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A review by shellbellbell
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
5.0
I've only read a few things by this author, and her language is always so beautiful and poetic. The same is true here, in a story about a beautiful, dangerous, fantastical city that you can only reach by having sex with someone who's been there.
There are a number of subjects that Valente writes about here with a special poetry. First off, is the city itself. The little interludes spaced out throughout the book give us dream-like glimpses. It sort of reminded me of a less-grimdark New Crobuzon from China Mieville's novels, only because he's the only other author I've read who writes about cities with such passion.
There is also SO MUCH about trains. TRAINS. The romance of trains. Those parts were like, tailor-made for me. Other subjects that get written about a lot in poetic fashion: bees, locks and keys, book-binding.
And the sex. There is a lot of sex in this book, as you can imagine, but it never feels like it's in there just for titillation, or for the male gaze. There are hetero and homo pairings, but the sex scenes are always about the individuals involved, and that feels kinda queer? And just like people, just like real life, the sex ranges from wild and passionate to dull and practical, to desperate and sad. I was impressed with the author's ability to write so many sex scenes and have them all feel different.
I definitely recommend this novel for the language alone, particularly if you have long stretches of time to sit and read it. It was harder to dip in and out of in short bursts. Much more rewarding to just sit and read for an hour at a time.
Representation notes: Queer sex and relationships. One of the main characters is Japanese.
Content warnings: Suicide, incest.
There are a number of subjects that Valente writes about here with a special poetry. First off, is the city itself. The little interludes spaced out throughout the book give us dream-like glimpses. It sort of reminded me of a less-grimdark New Crobuzon from China Mieville's novels, only because he's the only other author I've read who writes about cities with such passion.
There is also SO MUCH about trains. TRAINS. The romance of trains. Those parts were like, tailor-made for me. Other subjects that get written about a lot in poetic fashion: bees, locks and keys, book-binding.
And the sex. There is a lot of sex in this book, as you can imagine, but it never feels like it's in there just for titillation, or for the male gaze. There are hetero and homo pairings, but the sex scenes are always about the individuals involved, and that feels kinda queer? And just like people, just like real life, the sex ranges from wild and passionate to dull and practical, to desperate and sad. I was impressed with the author's ability to write so many sex scenes and have them all feel different.
I definitely recommend this novel for the language alone, particularly if you have long stretches of time to sit and read it. It was harder to dip in and out of in short bursts. Much more rewarding to just sit and read for an hour at a time.
Representation notes: Queer sex and relationships. One of the main characters is Japanese.
Content warnings: Suicide, incest.