This book had bright moments (pun not intended lol), but none of the atmosphere and intensity of "Annihilation." I was quite bored most of it, and probably would not have been able to get through it if not listening to the audiobook which redeemed it considerably.

I'm told the 3rd and 4th books in the series are better, so I will venture on!

I've been stabbed!! My heart is broken ughhhh

Amidst the emotional devastation, I had some frustrations with this book, principally with the pacing and the actions that Fitz took throughout the book. He was really (age-appropriately, but still) reckless, and it was hard to watch. This book doesn't meaningfully reckon with that, so I'm putting my trust in Hobb that it will be addressed eventually.

I can forgive the pacing in part, because it was clearly teeing up some plot points for the last book. Penultimate books often go this way, so with that in mind, I still enjoyed the book immensely.

sigh I just love books about middle-aged folks. It is so life-affirming to hear stories about people changing their path, long after you would think it possible or "acceptable."

Wowee this was a good book! A clear challenge to the orthodoxy in academia at the time, and challenging to our cultural assumptions even now.

If you're open to not being a completionist, I'd recommend reading the Introduction and the Orientalism Now chapter. You can get the broad gestures of his argument this way, without needing to be along for the ride of the academic genealogy that he traces in the middle chapters. I'm suggesting this bc I know some folks are intimidated by reading the whole book, and most of my annotations and highlights are from the first and last chapters anyhow.

I find it hard to evaluate poetry in translation. The translator took steps to contextualize some of the Korean puns that would be lost to an English-speaking reader, which I appreciated.

"The Salt Dress Inside Me" really stuck with me. Other than that one, I didn't connect with other poems, but instead felt stabbed in the heart by stanzas here and there in others, one of which I'll leave here.

"Moonrise" by Kim Hyesoon ... a rat gets gently-gently eaten by a cat and a cat by a hunter a girl by a mother and the mother by a grandmother ...

I'm not a frequent sci-fi or SFF reader, so I was totally delighted by this book, the likes of which I haven't read since "The Giver" as a kid.

If you like weird, kinda gross, slightly claustrophobic books, this is for you! The characters are a little flat, but it is well made up for by the atmosphere of the novel.

The world-building is decidedly minimalist, in a manner similar to LeGuin, so if you're looking for a ton of vivid description, you won't find that here.

I would highly recommend the audiobook!!