How High We Go in the Dark

Global warming causes the Arctic ice to melt and an ancient virus is released. There's plague and death and lots of bleakness. The novel is broken into 14 chapters, each its own little story. They all connect in the details, characters or events and combines create a story over many years. Personally, I'm terrible at remembering names, so with each new story I got a little bit more lost in the puzzle.

But...

Sequoia Nagamatsu writes beautifully. I really enjoyed the first handful of stories, especially the one I think is behind the title (Through The Garden Of Memory).

I had to dig deep in all the bleakness to find a small seed of hope, and when I did find it I kind of wish I hadn't. I want to erase the final chapter from my memory because I didn't like how everything was tied together in the end. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.

The last third is a bit too sci-fi for me. I loved parts of this novel, hated some of it. I'm glad I read it, but it's not a book is recommend to just anyone. If you're curious, definitely give it a go.