Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - And What Can We Offer You Tonight

And What We Can Offer You Tonight packs a lot into a novella-length work: richly described setting, enough world-building to know what's going on while leaving a lot of the societal background vague, beautiful writing, and some complex themes. Mohamed can definitely write, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more from her.
What didn't work for me in this one was the character development. Everyone felt very two-dimensional and, in conflict with the story's themes, characters were entirely defined by their social roles. I feel like characters' social positions -- rich sexist man, exploitative brothel owner, etc. -- are here treated like they're personality traits: there doesn't seem to be a lot else going on even with the main characters.

Content Warnings

annamorgan27's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“And the priest said, Blessed are the bodies, and we said, Whose bodies. And he said, Yours. Yours.”

TITLE—And What Can We Offer You Tonight

AUTHOR—Premee Mohamed

PUBLISHED—2021

GENRE—speculative fiction; sci-fi

SETTING—futuristic city with canals

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—community & spirituality, justice & revenge, capitalism/anti-capitalism, economic slavery, socioeconomic & political oppression, sex work, futuristic worldbuilding

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—“Can you die of this, can you die of memory?”

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I am angry and then I am angry that I am angry. And all of this I have to shove under the cool surface of my smile, and hold its head there till it stops struggling.”

Oof! Such a short novella that packs in SO much goodness. I love when books aren’t a word longer than they need to be. I loved everything about this one—the story, the characters, the subtle worldbuilding and visceral atmosphere, the writing style, the philosophy—it was an easy five-star read for me. I’m always here for a good speculative fic story that champions community-first values and anti-capitalist sentiments while incorporating a good revenge story in there for good measure. Highly recommended! And it’s short so what do you have to lose. 😉

“You fell far, I wanted to tell her, but you have fallen into our arms, and we will carry you as best we can.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // sex work (not explicit), murder, capitalist injustice, oppression & exploitation (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

Bitter, & Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi
How Long Til Black Future Month, by NK Jemisin
The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis

Favorite Quotes…

(For such a short novella, this book had SO many incredible quotes I have to share more of my favorites…)

“Cemeteries in the city have been mostly built over… The few left are guarded like prisons, and only for the use of the very rich. …everyone [else] just puts their dead into a canal. Lots of those around. Free, too. Once, I know, there was an idea of eternal life, or life after death, but everyone has abandoned that idea except them, the rich I mean, who are like another species. We have not even given our god a name. Maybe in another thousand years.”

“Yes, now, when we are set free, like fairies in a story, from our bondage, and fly the wide woods… but that itself is a fairy story. We are still bound.”

“For you don’t climb to us. You fall only, you don’t climb. She had fallen, or been thrown. Now she would never rise again. A long sad time, never.”

“And the priest said, Blessed are the bodies, and we said, Whose bodies. And he said, Yours. Yours.”

“You fell far, I wanted to tell her, but you have fallen into our arms, and we will carry you as best we can.”

“May they sicken and die. May they go unremembered.”

“The way you hate to hear that you are right about an abomination.”

“…a sanctuary not because it was safe but because it was sacred.”

“In life we are paid to imitate art.”

“Why do I keep thinking about possession? The gods don’t need our bodies.”

“We still say: bird in a gilded cage. But better a cage than an oven.”

“Imagine Beowulf showing up only to discover the Danes protecting Grendel, guarding him while he eats their people.”

“What will she bring upon us if she does what she says she will do? It would be like an earthquake.”

“We should be used to the world in which the victim is punished instead of the instigator but something inside us still cries out that it is wrong, not just logistically wrong, causatively or chronologically wrong, but wrong in some other way as well. Something deeper. More cellular.”

“Not justice, no. She won’t mete out justice. But as close as we can get, because no one else is handing it out these days either, the so-called authorities are not for people like us except in the sense that we may sometimes be on the receiving end.”

“Why can I not be as brave and careless as her? (Because I am alive, because I am still alive.)”

“Can you die of this, can you die of memory?”

“…the eager lichen that eats dirty air…”

“…there’s nothing more dangerous (the city teaches us) than someone who’s got nothing left to lose.”

“I am filled with so much hate sometimes that I wonder that whatever rich bastard grunts and pants above me cannot smell it coming through my skin. But maybe that’s how you get rich or at least how you stay rich: you ignore that smell, which is given off by everyone around you.”

“We have nothing to love but each other.”

“For a second I am wild with anger and I wonder how I ever thought of self-destruction when it is so clear that it is the world that needs to be thrown off something high…”

“You’re allowed to hate gods, after all. Because they are allowed to smite you.”

“I am angry and then I am angry that I am angry. And all of this I have to shove under the cool surface of my smile, and hold its head there till it stops struggling.”

“…because if you had to choose between a fight you could not win, and trying to feed yourself and your family, you made the choice. An easy one. I had done it, growing up. Most of us have.”

“They think boot polish gives you magical powers and the more you lick the closer you come to god.”

“If you do this, you’re no better than them.” … “What a boring saying. When has that ever convinced anyone? In a movie, maybe. I don’t care if I’m better than them. It’s not a contest.”

“To live well, they say, is the best revenge. But if it’s suffering she wants in her revenge, why not let them suffer in the way that only life can manage?”

“…hold one another close, and hold one another up.”

“Wet as the church is, steeped from foundation to windows with seawater, it still burns; hotly at the top, subdued and smoky at the bottom, twisting with curious colours from the centuries of salt, lichen, moss, chemicals, pollution, everything we deposited in it, everything the world deposited on it.”

Content Warnings

bookishyarn's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

peculiarb's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

And What Can We Offer You Tonight' by Premee Mohamed took me on an unexpected journey.
From the blurb and the page number, I was expecting a quick mystery, instead I got a deep and emotional tale about one woman's choice between freedom and comfort.

Since this is a short book, I'll keep the review short and say I really liked it. The story is brimming with themes of loss, disconnect from one's culture, and what one does to survive. Jewel is a prostitute in a famous establishment when her friend dies, then comes back to life. Win is bent on revenge, but Jewel struggles with the idea as it would overturn the little she's gained so far, making this book intensely introspective.
If you're looking for a light, fun read then this book isn't for you. However if you're willing to brave an emotional and, at times, heart-wrenching tale with moments of action, and an ending that makes you question whether 'happy ever after' really IS the best way to go, then don't hesitate to pick this up!

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