2treads's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
-Water does not battle, nor fight making itself. Water moves collectively to achieve its aims- The Book of the Ark
Newland uses precise and lean prose to bring his world to life: no slavery, no colonization, yet still society is hierarchical and capitalistic. I haven't read a book quite like this one and wanted to see where the author was going with it and was not disappointed.
Markriss gets to enter the Ark, built to house the haves and welcome those of talent and intellect, but is surprised to find that even here there are levels of prosperity and rigid segregation.
The sense of family and community is strong, the bonds of friendship and obligation, the tenuous hold on both, and facing the role we play in a fight in which we are integral.
The reality of what is purported and what life is truly like within the walls and towers of the Ark becomes quite clear to Markriss once he is inside. Black experiences and identity are everywhere within this narrative, the good, bad, and everything in between.
Speech, expression and representation is heavily controlled and any image of the Ark that makes it outside the walls is sanitized and packaged in ways that do not besmirch its 'field of gold' persona.
The influence of spirituality and cosmology is felt throughout this work, I loved the exploration of parallel existences, who we are at any shared time in different dimensions and what that would be like if experienced and what cascading changes would occur from actions taken in a time and space not our own.
The depiction of how culture, art, movement, and spiritual beliefs/leanings are utilized in whatever struggle our community faces; how we use it to celebrate and memorialise, is a facet that was embedded within this work and I appreciated it immensely.
Newland uses precise and lean prose to bring his world to life: no slavery, no colonization, yet still society is hierarchical and capitalistic. I haven't read a book quite like this one and wanted to see where the author was going with it and was not disappointed.
Markriss gets to enter the Ark, built to house the haves and welcome those of talent and intellect, but is surprised to find that even here there are levels of prosperity and rigid segregation.
The sense of family and community is strong, the bonds of friendship and obligation, the tenuous hold on both, and facing the role we play in a fight in which we are integral.
The reality of what is purported and what life is truly like within the walls and towers of the Ark becomes quite clear to Markriss once he is inside. Black experiences and identity are everywhere within this narrative, the good, bad, and everything in between.
Speech, expression and representation is heavily controlled and any image of the Ark that makes it outside the walls is sanitized and packaged in ways that do not besmirch its 'field of gold' persona.
The influence of spirituality and cosmology is felt throughout this work, I loved the exploration of parallel existences, who we are at any shared time in different dimensions and what that would be like if experienced and what cascading changes would occur from actions taken in a time and space not our own.
The depiction of how culture, art, movement, and spiritual beliefs/leanings are utilized in whatever struggle our community faces; how we use it to celebrate and memorialise, is a facet that was embedded within this work and I appreciated it immensely.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence and Police brutality
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