Group Reads Discussions 2023: "Amatka" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Come talk about your initial, general impressions!

Please save all discussion of particulars, details from the story, character choices, plot questions, etc. for the full spoiler thread.

Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ suicide, oppression, women-as-baby-factories, loss of a parent, some implied ableism (hide spoiler)] (More about CWs here.)

[Jen]

I'm about halfway through and I'm still not sure if I like this. I can appreciate the worldbuilding, its quite an unsettling and bleak place isn't it, but a lot of it is coming off a bit flat to be honest. I'm probably not the audience for it, not a far of dystopian fiction. As I want to know more about how these people got to this world and how/why the language stuff works I'll probably finish.

[Netanella]

Hi! New to the group, and just starting this book tonight. I've heard good things about this book, and I like dystopia in general, so off we go . . . .!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

looking forward to your thoughts! Welcome!!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Jen, that's totally valid! it's an unusual book! how's it going?

[Jen]

Hi Allison, Finished it a bit ago. It was good, not a big fan of the dystopian genre so a solid 3/3.25 for me. Fans of the genre will love it though, some great world building and ideas!

[Hanna]

This is my first BotM (and my first comment). I’m in the middle of the first week-chapters, and I’m enjoying it. I do like dystopian settings, and I am curious to see where the naming of items will go. I’ve recently read both Babel and A Memory Called Empire, so Amatka appears to be very fitting in terms of the power of language.

As a side note, I’m Swedish and borrowed the e-book from my library. For some reason they only have the English editions of her books/audiobooks. I might have to check if they have a physical Swedish copy to flip through, just out of curiosity.

[Anna]

And my Finnish library only has the Swedish edition. It gets difficult when all languages have the same title and you have to take a closer look to check what language you’ve found. I once, when checking availability for a group poll, thought I’d found it on one of the subscription services, but it was in Czech iirc.

[Adelyn]

This is also my first BotM (and first comment and middle of first week chapters)!

I'm not sure I like it either. It doesn't feel very compelling -- I could stop reading the book now with no regrets.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

welcome! I hope it picks up for you or that you at least get lots to pick apart by the end :)

[Tina Reads]

I am enjoying the audiobook very much. Amatka is interesting SF but I am getting tired of the LGBT+ tagging for every unconvincing U-haul "romance" in recent books. That said, I am enjoying the mystery of what's going on. I'm getting cold war communist vibes, which I like.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

U-Haul romance? unfamiliar with that term!

[Tina Reads]

Allison wrote: "U-Haul romance? unfamiliar with that term!"

A stereotype for when a gay person goes on a date and moves in on the second date. Typically used in reference to lesbians. If you want more information google u-haul lesbian.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

TIL

[Sarah]

I'm about halfway through and I can't put it down! It has the same dark mystery as Vita Nostra but I like the world building better.

[Banshee]

I finally managed to get to reading this. I'm only at the beginning of Week 1, but so far I'm intrigued.