This had the makings of a great book, but it just fell short of everything I wanted and I couldn’t help but compare it to ‘The Women’, also by Kristin Hannah. The aspect of PTSD is explored in much more depth here than it is in ‘The Women’ and this was the real strength of the story; the protagonist (Jo) is forced to confront a lot of unpleasant feelings and situations to recover from her experiences of combat, while grieving her previous life and the lives of her friends. But everything else sadly missed the mark. The characters weren’t memorable, the dialogue was cringey, and I didn’t really believe in the relationship between Jo and Michael. It’s also shockingly shallow when it comes to the so-called ‘war against terrorism’ in Iraq, failing to expand on anything beyond blind patriotism, and essentially promoted the idea that American soldiers were dying for freedom, rather than the interests of the US government… 🤨 ‘The Women’ did much better in that regard by taking a more critical approach to the Vietnam war and the atrocities that happened there. So, in other words, this book was pretty meh. (Also, and this is petty, there’s a character called Smitty in this book and I couldn’t stop thinking about Smitty WerbenJagerManJensen from Spongebob Squarepants.)

While this is an imaginative and unusual concept for a book written in 1912, I cannot (in all good conscience) rate this book highly for one reason: it has a serious and intentional issue with race. After looking up Burroughs on Wikipedia, I wasn’t surprised when I saw that he was a staunch supporter of eugenics and scientific racism — his disdain for people of colour is so obvious, the hatred is practically dripping off the pages. From the use of anti-Native slurs, to the portrayal of uncivilised and barbaric societies of “ape-like” alien beings that exist solely to antagonise, and the supposed superiority of the white American man of English ancestry who saves the day and teaches the natives of Mars a better way to live… It’s really quite disturbing. I had even planned on reading Tarzan one day, as I loved the animated Disney film (mainly because of the Phil Collins soundtrack) but after reading this, there’s absolutely no way. In reflection, Tarzan is also deeply problematic in regards to race and I’m ashamed that I didn’t see it that way before. Needless to say, Burroughs is an author to avoid unless you’re going to read his work with a highly critical mindset, otherwise you’re just mindlessly consuming racism… and while his work was influential, it’s best left in the past and I hope Disney never touch his work again.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. If I could give it 20 stars, I would. Simply put, this book is a masterpiece and rating systems cannot adequately convey how much I loved experiencing this story. I won’t spoil anything in my review because this book has to be read to be understood, for all the threads to finally connect, and to appreciate the truly emotional finale. 😭 What I will say is that I’m impressed, in the respect that this book functions as a beautiful love letter to Kerala and that the author has weaved his own medical knowledge into the story: how the medical mystery of the Parambil line transforms into an epic, multigenerational story. The prose, the pacing, the location, the characters… all chef’s kiss. I can’t even suggest that the book shouldn’t have been as long as it is (715 pages!), because it all just works perfectly and feels satisfying in the end. There’s no end to the praise I could give this book! 👏🏼