encgolsen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My daughter recommended this one, knowing my penchant for near-future speculative fiction. This melancholy novel follows Aya, a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, as she works at her job training a new AI, translates a Tamil text about a group of female medical students on a spiritual journey, and reconnects with an old friend who is now an up and coming artist. A sense of hopelessness and a dreamlike lack of agency prevail throughout.
ellozx's review against another edition
not my cuppa tea, the writing is really pretty but the plot is hard for me to follow n i feel like it’ll be one of those forgotten books
might come back to it one of these days but i doubt it
might come back to it one of these days but i doubt it
candelario_epub's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dennyabraham's review against another edition
I do not recommend this book or books like it for others or myself
annotatewithsara's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory — Joseph Brodsky”
Like Yaadra’s voice at the 9th second, it’s almost too hard to hear the love story under the roar of other waves in this novel. But, I stand firmly in my conviction that Meet Us By the Roaring Sea, is at its heart, a queer love story — the love the nearly unnamed main character Aya feels for her childhood friend Sal. Their love began in girlhood and had a chance to rekindle in adulthood when they reconnected because of parental loss and to make art together. I still ache after reading the book wondering if Aya’s desire for intimacy was satisfied by memory or love.
I love this book so much and its hypnotic fragmented narrative, so peppered with clues and beautiful quotes. Reading felt like floating on gorgeous mysterious waves.
I had lots of questions when I finished the book, most of which I’ve answered with careful close rereading, but my favorite question to ask still is, What was on Ricky’s hard drive? It’s rewarding to go back through the text, reading Ricky’s scenes and hypothesizing what he offered up to Bogey.
At the time of writing this, there is not a lot of information on the internet parsing out the secrets of this book, but there is a February 2023 interview in The Brooklyn Rail that Akil Kumarasamy does with her colleague John Greene. In it, she is so generous in sharing insights. I highly recommend reading it.
https://brooklynrail.org/2023/02/books/John-Keene-in-conversation-with-Akil-Kumarasamy
ahhhh123's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
starzhang1121's review against another edition
3.75
This is a very strange, meandering, stream-of-consciousness type novel where the main storyline uses second-person narration. It's not for everyone; the "plot" is loose but the writing is beautiful.
itsjennie's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book, from the prose, to the vignette-style entries, to the interleaving of the second person and first person plural storylines, has a distinct, beautiful yet at times grotesque, dreamlike quality. Unfortunately, like a dream, the contents slip quickly from memory as soon as you set it down.
erraticeldandil's review against another edition
3.75
I like the two stories in this independently, especially the near future SciFi depiction but I didn't really see the connection and felt like it jerked me between them too much for me to really enjoy the read. I'm sure someone reading deeper than I would be able to get something out of it but I do not personally feel that urge.