, such as the father’s granddaughter is a main person in a later chapter. These recurrences and calls to previous chapters help knit the book together in an interesting way.

I will definitely look for and read what Sequoia Nagamatsu writes next. Maybe even read this one again.

Read June 27-28, 2022