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I've seen some reviews that I think were a bit confused by the framing, or maybe some for whom it just didn't work for them. The framing is that you are reading a sort of letter left by a woman after the world is ending, hoping but uncertain if her last writing will ever be read. I think there are some "I'm writing my story" narratives that are really no different from the usual way a story would be told except for the use of personal pronouns and perhaps some perspective differences, and perhaps that's what some were expecting. But nope. This lady is baffled by her past actions, and pretty bitter, even a bit self-loathing maybe. It really makes sense though, and the way that Vandermeer weaves in factoids and statistics about extensions sticks with you.

I won't lie, it's a grim read. And it hits close to home. This was published in 2021, probably written in 2020 and IT SHOWS. But in a beautifully subtle way...this witness to the end of the world is so busy she barely records it ending.

There's a quote I doubt I'll ever forget. I listened so I can find it or copy it easily, but in one of the narrator's meditations, she talks about the petering out of the last hummingbirds, about their great migrations, and how there must have been a last migration. The valor of those last birds. Both their fading hope, but also the moments of rest and peace and joy along the way. Before the end.

It's a fairly short read. If I have any critique of the book, I think it probably could have been shorter. I think it might have tried just a bit too hard to be a "normal" thriller. On the other hand, I'm not sure the author could have sold her emotional journey quite as well.

Although I know physicists and our like can be insufferable when approaching another field, I do wish writers would let go of this tired trope of the anti-curious "scientist" who always works on the big name projects and has a mental breakdown if the textbooks are wrong. For heavens sake most of us are nerds that read science fiction and fantasy for fun, and even those that don't are immersed in a culture defined by genre fiction. Any physicist I know would just be fascinated by a magical world that doesn't match "real" world observations.

All that being said, the story told by the book was sweet and entertaining. Yambao's imaginative world of ideas and imagination is compelling and satisfyingly strange. The twists and turns of the story keep the action moving, although a few of the stops felt like they were there just for the neat idea. I was entertained by them though, so I can't say I'm sad they were there.

An excellent book.

Although I know physicists and our like can be insufferable when approaching another field, I do wish writers would let go of this tired trope of the anti-curious "scientist" who always works on the big name projects and has a mental breakdown if the textbooks are wrong. For heavens sake most of us are nerds that read science fiction and fantasy for fun, and even those that don't are immersed in a culture defined by genre fiction. Any physicist I know would just be fascinated by a magical world that doesn't match "real" world observations.

All that being said, the story told by the book was sweet and entertaining. Yambao's imaginative world of ideas and imagination is compelling and satisfyingly strange. The twists and turns of the story keep the action moving, although a few of the stops felt like they were there just for the neat idea. I was entertained by them though, so I can't say I'm sad they were there.

An excellent book.

Sanora Babb grew up on one of those midwestern farms that got hit by the dust bowl. She grew up with those people. She was one of those people. She was also probably one of the most remarkable women to ever grace this country. While working in aid camps, she compiled notes of experiences refugees shared with her, and from those notes, and her own childhood experiences, she wrote a book about the experiences of the refugees. She even got a publisher to agree to publish it. But then one of the most famous authors in America publish a remarkably similar book (John Steinbeck, the Grapes of Wrath), and the publisher pulled out of the deal. Who would read a book by an unknown author when a very similar book was already flooding the market?

It turns out that the manager of the camp Sanora Babb was working at, one Tom Collins, had invited John Steinbeck to visit the camp for a week so that he might write a book about their experiences. To assist in the project, Tom Collins gave Steinbeck a collection of his employees' notes, most of which were written by Babb herself. It seems neither Steinbeck nor Babb knew at the time that this had happened. Tom Collins though, he had to know. F*** him for that.

Fortunately, Sanora Babb was able to get her book published eventually....in 2004. And this is that book. And it is SO much better than The Grapes of Wrath.

To begin where my own experience of this book began, the cover art for this book is stunning, and a significant part of what drew me to it. When I put this book on hold in my library app, it was one I looked forward to the most. It didn't disappoint.

Emilia has no particularly special abilities. She is fairly clever, well read due to growing up with a school teacher for a farther, but most of all she is sure of herself, and willing to take bold risks in search of the adventure she craves. Her extraordinary story stems most of all from her restlessness, and its infectious.

Taking place at the edge of the popular consciousness (for US folks at least), we get to know an early San Francisco and Los Angeles at a time when their domination of the pacific coast was far from assured, when in fact they were small players compared to the powerful trade empire of a nation like Chile. And we see how foreign fueled political conflict begins the process of weakening Chile's hold on Pacific trade. We are also introduced to the culture and landscape of a nation that is far too often less than a footnote in US cultural consciousness.

A memorable book that was damn hard to put down. It turns out you can judge this book by its cover.

The book was originally published in 2015, which means it is a solid decade of intense discussion out of date. I think the shift from "person with autism" to "autistic person" had only just begun, and though the author acknowledges it, he still chooses the more outdated language. In fact, his explanation for why "autistic person" makes sense was much better articulated than his explanation for why he used "person with autism". To me, it read as a mind in the process of changing.

If you read this book and follow what it says, I think you will be on the right track. There are some nuances, such as the credence given for Asperger's as a diangosis which read as particularly dated, and I suspect a few of the people (particularly those that advocate for "Asperger's") that he promotes might have since drifted in more problematic directions. If you follow the right detour you might find yourself in Aspie Supremacy, but as long as you avoid that, I think this book has few pitfalls.

I also think, lastly, that this book is written primarily to parents, less to other caregivers. In particular, he avoids criticizing parents, not touching the question of parents that don't have the "it" factor, as he discusses at length for caregivers and other service providers. In light of this book being intended for parents, that makes sense: he doesn't want to alienate his readers. Given the value of what he has to share, I can accept that. But for those out there that are not parents, just know that the entire discussion of people that get "it" most definitely also applies to some parents of autistic kids.