A review by lesserjoke
Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro

4.0

Although the narrative loses a little focus and momentum in its back half, for the most part this is a strikingly original post-apocalyptic fantasy, rich in #ownvoices Latinx cultural details and queer representation and distinctive in structure as one long chapterless text addressed in second-person to the heroine's sun-god. She's a sort of sin-eater for her desert community, literally banishing people's demons by hearing their confessions -- which she then recounts Scheherazade-like as nested tales within her ongoing prayer -- and the story ends up being about her interior journey to define herself beyond that role more than the nominal plot that sends her away from home in the first place. It's a slow-paced but arresting piece of magical realism, and while it doesn't all entirely work for me, I really admire the ambition and the craft that author Mark Oshiro has brought to such a clearly personal project.

[Content warning for gore.]

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