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There are currently 16 member reviews
for Awake in the Floating City
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Judi VB, Sioux Center, IA
Awake in the Floating City
This book by Susanna Kwan is a powerful reminder of family and connection and the passage of time. The setting is San Francisco during a period of heavy rain and flooding - the author makes this so real that you literally feel drenched throughout the reading. The main characters, Bo and Mia, are extraordinarily ordinary, which is true of most people we meet. Yet the author makes it evident throughout the book that ordinary and small acts are meaningful, that the elderly are not insignificant, and that it is important to pay attention. The passage of time and the shifting of landmarks and neighborhoods and generations make this a story I will not soon forget.
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Kay D. (Strongsville, OH)
A Beautiful Devastation Story
I didn't expect a book about a futuristic, devastated, flooded San Francisco to be beautiful, but this one certainly is that along with its other positive qualities. Amidst what could be perceived as awful living conditions, this author created a world of beauty, art, love, and family values. It is a book full of contradictions - young versus old, nature versus man made, beauty versus devastation. I was taken on a journey through interwoven plots, amazing characters, a look at the creative process alongside the caring for the dying, and the wonder of the natural world even in its ability for destruction. A book that keeps the reader compelled to stay in this futuristic world in the same way that the characters stay in their flooded city. Well worth the time to read and would generate discussion within a book club.
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Michelle H. (Minneapolis, MN)
Meditative Beauty
I am not a fan of post-apocalyptic books, but I was drawn to this one by the relationship between two intriguing-sounding women. And this "apocalypse" is just caused by rain, it is gentle, without violence, which made it more palatable. I had to really slow down to an almost meditative pace to enter the artist's slow journey to find connection back to her world, a city and its history gradually disappearing in endless rain and flooding, and back to her art work, which she does through caring for a prickly 130 year-old woman, also stranded in their 100 story apartment building.
I must confess it took a while to become involved; the introduction of a deadline and higher stakes about half way through helped move the story along. I was rewarded, though, through the detailed description of care for the elderly, and of the artist's creative process. There is beauty in this journey, as the artist comes to understand what is most important in life.
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Holly B. (Phoenix, AZ)
Life on Floor 54
The year is approximately 2060, the place, San Francisco. Climate crisis has caused water levels in the city to rise two floors high, making only third floor and up livable.
Bo, an artist, lives on an upper floor in a high rise and has stalled in her painting. Her grief for her mother who disappeared when the flooding happened paralyzes her. Bo gives up opportunities to leave and go to higher ground with other family as she cannot bear to leave in case her mother returns.
But then she answers a call to care for Mia, a 130 year old with bad knees and fascinating life stories. As Bo cares for Mia, she transfers some of her grief and need for a mother figure into Mia, which culminates in a work of art that breaks her out of her ennui.
This is a quietly interesting look at history, trauma, and human connection in a time unfathomable but possible.
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Jill S. (Durham, NC)
Seeking Higher Ground In a Seven-Year Downpour
I rarely start a review marveling about the cover art and chapter separators, but in this debut book, it sets the stage for what to expect on your reader journey: a muted and hushed story that nonetheless couches subtle beauty.
The first chapter orients the reader into time and place: the San Francisco of the future, where the rain has been pouring down for seven years and the streets have been transformed to rivers. The residents – including our narrator, Bo – have had to seek higher ground. Read that as a metaphor.
Despite the widespread exodus, Bo hasn't left ("If I leave, she asks, "how can I be found?" She belongs to the city. And just when she needs it most, she finds her purpose to stay: a woman named Mia, who is 130 years old and in desperate need of home care. She is Bo's anchor in a watery world and her way back to the specifics, not only of the future, but also of her familial legacy.
Bo's purpose becomes the art of creation: taking what exists before her time and before the floods and superimposing it on the city's history – the records and archives, the landmarks and buildings, the challenging history of Asian immigrants (which included the Chinese Exclusion Act, Angel Island, and more), and the disappearing stories of those who moved on.
At its core, this is a novel about the importance of connection: to family and ancestry, to friends (old and new), to our creative muses, and to our need for meaning. I am grateful to BookBrowse and to Pantheon Books for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.
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Patricia W. (Desoto, TX)
Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan
Readers who enjoy descriptive stories that allow for contemplation or reflection will especially like this book. The setting is intentionally dreary due to mass flooding from climate change. Many lost their lives and many now live in buildings with the first few floors underwater and unusable. The story provides opportunities to reflect on the past, loss of people and community, the need to document change, and individual people's purpose in life.
I really enjoyed the part of the story about a 130-year-old woman, watching her age and seeing the exceptional care that she received from her caregiver was so interesting and timely for me because my mother is 104. The complicated relationship between mothers and daughters was highlighted. I also enjoyed learning about the involved process that an artist uses while making art and about the importance of memorializing and honoring everyday people's lives. After the flood, I wonder if I would have been one who stayed or one who left.
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Bill B. (Wailuku, HI)
Awake in the floating city
I enjoyed reading about the first person narrator's art project and its effect on others. It seemed realistic with believable relationships. Unfortunately this story about the flooding of San Francisco from where many fled has stayed with me. I could understand why some stayed behind.
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