Awake in the Floating City: A Novel
by Susanna Kwan
Awake in the Floating City (5/10/2025)
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.