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There are currently 16 member reviews
for Awake in the Floating City
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Mary A. (Lake Nebagamon, WI)
Futuristic Story of Survival
This was a slow read for me. The story starts with constant rain and floods day after day. Bo and Mia are the main characters. Bo, an artist, is also caregiver to 130 year old Mia. Bo tells of her detailed day to day life . At times I felt like I was reading Bo's journal or diary.
The author's depiction of Bo being an artist was right on. An artist viewing her own work is extremely self critical. The author conveyed we should relish our surroundings, watch wildlife now before disaster hits. Bo did finally complete her work.
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PeakProse (Melissa)
Self discovery via art & history
This wasn't really what I was expecting. Based on the description, I was expecting a cli-fi story. It turned out to be a literary fiction novel about a middle aged woman finding her way and her relationship (Bo) with a dying woman (Mia.) In this speculative future, some people are living way past the century mark. Mia is 130. At around 40, perhaps Bo is the equivalent of a twenty-something in this world,
Bo has been struggling to stay or flee her California City which is on the brink of being unlivable. When we meet her, she's a non-practicing artist. She takes a gig taking care of Mia, an elderly Chinese-American woman with no local family, Mia creeps closer to death as the book progresses, and Bo connects more with her life and art. Mia provides Bo with interesting stories about her long life and family history. The cli-fi element of this novel doesn't really add to the story and it could have been solely about the relationship between the two women.
The book was well written and Kwan used language to beautifully tell this story, even if it wasn't the story I was really looking for. If you're a fan of modern art and the process, you might find this one especially interesting.
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