"Everfair" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Share your first, vague impressions of our steam punky alt-history book of the month!

Head over to the full discussion thread for any specifics :)

Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ slavery, ageism, racism, homophobia, torture/body horror, loss of a child, loss of a loved one, diaspora (hide spoiler)]

[DivaDiane]

I also got this from my one of my libraries, but I haven’t started it yet. I plan to very soon though...

[Gabi]

I'll be waiting for some impressions here before I buy it.

[Edelaine]

This has a high rating on good reads..! Hmmm

[Banshee]

I've started it a few days ago and it's going very, veeeery slowly for me. The subject sounds really great, and I'm happy to expand my reading horizons, geographically speaking. So far, though, I'm not a big fan of short chapters with time jumps after every single one of them. The story just seems so disjointed.

[Travis]

I'm about midway through the audiobook. I'm mostly enjoying it, but oh wow is it ever challenging my COVID-addled brain. I keep missing huge chunks and then finding myself unable to figure out what's going on.

[DivaDiane]

Oh dear, Travis, that doesn’t bode well for me! I just started the audiobook and I tend to miss little bits. I try to go back and listen again if that happens (because some rude member of my family starts talking to me!), but I can’t always.

At any rate, so far I like it.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I focused mostly on the when and where in the early going and that seemed to work for me even if I got confused about names.

[Banshee]

I definitely wouldn't be able to consume this book in audiobook form. I already keep getting confused and forget information from chapter to chapter, while reading an ebook.

[Nicol]

Just read this interesting article that talks about Everfair: https://www.tor.com/2021/04/06/can-bl...

[Sebastian]

Just started this and immediately don't like the writing style. I love alt fiction so I still have high hopes but the exclamations and one line paragraphs really put me off. Fingers crossed this doesn't keep up.

[Bonnie]

Nicol wrote: "Just read this interesting article that talks about Everfair:
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/06/can-black-pain-in-books-bring-about-black-joy/

I read a few chapters, came here to see the thread, read the article. ^^ Is each chapter like a short story?? ^^

Each chapter is like a short story detailing the lives of the multicultural inhabitants of Everfair as they live out their lives.

Having seen a few people here mention it's hard to learn keep track of who everyone is, I'm going to start over and jot down notes. I have found that when I do that, whether or not I need to go back to refer to them, it helps me remember the characters and place names. (The last time I needed to do it was The Four Profound Weaves Buddy Read two months ago, and I did refer to them.)

[Bonnie]

Here's another article,
Better Together: Everfair and King Leopold's Ghost:
https://mercerislandbooks.tumblr.com/post/152936440572/book-pairings-everfair-and-king-leopolds-ghost

Not many people are mentioning The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver as paired with Everfair, I wonder why? It was so good. Maybe I should have re-read it first, to have a better view of what this book is diverging from. I haven't ever read King Leopold's Ghost. They came out around the same time, 1998/1999.

[Anthony]

I’ve been away from the goings-on of the SFFBC for a bit, but have found my reading groove again, and am happy to be diving into this one today. Looking forward to it.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hey, welcome back! You've chosen a fairly divisive one to join in with :)

[Anthony]

It’s quite intriguing in the early going. I predict I will admire and respect it more than love it, but we shall see.

[Rachel]

Ha- I think that describes pretty well how I felt about it !

[DivaDiane]

Me too.

[Banshee]

I can understand the sentiment of respecting this book more than loving it. I got stuck at 30% and for the past 2 weeks I've been reading anything BUT this one.

[Hank, Hankenstein's Modster]

I too am having a tough early going. Mostly this combination of genres just aren't usually what I gravitate towards.

[Bonnie]

I finished it yesterday. I found that to appreciate it I had to approach it as ~"(L)iterature"~ not read it straight through. By that I mean I took notes, went back and forth a lot, thought of it as a "text" to dig in to, and considered symbols, colors, layers and whatnot. Like something to study in college and glean insights, not as a novel to read "merely for pleasure" as it were.

Now I am ready for professors to explain the insights to me. Yoo-hoo, @Travis, @MadProfessah, @Mareike or other intellectuals, Pleeeease help! 😅😞🤓

[Bonnie]

Also, lots of Google Maps lookups!

[Liane]

I’m just gonna say that there are way too many books that start with the word “Ever”. And if you’re not careful, you accidentally read the wrong one, and then you are completely confused as to why your group picked such drivel.

[Anna]

What did you read, Liane? 😄

[Ellen]

Travis wrote: "I'm about midway through the audiobook. I'm mostly enjoying it, but oh wow is it ever challenging my COVID-addled brain. I keep missing huge chunks and then finding myself unable to figure out what..."

Glad I'm not the only one. I just going ahead and hope I can figure it out.

[Liane]

@Anna, I picked up Evermore. Yikes. Too YA in the worst way. I am all for reading light, but I can’t tolerate an immature, foolish and self-centered MC from the start. Hard to find room for empathy.