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The Perishing
An extraordinary novel featuring a Black immortal in 1930's Los Angeles who must recover the memory of her past in order to save the world--from NAACP Image Award Nominee Natashia Deón, the author of
Grace
, a
New York Times
Best Book of the Year.
Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care.
Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed--perhaps even in a past life--and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason, one that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good.
Set against the rich historical landscape of Depression-era Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home.
Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care.
Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed--perhaps even in a past life--and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason, one that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good.
Set against the rich historical landscape of Depression-era Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2021
251 people are currently reading
11987 people want to read
About the author
Natashia Deón
4 books332 followersNatashia Deón is a 2017 NAACP Image Award Nominee and author of the critically-acclaimed novel, Grace (Counterpoint Press), which was awarded the 2017 First Novel Prize by the American Library Association's Black Caucus (BCALA), was named Kirkus Review Best Book of 2016, a New York Times Top Book 2016, a Book Riot Favorite Book of 2016, The Root Best Book of 2016, and an Entropy Magazine Best Book of 2016.
In 2017, she served as a U.S. delegate to Armenia in partnership with the University of Iowa's International Writing Workshop (IWP) and the U.S. State Department for Between the Lines, a program bringing international writers together.
Her writing has appeared in American Short Fiction, Buzzfeed, LA Review of Books, The Rumpus, The Feminist Wire, Asian American Lit Review, Rattling Wall and other places.
A practicing attorney, law professor, and creator of the popular L.A.-based reading series Dirty Laundry Lit , Deón is the recipient of a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship, and has been awarded fellowships and residencies at Yale, Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, Prague's Creative Writing Program, Dickinson House in Belgium, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside--Palm Desert.
In 2017, she served as a U.S. delegate to Armenia in partnership with the University of Iowa's International Writing Workshop (IWP) and the U.S. State Department for Between the Lines, a program bringing international writers together.
Her writing has appeared in American Short Fiction, Buzzfeed, LA Review of Books, The Rumpus, The Feminist Wire, Asian American Lit Review, Rattling Wall and other places.
A practicing attorney, law professor, and creator of the popular L.A.-based reading series Dirty Laundry Lit , Deón is the recipient of a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship, and has been awarded fellowships and residencies at Yale, Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, Prague's Creative Writing Program, Dickinson House in Belgium, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside--Palm Desert.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 771 reviews
December 14, 2021
Is there a word for writing a review purely because other reviews made you mad? This is that. There should be a special circle of readerly hell reserved for those reviewers who don't know the difference between "this isn't what I needed/expected right now" and "this is bad." If you've read a bad review and are on the fence, I hope you read this one as well.
Bottom line: This book is beautiful, heartbreaking and important. The prose is the most elegant I've read in a long time, and I swallowed it up in huge gulps. Even when I knew I didn't have the bandwidth to keep reading, I did.
Is this story scifi/fantasy? It's somewhere in there, yes: they are immortal. They return to life again and again -- there is an element of not-realism, whichever genre you want to slot it into. Does this story feature vast world-building? No. Does this story feature fantastic conflicts that work as a form of escapism? No. Instead, this story adopts scifi/fantasy elements to show our world from a different perspective, and it does so beautifully.
I have seen lots of reviews arguing that the character's immortality and the different timelines don't make sense, are weakly explained, or are overambitious. Usually these comments are accompanied by complaints that the book offers too much commentary on currently relevant social issues. The implication: the story gets something wrong because it doesn't offer an expected amount of escapism.
Way to out yourself as missing the point. Claiming the book offers too much social commentary *and* that the immortality doesn't fit just means you don't understand the assignment.
I would argue that the characters' immortality is a very clever, modern method of showing how as much as things change, they stay the same. This is something many novels execute through a cross-temporal, multi-character structure (Lippman's Lady in the Lake; Zumas' Red Clocks) that is becoming really repetitive, basic, and hard to do well.
Instead, through experiences from the 1507 Spanish Inquisition to Sarah's 22nd-century prosecution, we see the main character observing and learning. This development -- and the empathy she ultimately arrives at -- is underscored by narration from a life in the middle in which she doesn't remember she is immortal and is without the benefit of remembered experience. I *adore* and respect this fresh structural tactic for how it allows for character growth in a way we don't get in narratives that jump between characters across time. Deón creates for us a character who has lived many lives and has had the opportunity for nuanced, intelligent and empathetic reflections on the "social issues" (a gross understatement, by the way) played out over and over through time and across the story.
I haven't even touched the topic of race, which I know others can speak about more eloquently than I can. I'll say that many of the negative "this doesn't make sense/poor character development" reviews reek of "this isn't about my lived experience so it's bad." But why else do we read fiction, in all its genres, if not to try and earn a sense of empathy for the lives and experiences of others? I think this story has a lot to offer a wide breadth of readers, and if you have the mental/emotional bandwidth, it is worth your time.
Bottom line: This book is beautiful, heartbreaking and important. The prose is the most elegant I've read in a long time, and I swallowed it up in huge gulps. Even when I knew I didn't have the bandwidth to keep reading, I did.
Is this story scifi/fantasy? It's somewhere in there, yes: they are immortal. They return to life again and again -- there is an element of not-realism, whichever genre you want to slot it into. Does this story feature vast world-building? No. Does this story feature fantastic conflicts that work as a form of escapism? No. Instead, this story adopts scifi/fantasy elements to show our world from a different perspective, and it does so beautifully.
I have seen lots of reviews arguing that the character's immortality and the different timelines don't make sense, are weakly explained, or are overambitious. Usually these comments are accompanied by complaints that the book offers too much commentary on currently relevant social issues. The implication: the story gets something wrong because it doesn't offer an expected amount of escapism.
Way to out yourself as missing the point. Claiming the book offers too much social commentary *and* that the immortality doesn't fit just means you don't understand the assignment.
I would argue that the characters' immortality is a very clever, modern method of showing how as much as things change, they stay the same. This is something many novels execute through a cross-temporal, multi-character structure (Lippman's Lady in the Lake; Zumas' Red Clocks) that is becoming really repetitive, basic, and hard to do well.
Instead, through experiences from the 1507 Spanish Inquisition to Sarah's 22nd-century prosecution, we see the main character observing and learning. This development -- and the empathy she ultimately arrives at -- is underscored by narration from a life in the middle in which she doesn't remember she is immortal and is without the benefit of remembered experience. I *adore* and respect this fresh structural tactic for how it allows for character growth in a way we don't get in narratives that jump between characters across time. Deón creates for us a character who has lived many lives and has had the opportunity for nuanced, intelligent and empathetic reflections on the "social issues" (a gross understatement, by the way) played out over and over through time and across the story.
I haven't even touched the topic of race, which I know others can speak about more eloquently than I can. I'll say that many of the negative "this doesn't make sense/poor character development" reviews reek of "this isn't about my lived experience so it's bad." But why else do we read fiction, in all its genres, if not to try and earn a sense of empathy for the lives and experiences of others? I think this story has a lot to offer a wide breadth of readers, and if you have the mental/emotional bandwidth, it is worth your time.
October 19, 2021
October BOTM selection.
Lou is a young Black woman who wakes up in an alley. The year is 1931. She has no clue who she is or how she got there. She’s quickly placed with a foster family, and ends up becoming one of the first Black female journalists for the Los Angeles Times shortly after graduating high school.
One thing leads to another, and Lou meets a firefighter that she’s sure she’s known before. She’s been sketching pictures of him, but has no clear recollection of him at first. On top of that, she’s had dreams of herself in other lifetimes...from all over the land. Can she really be an immortal?
I was extremely intrigued by the premise of this book, and I really enjoyed parts of it. Lou is smart and clear-headed, extremely likable, and such an interesting character as we read her thoughts. The beautiful and atmospheric writing, not to mention the short chapters, made it easy to glide through the story as I was eager to find out what was going on.
However, my interest did waver on and off. We never really get to the main storyline until the last 20% or so. The book deals with tough and important topics and also discusses in great detail many historical events over the years. I appreciated that as I learned some new things to google that I hadn’t previously known about (and some I did know about).
There are also varying timelines...some in the past and some in the future (if you’re reading it before 2117). While there were captivating moments, I couldn’t help but think the “immortality” thread took a back seat for most of it. I wish we could’ve delved more into that. Or I wish that plot was completely scrapped, and there was more focus on Lou living her life in the 1930’s.
The adjective, ambitious, has been used in some of the reviews I read. I wholeheartedly agree. It’s quite the story, told in an almost quiet and whimsical way...but it may have been just a bit too quiet for me.
While I don’t know who I’d recommend this book to, I definitely think it’s worthy of an audience. I look forward to reading more from author Natashia Deón. I absolutely love the dedication:
“For you. I did it for me.”
2.5 stars rounded up. Available: 11/2/21.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
Lou is a young Black woman who wakes up in an alley. The year is 1931. She has no clue who she is or how she got there. She’s quickly placed with a foster family, and ends up becoming one of the first Black female journalists for the Los Angeles Times shortly after graduating high school.
One thing leads to another, and Lou meets a firefighter that she’s sure she’s known before. She’s been sketching pictures of him, but has no clear recollection of him at first. On top of that, she’s had dreams of herself in other lifetimes...from all over the land. Can she really be an immortal?
I was extremely intrigued by the premise of this book, and I really enjoyed parts of it. Lou is smart and clear-headed, extremely likable, and such an interesting character as we read her thoughts. The beautiful and atmospheric writing, not to mention the short chapters, made it easy to glide through the story as I was eager to find out what was going on.
However, my interest did waver on and off. We never really get to the main storyline until the last 20% or so. The book deals with tough and important topics and also discusses in great detail many historical events over the years. I appreciated that as I learned some new things to google that I hadn’t previously known about (and some I did know about).
There are also varying timelines...some in the past and some in the future (if you’re reading it before 2117). While there were captivating moments, I couldn’t help but think the “immortality” thread took a back seat for most of it. I wish we could’ve delved more into that. Or I wish that plot was completely scrapped, and there was more focus on Lou living her life in the 1930’s.
The adjective, ambitious, has been used in some of the reviews I read. I wholeheartedly agree. It’s quite the story, told in an almost quiet and whimsical way...but it may have been just a bit too quiet for me.
While I don’t know who I’d recommend this book to, I definitely think it’s worthy of an audience. I look forward to reading more from author Natashia Deón. I absolutely love the dedication:
“
2.5 stars rounded up. Available: 11/2/21.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
October 7, 2021
This was a really tough read. I had an idea that THE PERISHING was going to be a really ambitious, interesting novel, but I don't think it came together in the way I was hoping it would. Or even in a way that made sense.
The multiple POVs and time shifts could have been so compelling, could have told such a fascinating story spanning whole histories and lifetimes. But quirky plot concepts alone don't make a story great; well-told characters are the backbone, and I think the problem here is that Lou never quite shimmered as a main character in the way I would have expected her to. I felt so disconnected from her the entire time I was reading that by the time she got around to unravelling the mystery of her existence in LITERALLY THE LAST FIFTY PAGES OF THE BOOK, I couldn't have cared less whether she was immortal or not, I just wanted to be finished with her. Simultaneously, Sarah's short chapters were mostly philosophical and ideological guideposts to what Lou was dealing with in her time period, containing more ideas than actual events, so there was a disconnect there as well.
One of the novel's strengths was the historical element. Deon touched on several interesting, probably lesser-known historical events, such as the tragedy of the St Francis Dam and the murder of Latasha Harlins; additionally, the planning of Route 66 and the resulting displacement of L.A. minority communities formed a significant plot point, highlighting the rampant injustices dealt to migrant, native, and non-white communities by authority figures in Los Angeles (and, let's be honest, the whole goddamn country) in the early twentieth century (and, let's be honest, continuing right up until today, because we haven't learned a goddamn thing). This was interesting and heartbreaking and relevant, and the only reason this plot thread might have suffered is because, again, flat characters held the reader at a remove from the very real human tragedy that was endured.
That said, much as I enjoyed the historical context, I did feel slightly misled because this was not marketed to me as historical fiction; it was marketed as speculative fiction, and the speculative element fell sooooooo short. It felt like a collection of great ideas, poorly fleshed out. And I don't know why, in a book dealing with very real social issues, it was deemed necessary to add a villain character whose motivations were of the Disney film variety (power for the sake of having power, and of being the only one with that power) when no other part of the book was about that.
Or, at the very least, why it was deemed necessary to add him in in LITERALLY THE LAST FIFTY PAGES OF THE BOOK. (I will never get over it. Last-minute, out-of-nowhere plot twists make me want to die, can you tell?)
But anyway.
The multiple POVs and time shifts could have been so compelling, could have told such a fascinating story spanning whole histories and lifetimes. But quirky plot concepts alone don't make a story great; well-told characters are the backbone, and I think the problem here is that Lou never quite shimmered as a main character in the way I would have expected her to. I felt so disconnected from her the entire time I was reading that by the time she got around to unravelling the mystery of her existence in LITERALLY THE LAST FIFTY PAGES OF THE BOOK, I couldn't have cared less whether she was immortal or not, I just wanted to be finished with her. Simultaneously, Sarah's short chapters were mostly philosophical and ideological guideposts to what Lou was dealing with in her time period, containing more ideas than actual events, so there was a disconnect there as well.
One of the novel's strengths was the historical element. Deon touched on several interesting, probably lesser-known historical events, such as the tragedy of the St Francis Dam and the murder of Latasha Harlins; additionally, the planning of Route 66 and the resulting displacement of L.A. minority communities formed a significant plot point, highlighting the rampant injustices dealt to migrant, native, and non-white communities by authority figures in Los Angeles (and, let's be honest, the whole goddamn country) in the early twentieth century (and, let's be honest, continuing right up until today, because we haven't learned a goddamn thing). This was interesting and heartbreaking and relevant, and the only reason this plot thread might have suffered is because, again, flat characters held the reader at a remove from the very real human tragedy that was endured.
That said, much as I enjoyed the historical context, I did feel slightly misled because this was not marketed to me as historical fiction; it was marketed as speculative fiction, and the speculative element fell sooooooo short. It felt like a collection of great ideas, poorly fleshed out. And I don't know why, in a book dealing with very real social issues, it was deemed necessary to add a villain character whose motivations were of the Disney film variety (power for the sake of having power, and of being the only one with that power) when no other part of the book was about that.
Or, at the very least, why it was deemed necessary to add him in in LITERALLY THE LAST FIFTY PAGES OF THE BOOK. (I will never get over it. Last-minute, out-of-nowhere plot twists make me want to die, can you tell?)
But anyway.
October 8, 2021
I had extremely high hopes for this book. I chose it as my BOTM, because I am a lover of sci-fi(ish) and dystopian novels. Based off of the description, it sounded like this book would fit that genre. Which it did, to an extent, just very minimally.
Just a heads up - if you enjoy reading to escape the current craziness of the reality that we live in, this book is not for you. While it is primarily set in the 1930’s, there is a lot of talk about pandemics, mask wearing, vaccines, and BLM. Which is all fine to an extent, but not when you’re reading to distract yourself from the world that we are living in.
The book started with a prelude that was extremely confusing, especially without having any other context on the characters / plot of the book.
As the book progressed, I felt as though I was just reading about the main character’s day-to-day life, with very little character or plot development. Occasionally, we would fast forward to the future to offer some (very minimal) insight into the main character’s future self.
If I am being honest, the book did not get exciting until the last 20 or so pages, but by that point I was too far gone to even really care about what was happening. It took everything in me to finish this book!
I would’ve loved to have seen more character development, and more context and reasons as to why the main character is immortal. Like why are there immortals? What purpose do they serve? Etc. Perhaps the author may be planning on writing a sequel to answer these questions. However, at the moment we are left with a lot of questions unanswered.
In my opinion, the one really solid aspect of this book was its one liners. The author did offer a lot of great “quotable” sentences and phrases. So I do give her kudos for that.
I am not one to often dislike books. In fact, I most often enjoy just about everything I read. So it was really disappointing for me to find such little enjoyment in this book.
Just a heads up - if you enjoy reading to escape the current craziness of the reality that we live in, this book is not for you. While it is primarily set in the 1930’s, there is a lot of talk about pandemics, mask wearing, vaccines, and BLM. Which is all fine to an extent, but not when you’re reading to distract yourself from the world that we are living in.
The book started with a prelude that was extremely confusing, especially without having any other context on the characters / plot of the book.
As the book progressed, I felt as though I was just reading about the main character’s day-to-day life, with very little character or plot development. Occasionally, we would fast forward to the future to offer some (very minimal) insight into the main character’s future self.
If I am being honest, the book did not get exciting until the last 20 or so pages, but by that point I was too far gone to even really care about what was happening. It took everything in me to finish this book!
I would’ve loved to have seen more character development, and more context and reasons as to why the main character is immortal. Like why are there immortals? What purpose do they serve? Etc. Perhaps the author may be planning on writing a sequel to answer these questions. However, at the moment we are left with a lot of questions unanswered.
In my opinion, the one really solid aspect of this book was its one liners. The author did offer a lot of great “quotable” sentences and phrases. So I do give her kudos for that.
I am not one to often dislike books. In fact, I most often enjoy just about everything I read. So it was really disappointing for me to find such little enjoyment in this book.
June 10, 2021
Wow. Ambitious. A combination of past, present, and future. A lot to unpack. So in that ambition is an inventiveness that demands an investment from the reader. Creating fans with her delicious prose always tinged with creative thoughts and dialogue. I am an enthusiastic fan of Natashia Deon, and I’m sure she is is the next big thing in fiction.
This story of Lou, the Black immortal actually begins as Sarah in 2102 reminiscing about past husbands and as such, past lives.
“Everybody I love dies and no matter. Most people won’t survive everyone who loves them. Our lives are meant to mimic a passing breeze that won’t return. Not me. I have to live with my losses forever. Life after life in new bodies, new cities, and new countries where I’ve always been Black, not always a woman. But people who are meant to be in our lives will find us. No matter how far we wander. Even if when we find each other we’re lost. Together.”
That beautiful passage is the door that leads us to 1932, in Los Angeles, CA. Most of the book is written from this vantage point and we come to learn that the city looms large in the consciousness of Lou, she is attempting to locate her birth parents and gradually in that search begins to learn about who she is and what she is. The journey is filled with delicate and delectable prose, such that those who aren’t necessarily magical realism fans will be drawn in, because the writing is so strong.
“Good decisions can’t be made in grief. Not really. Because emotions are an incomplete guide. Especially love. My kind of grief is continual because grief is the form love takes when someone dies. The emotion a confirmation of our humanity. Sometimes bubbling up, unexpected. We grieve the end and the future we’d imagined at the same time, even the conversation we’d hoped to have one day with the person, now lost. In grief, our weak phrases will fail us—the right words lost in some ancient tongue, prehistoric. I can’t find the words. Not even to comfort you.”
I wrote a note after chapter 13, I said this chapter is worth rereading. It’s beautiful and poetic. I rarely make a note in a book to reread an entire chapter. But, people it was that good! Read this one! Thanks Ms. Deon for making me a fan!
This story of Lou, the Black immortal actually begins as Sarah in 2102 reminiscing about past husbands and as such, past lives.
“Everybody I love dies and no matter. Most people won’t survive everyone who loves them. Our lives are meant to mimic a passing breeze that won’t return. Not me. I have to live with my losses forever. Life after life in new bodies, new cities, and new countries where I’ve always been Black, not always a woman. But people who are meant to be in our lives will find us. No matter how far we wander. Even if when we find each other we’re lost. Together.”
That beautiful passage is the door that leads us to 1932, in Los Angeles, CA. Most of the book is written from this vantage point and we come to learn that the city looms large in the consciousness of Lou, she is attempting to locate her birth parents and gradually in that search begins to learn about who she is and what she is. The journey is filled with delicate and delectable prose, such that those who aren’t necessarily magical realism fans will be drawn in, because the writing is so strong.
“Good decisions can’t be made in grief. Not really. Because emotions are an incomplete guide. Especially love. My kind of grief is continual because grief is the form love takes when someone dies. The emotion a confirmation of our humanity. Sometimes bubbling up, unexpected. We grieve the end and the future we’d imagined at the same time, even the conversation we’d hoped to have one day with the person, now lost. In grief, our weak phrases will fail us—the right words lost in some ancient tongue, prehistoric. I can’t find the words. Not even to comfort you.”
I wrote a note after chapter 13, I said this chapter is worth rereading. It’s beautiful and poetic. I rarely make a note in a book to reread an entire chapter. But, people it was that good! Read this one! Thanks Ms. Deon for making me a fan!
October 26, 2021
i wish this book was just a historical fiction novel about a Black woman in 1930s LA with beautiful prose because it did that wonderfully!!
what it did not do well was the… entire main premise. the whole immortality thing came into play in the last like 20%… and the dual timelines? i have literally NO idea what the 2100s story was supposed to do for me
what a bummer!!!!
what it did not do well was the… entire main premise. the whole immortality thing came into play in the last like 20%… and the dual timelines? i have literally NO idea what the 2100s story was supposed to do for me
what a bummer!!!!
November 14, 2021
You should know up front that The Perishing is literary fiction with a speculative element, so if that's not your thing and you were hoping for something heavier on the SFF piece, it may not be for you.
I really love the project of this book. We get a lot of stories about immortals and time travelers that romanticize the experience, often not taking into consideration the very different experiences Black, Indigenous, and other people of color have had throughout out history, not to mention queer / gender non-conforming folks. This book takes that trope and upends thing by centering a person who, throughout her lives, is always Black and often (though not always) a woman.
The bulk of this story follows her as Lou in 1930's Los Angeles, appearing as a tween girl with no memory who enters foster care. It's a genre blend that is heavily historical fiction, but includes pieces from the future and from even earlier in history as well. It's a book about trauma and oppression, primarily of the Black community, during that time. It also unpacks the vulnerability of showing up in time with no memory, especially if you aren't a white man. The author weaves in a lot of real world history and because the MC is a journalist, her researching and writing news stories is used as a way to share that information with the reader. At times this can be slow and meandering, but then a lot happens at the end. Some of which is a little confusing because the system of how this immortality functions isn't totally fleshed out. There are also some plot threads that fail to fully come together and might make the future parts of the book feel a bit disjointed.
This is the sort of book that either will or won't be your thing, but if it sounds of interest I think it's worth a try. It touches on a lot of topics that are relevant to the world today, while also teaching about the past. The audio narration is beautifully done! I received an audio review copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include suicidal ideation, self-harm, attempted sexual assault, racial violence, mention of abortion, loss of a loved one, grief, death of children....
I really love the project of this book. We get a lot of stories about immortals and time travelers that romanticize the experience, often not taking into consideration the very different experiences Black, Indigenous, and other people of color have had throughout out history, not to mention queer / gender non-conforming folks. This book takes that trope and upends thing by centering a person who, throughout her lives, is always Black and often (though not always) a woman.
The bulk of this story follows her as Lou in 1930's Los Angeles, appearing as a tween girl with no memory who enters foster care. It's a genre blend that is heavily historical fiction, but includes pieces from the future and from even earlier in history as well. It's a book about trauma and oppression, primarily of the Black community, during that time. It also unpacks the vulnerability of showing up in time with no memory, especially if you aren't a white man. The author weaves in a lot of real world history and because the MC is a journalist, her researching and writing news stories is used as a way to share that information with the reader. At times this can be slow and meandering, but then a lot happens at the end. Some of which is a little confusing because the system of how this immortality functions isn't totally fleshed out. There are also some plot threads that fail to fully come together and might make the future parts of the book feel a bit disjointed.
This is the sort of book that either will or won't be your thing, but if it sounds of interest I think it's worth a try. It touches on a lot of topics that are relevant to the world today, while also teaching about the past. The audio narration is beautifully done! I received an audio review copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include suicidal ideation, self-harm, attempted sexual assault, racial violence, mention of abortion, loss of a loved one, grief, death of children....
October 8, 2021
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did, but it just wasn’t an enjoyable read at all. The summary sounded so good, but that part of the story didn’t happen until 120 pages in. And even then, it seemed more background than anything else. The main focus was Lou’s life in the 1930s, which was actually pretty good and would’ve made a really good story on its own without the 2102 interludes. My thing was it felt like a different story than it was marketed to be, and it wrapped up so quickly and almost out of nowhere that it seemed like an afterthought that came out of an idea for a normal fiction story taking place in the 1930s. A bit disappointing for me.
October 29, 2021
I didn't love this book, I didn't like it either. But, to be fair, I blame that on the book description and not the book itself.
The book was described as this fun science fiction adventure featuring an immortal black woman with amnesia. THAT was the book I was excited to read. Unfortunately, what I got was this boring, rambling tale about a depressing orphan living a boring life. Nothing personal against orphans or stories about orphans, but that's not what I signed up for when I got this book.
Lou wakes up in an alley, with no memory and no clothes. And for the next 100-120 pages (not sure of the actual page count because page numbers were omitted in favor of location, lame), that's the only exciting/interesting thing that happens. Eventually, like in the last five or so chapters, Lou learns of her origins, sort of, and manages to fight off the big bad.
Sigh.
For the sake of fairness, I will say that the author's writing was engaging. If this book had simply been marketed as literary fiction, then I might feel differently. But imagine being told that you're going to go to see a lion, but instead you're presented with a lazy house cat. I spent most of the book desperately waiting for the cool sci-fi stuff to happen, and by the time it did, I was underwhelmed.
I received this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
The book was described as this fun science fiction adventure featuring an immortal black woman with amnesia. THAT was the book I was excited to read. Unfortunately, what I got was this boring, rambling tale about a depressing orphan living a boring life. Nothing personal against orphans or stories about orphans, but that's not what I signed up for when I got this book.
Lou wakes up in an alley, with no memory and no clothes. And for the next 100-120 pages (not sure of the actual page count because page numbers were omitted in favor of location, lame), that's the only exciting/interesting thing that happens. Eventually, like in the last five or so chapters, Lou learns of her origins, sort of, and manages to fight off the big bad.
Sigh.
For the sake of fairness, I will say that the author's writing was engaging. If this book had simply been marketed as literary fiction, then I might feel differently. But imagine being told that you're going to go to see a lion, but instead you're presented with a lazy house cat. I spent most of the book desperately waiting for the cool sci-fi stuff to happen, and by the time it did, I was underwhelmed.
I received this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
July 17, 2021
Thank you NetGalley and Counterpoint Publishing for the ARC in return of an honest review.
The writing in The Perishing was absolutely beautiful. Natashia Deón has a beautiful way with prose that was at times melodic in my inner voice. The sections of the book that were narrated by the future consciousness were so deeply philosophical, yet captured the mind with beautiful imagery.
The journey that Lou takes is one through a short, but rich period of U.S., but more specifically California history. Having been raised in that same area, there were events of which I was unaware. The tragedy of the St. Francis damn and the killing of Latasha Harlins are both events not addressed in schools, nor in my home. For that, I am grateful to this book for bringing light to stories that have not been shared enough.
Coming in and out of time with the consciousness of the narrator was fascinating, but at times confusing. Sometimes Sarah would give context for her monologues, but others, the reader is left trying to find the relevance of her thoughts and the time from which she is speaking.
I feel I would be more inclined to give this book a higher rating if I had read it without having read the cover description first.
I came to this book looking for a sci-fi book with a Black heroine based in 1930. I ended up with a philosophical historical fiction delving into cultural injustice deeply ingrained in our society with a sprinkle of sci-fi in a couple of places. The sci-fi elements in this book are cool, and original, but not enough was done with that plot line for it to be worth it. In fact, I never figured out how she was supposed to save the world 😕.
If I could read this book without the sci-fi sprinkles, the last minute 'villain', and a more aligned narrator, I would easily give this a 5.
If I could read this book with the last 5% earlier in the book , like around 40% and continue exploring that angle with the historical influence. Again, easy 5.
As it is, as a sci-fi book I'd give it a 1. As a historical fiction book, 4.5 it left me feeling these characters in my spirit.
The writing in The Perishing was absolutely beautiful. Natashia Deón has a beautiful way with prose that was at times melodic in my inner voice. The sections of the book that were narrated by the future consciousness were so deeply philosophical, yet captured the mind with beautiful imagery.
The journey that Lou takes is one through a short, but rich period of U.S., but more specifically California history. Having been raised in that same area, there were events of which I was unaware. The tragedy of the St. Francis damn and the killing of Latasha Harlins are both events not addressed in schools, nor in my home. For that, I am grateful to this book for bringing light to stories that have not been shared enough.
Coming in and out of time with the consciousness of the narrator was fascinating, but at times confusing. Sometimes Sarah would give context for her monologues, but others, the reader is left trying to find the relevance of her thoughts and the time from which she is speaking.
I feel I would be more inclined to give this book a higher rating if I had read it without having read the cover description first.
I came to this book looking for a sci-fi book with a Black heroine based in 1930. I ended up with a philosophical historical fiction delving into cultural injustice deeply ingrained in our society with a sprinkle of sci-fi in a couple of places. The sci-fi elements in this book are cool, and original, but not enough was done with that plot line for it to be worth it. In fact, I never figured out how she was supposed to save the world 😕.
If I could read this book without the sci-fi sprinkles, the last minute 'villain', and a more aligned narrator, I would easily give this a 5.
If I could read this book with the last 5% earlier in the book , like around 40% and continue exploring that angle with the historical influence. Again, easy 5.
As it is, as a sci-fi book I'd give it a 1. As a historical fiction book, 4.5 it left me feeling these characters in my spirit.
May 18, 2021
This book is absolutely brilliant. Natashia is an incredible writer and storyteller. Her characters are so real that I feel lonely now without them. I loved the speculative elements in this, just like GRACE. I can’t wait for everyone else to read it!
October 30, 2021
If you value patience and treat it well, you will love this book. The plot lacks nothing--in order to understand the importance of this book, you must sit with it's poetry, and maybe even reread it so you can properly reflect. I love it's beauty, how it doesn't require your understanding (but if you obtain what Natasha is trying to give you, you'll be better for it).
October 7, 2021
I find it hard to really rate and review this book. The writing itself is great and Deon has a definite way with words. However, expectations did not meet reality for me. The Perishing was nothing like I expected based off the synopsis. Meanwhile, it is an interesting look at humanity. I just wanted more from the "immortal" aspect.
Read
July 4, 2022I had very high expectations for this book and that may be part of the problem. But not all of it. There is a good idea here, or maybe several, but the execution is definitely flawed.
Lou, a black teenager, suddenly finds herself in a Los Angeles alley in 1931, naked and amnesiac. She spends the book trying to figure out who and what she is.
The Perishing is an odd amalgam of historical novel/speculative fiction/time travel with a social justice theme, accented by the characters’ philosophical and metaphysical beliefs. Perhaps a novel can be all these things at once, but in this case, some of these aspects are not handled particularly well, or perhaps the author’s energies were too scattered to be able to pull it all together well.
Most of the chapters follow Lou’s journey as a rookie reporter at the Los Angeles Times in 1931 and 1932, first as an obit writer, then covering local controversies such as the displacement of poor and working-class residents for the construction of Route 66. This and other assignments provide a nice canvas on which to hang discussions about racial inequities, too prevalent then, as now. There are little history lessons dropped in, sometimes relevant to this theme, such as the St. Francis Dam collapse and the influence of radio personalities such as right-wing pastor Robert Shuler and theatrical preacher Aimee Semple McPherson, that illustrate opinions and prejudices of the time. There are others that are less relevant to the social justice focus (tile making and factories in Southern California), that seem to be trying to incorporate messages about art, but feel a little random. While I always enjoy a little California history, many of these references felt a little forced and didactic, and less tied to the 1930s than to current issues.
Although I get the idea that things in the social justice realm haven’t changed all that much, and certainly not enough, if this was the point of the overall emphasis of the book, the handling of these themes seemed oversimplified. For instance, there were few references to the Great Depression or to the labor unrest of the time, or fewer than I thought there should be, given how pervasive a factor these were in the social and economic conditions of the time. Not that racial prejudice or hostility toward immigrants are ever more acceptable in one era than another, but the unique conditions of the 1930s were not addressed in a way that made the historical context a valuable vehicle for the ideas or made the story feel adequately authentic.
There were a number of anachronisms that were minor, but got on my nerdish nerves. A reference to a D-list equivalent actress traveling from Europe and across the continent via commercial airlines into Los Angeles was unlikely, given that mode of travel was very expensive and limited to the elite, which this character was not. Not impossible this could happen, but there were several incidents that didn’t ring true for me, given the era. A high school teacher tells students about Los Angeles: “You’ll need a car.” Not in 1931, they wouldn’t, because there was actually a street car system that worked in those days, nor was it likely they would be able to afford a car. (By 1932, California unemployment was 28%, per California State University at Northridge.) There were many of those moments, and I won’t bore you with more examples, but there were too many for me to avoid irritation.
There are random short interstitial chapters narrated by someone named Sarah in the years 2102 through 2117 and her role is only slowly revealed. It takes quite a while, too long, I think, to figure out that she is another manifestation of Lou in a future year (but maybe I’m slow). And the way that “immortality” worked here confused me, as it’s conditional. An immortal is immortal unless their immortality is taken from them, then they aren’t.
And the ending was completely out of left field, utilizing a minor character introduced earlier to resolve a central mystery in a completely unexpected way, with than character operating in a context that seemed unrelated to his first appearance. To avoid this credibility gap, there should have been a at least a little foreshadowing and justification to prepare us for this weird turn, but it felt tacked on and left me not buying any of it.
All in all, the book felt like a hodgepodge of ideas poorly grafted together, without sufficient redeeming qualities to recommend it. There are plenty of people who liked it, however, so don’t avoid it if it sounds interesting to you. It just didn’t work for me.
Lou, a black teenager, suddenly finds herself in a Los Angeles alley in 1931, naked and amnesiac. She spends the book trying to figure out who and what she is.
The Perishing is an odd amalgam of historical novel/speculative fiction/time travel with a social justice theme, accented by the characters’ philosophical and metaphysical beliefs. Perhaps a novel can be all these things at once, but in this case, some of these aspects are not handled particularly well, or perhaps the author’s energies were too scattered to be able to pull it all together well.
Most of the chapters follow Lou’s journey as a rookie reporter at the Los Angeles Times in 1931 and 1932, first as an obit writer, then covering local controversies such as the displacement of poor and working-class residents for the construction of Route 66. This and other assignments provide a nice canvas on which to hang discussions about racial inequities, too prevalent then, as now. There are little history lessons dropped in, sometimes relevant to this theme, such as the St. Francis Dam collapse and the influence of radio personalities such as right-wing pastor Robert Shuler and theatrical preacher Aimee Semple McPherson, that illustrate opinions and prejudices of the time. There are others that are less relevant to the social justice focus (tile making and factories in Southern California), that seem to be trying to incorporate messages about art, but feel a little random. While I always enjoy a little California history, many of these references felt a little forced and didactic, and less tied to the 1930s than to current issues.
Although I get the idea that things in the social justice realm haven’t changed all that much, and certainly not enough, if this was the point of the overall emphasis of the book, the handling of these themes seemed oversimplified. For instance, there were few references to the Great Depression or to the labor unrest of the time, or fewer than I thought there should be, given how pervasive a factor these were in the social and economic conditions of the time. Not that racial prejudice or hostility toward immigrants are ever more acceptable in one era than another, but the unique conditions of the 1930s were not addressed in a way that made the historical context a valuable vehicle for the ideas or made the story feel adequately authentic.
There were a number of anachronisms that were minor, but got on my nerdish nerves. A reference to a D-list equivalent actress traveling from Europe and across the continent via commercial airlines into Los Angeles was unlikely, given that mode of travel was very expensive and limited to the elite, which this character was not. Not impossible this could happen, but there were several incidents that didn’t ring true for me, given the era. A high school teacher tells students about Los Angeles: “You’ll need a car.” Not in 1931, they wouldn’t, because there was actually a street car system that worked in those days, nor was it likely they would be able to afford a car. (By 1932, California unemployment was 28%, per California State University at Northridge.) There were many of those moments, and I won’t bore you with more examples, but there were too many for me to avoid irritation.
There are random short interstitial chapters narrated by someone named Sarah in the years 2102 through 2117 and her role is only slowly revealed. It takes quite a while, too long, I think, to figure out that she is another manifestation of Lou in a future year (but maybe I’m slow). And the way that “immortality” worked here confused me, as it’s conditional. An immortal is immortal unless their immortality is taken from them, then they aren’t.
And the ending was completely out of left field, utilizing a minor character introduced earlier to resolve a central mystery in a completely unexpected way, with than character operating in a context that seemed unrelated to his first appearance. To avoid this credibility gap, there should have been a at least a little foreshadowing and justification to prepare us for this weird turn, but it felt tacked on and left me not buying any of it.
All in all, the book felt like a hodgepodge of ideas poorly grafted together, without sufficient redeeming qualities to recommend it. There are plenty of people who liked it, however, so don’t avoid it if it sounds interesting to you. It just didn’t work for me.
January 8, 2022
Some challenges are great, like climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest. Others are not so great, but are challenges nonetheless. My finish reading Natasha Deon’s THE PERISHING was one of the lesser challenges, but a challenge it was. I put it down after page 1. Waited a week and tried again. That time I made it through twenty-five confusing, rambling pages, only to discover those six chapters were the prologue. I struggled with it from then on. I did finish it, but I can’t see myself recommending it to anyone.
So many problems. For one Deon attempted to work in some story about the lead character, Louise aka Lou, being an immortal. An immortal can die or disappear but then has a new start, only apparently without a conscious memory of past lives, which come back in dreams. Isn’t that similar to reincarnation. Near the end Deon introduces a “Highlander’s” “There can be only one” aspect (completely different rationale, however). If an immortal touches someone as they are fading, their existence ends and whoever they touch gets the life essence. The book would have been stronger without that whole immortal without a memory concept. Because . . .
There’s a bigger story of Louise as a parentless teenager (and later young adult) dealing with race relations in the 1930’s in Los Angeles, fixing the location of Route 66 through L.A., and understanding the trials and tribulations of several characters. That story doesn’t work either as Deon uses the 1930s to voice her world view of the 2020’s, and there’s confusing side stories that lead nowhere.
What went wrong?
I don’t know. The only clue I have is the dedication page where Deon scratches through “For you” and writes “I did it for me.” I can see Deon intentionally pushing the boundaries so she can grow as a writer in the future. Pushing the boundaries is how an artist grows. Unfortunately, I as a reader had to suffer through the exercise. But I at least met the challenge of finishing the book.
I have no idea what the title, The Perishing, refers to. I could make up something but it’d be a guess.
The simple cover does make me smile. It’s the outline of two heads, one behind the other. To me it represents the two main characters, Louise in the 1930’s and Sarah (probably Lou’s future self) in 2102. What amuses me though it takes me back to my earlier life as a first or second grader when we would use crayons to color different columns on a page, then cover all the colored columns with black crayons, then draw lines or make other pictures by wiping out part of the black to unveil the colors underneath. The cover here is a deep blue, the women’s outlines are in red, yellow, blue, purple and orange.
Two stars.
So many problems. For one Deon attempted to work in some story about the lead character, Louise aka Lou, being an immortal. An immortal can die or disappear but then has a new start, only apparently without a conscious memory of past lives, which come back in dreams. Isn’t that similar to reincarnation. Near the end Deon introduces a “Highlander’s” “There can be only one” aspect (completely different rationale, however). If an immortal touches someone as they are fading, their existence ends and whoever they touch gets the life essence. The book would have been stronger without that whole immortal without a memory concept. Because . . .
There’s a bigger story of Louise as a parentless teenager (and later young adult) dealing with race relations in the 1930’s in Los Angeles, fixing the location of Route 66 through L.A., and understanding the trials and tribulations of several characters. That story doesn’t work either as Deon uses the 1930s to voice her world view of the 2020’s, and there’s confusing side stories that lead nowhere.
What went wrong?
I don’t know. The only clue I have is the dedication page where Deon scratches through “For you” and writes “I did it for me.” I can see Deon intentionally pushing the boundaries so she can grow as a writer in the future. Pushing the boundaries is how an artist grows. Unfortunately, I as a reader had to suffer through the exercise. But I at least met the challenge of finishing the book.
I have no idea what the title, The Perishing, refers to. I could make up something but it’d be a guess.
The simple cover does make me smile. It’s the outline of two heads, one behind the other. To me it represents the two main characters, Louise in the 1930’s and Sarah (probably Lou’s future self) in 2102. What amuses me though it takes me back to my earlier life as a first or second grader when we would use crayons to color different columns on a page, then cover all the colored columns with black crayons, then draw lines or make other pictures by wiping out part of the black to unveil the colors underneath. The cover here is a deep blue, the women’s outlines are in red, yellow, blue, purple and orange.
Two stars.
November 2, 2021
The Perishing’s writing quality is actually greater than the story it tells. Deón’s emotional language was captivating enough to keep me interested in finishing this book, but each chapter was as disappointing as the one before it.
The broader concept of the book - an immortal spirit inhabiting different people in different times, though always through the lens of a Black person, was interesting and unique, but it was a such a large idea that it felt disjointed and spread thin as Deón tried to describe an entire life experience.
I enjoyed Lou as a character and appreciated her forthright attitude and general toughness, but wish she had a different medium to be shown through.
The broader concept of the book - an immortal spirit inhabiting different people in different times, though always through the lens of a Black person, was interesting and unique, but it was a such a large idea that it felt disjointed and spread thin as Deón tried to describe an entire life experience.
I enjoyed Lou as a character and appreciated her forthright attitude and general toughness, but wish she had a different medium to be shown through.
December 8, 2021
This is an incredible novel. It is hard to categorize. Some call it fantasy, I guess because it involves a sort of time travel. According to the reviews here, there are readers who love it and the rest don't seem to get it.
The main character is an immortal Black woman who is portrayed in two different life times, one in 1930s Los Angeles and one in the far future. It is a lot to take in but I felt myself thinking about Octavia Butler's Seed to Harvest series.
I am calling it Slipstream. It takes at least a curiosity about, if not a belief in, the idea that we live more than once.
The main character is an immortal Black woman who is portrayed in two different life times, one in 1930s Los Angeles and one in the far future. It is a lot to take in but I felt myself thinking about Octavia Butler's Seed to Harvest series.
I am calling it Slipstream. It takes at least a curiosity about, if not a belief in, the idea that we live more than once.
October 8, 2022
I have absolutely nothing positive to say about this book. The synopsis gave me so much hope and enthusiasm to read it and I was let down. The story was slow, too much back and forth between Lou and Sarah with nothing really connecting. For me there was a disconnect with the story and who the audience was.
December 27, 2021
Interesting premise but rough execution, the world wasn’t fleshed out and jumping back and forth in time was confusing and didn’t seem to add anything to the narrative
March 1, 2022
3.5 stars. love shit that plays with time, this felt like it was missing something or like, maybe I didn't fully pick up on everything
October 6, 2021
The plot idea was great, but that's all it was...an idea. Too much energy was spent preaching on social issues, leaving an under-developed plot and super flat characters. Don't get me wrong, I believe in addressing social issues! But the author even takes a jab at our current pandemic issues, like masks and vaccines. (Yes, I know its historically important and not only a current issue.) But, I could have just visited any social media site if I wanted to engage in politics and social commentary. I was hoping for what seemed like a unique and thrilling story, but got a sermon instead.
December 10, 2021
Beautiful sentences and history told from silenced voices. A view that needs to be known.
Read this one. 💙
Read this one. 💙
October 20, 2021
3.5/5
As a historical fiction novel, this was pretty good. Deon took great care to include multiple relevant pieces of early 20th century Los Angeles life, from major events to race relations.
Where it falls flat for me is where the novel tries to be speculative fiction. I didn’t feel we knew enough about Sarah Shipley to appreciate her in the same way we did Lou. We knew that Sarah and Lou were the same person, albeit in different time periods, but it took such a long time to understand why. The pacing was slow in the first 250 pages, and then ramped up significantly in the last 50. The Perishing could have benefited from spreading out its plot a little more evenly.
Additionally, this novel triggered my pet peeve of having a misleading jacket description. Based on the description, I thought the relationship between Lou and Jefferson was going to be much more prominent and detailed. Instead, it was relegated more to a subplot. That might not be a deal breaker for some, but it did bother me.
The most redeeming part of The Perishing is Deon’s prose. There’s no denying she’s an incredibly talented writer. Based on her writing in the first few chapters of the novel, I was so sure I’d give this a higher rating.
As a historical fiction novel, this was pretty good. Deon took great care to include multiple relevant pieces of early 20th century Los Angeles life, from major events to race relations.
Where it falls flat for me is where the novel tries to be speculative fiction. I didn’t feel we knew enough about Sarah Shipley to appreciate her in the same way we did Lou. We knew that Sarah and Lou were the same person, albeit in different time periods, but it took such a long time to understand why. The pacing was slow in the first 250 pages, and then ramped up significantly in the last 50. The Perishing could have benefited from spreading out its plot a little more evenly.
Additionally, this novel triggered my pet peeve of having a misleading jacket description. Based on the description, I thought the relationship between Lou and Jefferson was going to be much more prominent and detailed. Instead, it was relegated more to a subplot. That might not be a deal breaker for some, but it did bother me.
The most redeeming part of The Perishing is Deon’s prose. There’s no denying she’s an incredibly talented writer. Based on her writing in the first few chapters of the novel, I was so sure I’d give this a higher rating.
April 2, 2023
Feeling really conflicted about this one.
I spent 70% confused because I had no idea what was going on, and honestly the only reason I didn't spend the last 30% wondering the same was because I just accepted that I wasn't going to know. At that point it was easy for me to appreciate some nice moments here and there.
The story was pretty and symbolic, not sure if it went over my head or if it just didn't hit the way it was intended.
I spent 70% confused because I had no idea what was going on, and honestly the only reason I didn't spend the last 30% wondering the same was because I just accepted that I wasn't going to know. At that point it was easy for me to appreciate some nice moments here and there.
The story was pretty and symbolic, not sure if it went over my head or if it just didn't hit the way it was intended.
November 6, 2021
Interesting book! And challenging. I was flipping through it after I finished, to make sure I got how all the pieces fit together. It's not really sci fi or fantasy imo. It's literary fiction with a heavy dose of history and an underpinning of magical realism.
October 24, 2021
Lou appears in Los Angeles one day in the 1930s with no memory of who her family is or where they came from. She also keeps having these dreams from other times about other people. Will she ever discover where she came from? Will she find her family? Will she uncover the secrets around her existence before time runs out?
I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews around this book, but I couldn’t have loved it more. The writing is some of the most beautiful I’ve read in a long time. I can understand how some people could find the story confusing, but I wasn’t particularly confused. I feel like this book could have been assigned reading in school, which is definitely a vibe I love. I’ll have to check out more speculative fiction in the future! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews around this book, but I couldn’t have loved it more. The writing is some of the most beautiful I’ve read in a long time. I can understand how some people could find the story confusing, but I wasn’t particularly confused. I feel like this book could have been assigned reading in school, which is definitely a vibe I love. I’ll have to check out more speculative fiction in the future! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
June 11, 2022
This novel's vast scope, central conceit, and laudable intentions are all to be admired -- but, ultimately, where it fell down for me was in the execution. It took a reaaaaaaaaaaally long time to make its point(s), some of which remained pretty unclear (maybe even irrelevant) and disconnected from the main narrative. I did appreciate the socio-historical detail although I found it a bit uneven in terms of where, and how much detail, Deón chose to include.
The audio performance by Lisa Renee Pitts was just that: a performance, and I honestly can't decide if that helped or hindered my enjoyment.
Still, the ambition is such that I will definitely keep future novels by Natashia Deón on the radar!
The audio performance by Lisa Renee Pitts was just that: a performance, and I honestly can't decide if that helped or hindered my enjoyment.
Still, the ambition is such that I will definitely keep future novels by Natashia Deón on the radar!
October 17, 2021
This book was promoted as a book that seemed like it was going to focus on the immortal/magical realism aspect, but that part of the book was only a small snippet. Overall it was just disappointing because it wasn’t the story I was expecting and I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. It’s a book I’d likely not have finished and therefore not reviewed, but felt like I needed to finish it since it was my BOTM choice.
Read
April 9, 2025I don’t give ratings for the books I read but I’m giving this one 5 stars to try to counter the completely unwarranted low rating The Perishing has. It was great.
September 29, 2021
Ms. Deon's new book The Perishing is fantastic in all meanings of the word; I loved the use of time in this novel, the narrative that wove in the intersections of misogyny and racism within the context of LA's neighborhoods and across time. My initial worries that this book would be "too sci-fi" for me faded immediately as the book was actually just right for a reader like me who is seeking books that make me question what I know and don't know about race and cultural histories in the US, books that indeed play with time and memory while mixing in a coming of age/identity themes. I loved the voice of the narrator and the writing style provided for me a strong sense of cohesion and clarity even as the book moved between times and aspects of memory/lived lives.
I am often captivated by books that play with the idea of how time could be out of order or experienced in ways we do not plan (such as past lives or connections across time) and I loved how the protagonist talked about time and memory in a way that helped me immediately understand how these were experienced by her and how they were at the heart of the plot. The elements of magical realism and hints of mystery and themes on identity were also elegantly integrated into this book. I was drawn into the examination of who Sarah/Lou was and the examination of the self in time, place, memory, and consciousness and am still thinking about the prose and questions this book posed a day after finishing this book.
I saw this book listed in a preview of anticipated fall books in the NYTimes which lead me to request this book for review and I agree, this should be a highly recommended and anticipated book. I think this is a must read for readers and book clubs who are open to examining racism and sexism within the supernatural, magical realism contexts this book offers. I run a literary fiction chat and can't wait to recommend it to that group in particular. It is of course easy to say that fans of Octavia Butler should read this book but I would also recommend it to fans of Dawnie Walton's debut this year, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev as I feel both books examine Black women's lives in important ways and with strong writing and to fans of Velvet was the Night for similarities in noir vibes and use of culture/contexts as an important part of plot and mood.
Thank you to Counterpoint press and NetGalley for the chance to read and comment on this book.
My full review will be shared on instagram and my website https://pageusbookstuff6.wixsite.com/... closer to publication date.
I am often captivated by books that play with the idea of how time could be out of order or experienced in ways we do not plan (such as past lives or connections across time) and I loved how the protagonist talked about time and memory in a way that helped me immediately understand how these were experienced by her and how they were at the heart of the plot. The elements of magical realism and hints of mystery and themes on identity were also elegantly integrated into this book. I was drawn into the examination of who Sarah/Lou was and the examination of the self in time, place, memory, and consciousness and am still thinking about the prose and questions this book posed a day after finishing this book.
I saw this book listed in a preview of anticipated fall books in the NYTimes which lead me to request this book for review and I agree, this should be a highly recommended and anticipated book. I think this is a must read for readers and book clubs who are open to examining racism and sexism within the supernatural, magical realism contexts this book offers. I run a literary fiction chat and can't wait to recommend it to that group in particular. It is of course easy to say that fans of Octavia Butler should read this book but I would also recommend it to fans of Dawnie Walton's debut this year, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev as I feel both books examine Black women's lives in important ways and with strong writing and to fans of Velvet was the Night for similarities in noir vibes and use of culture/contexts as an important part of plot and mood.
Thank you to Counterpoint press and NetGalley for the chance to read and comment on this book.
My full review will be shared on instagram and my website https://pageusbookstuff6.wixsite.com/... closer to publication date.
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