This was the first time I read a story with the idea of bringing people from over a hundred years ago into the present, and, to be honest, I will not stop talking about the ingenuity of this book to anyone who will listen. The narrator just drops you into this alternate universe where people from the past came back to life, never really explains it, and somehow you fully accept the premise within about five minutes and never question it again.

I loved how fresh and light this felt despite tackling heavy themes like the path to freedom and belonging to a marginalised group. The book was funny, educational, thought-provoking. The conversation snippets with the characters, where the reader gradually discovers their stories, felt incredibly real and intimate. Harriet Tubman never felt like a historical monument; she felt like a person. Authors writing about historical figures (and history teachers) should take notes, because this did more for me than a dry recitation of facts ever could. The book also makes you think about what we owe the people who came before us, and whether we would live up to their standards.

Needless to say: I. Was. Hooked. From the first chapter all the way to the end. I also saw countless recommendations praising Bob the Drag Queen as the audiobook narrator, and my God, am I glad I followed the crowd on this one. He is one of the best narrators I've come across so far, even if his narration speed is a Shinkansen among regional trains and takes a minute to get used to.

A long novel of longing and heartache that made me feel all sorts of feelings as someone who left her home country with no plans to return.

I still live on the same continent, and my life in the age of the internet and cheap flights is obviously nothing like a story influenced by war and separation. Still, I could relate in my own way, through the feeling of missing a place and the people connected to it.

The context of the book also felt like a history lesson I didn’t know I needed but really appreciated. I love books like this, where the setting forces you to learn new things, especially non–white-centric history. I’m also a sucker for the doomed-but-eternal lovers trope, so the relationship between Suchi and Haiwen, their separation and reconnection(s), gave me that very specific mix of sadness and despair I apparently enjoy. The way love shows up in different forms throughout the book really stuck with me.

This book is much longer than what I am usually motivated to read, so I went for the audiobook. I appreciate the executive choice to include two narrators (Katharine Chin and Kenneth Lee). With two POVs, significant jumps in the timeline, and a little over 17 hours of audio, having separate narrators was a welcome help in keeping track of what was going on and not getting completely lost.

Overall, I liked the book. The story kept me invested, the characters felt real, and parts of it felt deeply relatable. That said, I must admit that I got bored at times (hence the lower enjoyment score). I think this was partly due to the large jumps in the timeline, which occasionally left me feeling disconnected from the plot and having to backtrack to catch up. I also found the pacing a little too slow at times for my limited attention span. But perhaps that's just my longstanding reluctance when it comes to books longer than 300–400 pages.

In the end, I'm happy I gave this book a chance and stuck until the end.