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Humane
A riotous mystery set in a mythical city. Humane is a story about family and community; an examination and denunciation of historical injustices, and a relentless search for truth and integrity.
295 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
5 people want to read
About the author
Anna Marie Sewell
6 books14 followersAnna Marie Sewell is an Edmonton writer who performs theatre, prose and song.
She writes from the intersection of cultures, languages, ways of life, beliefs; from the silence between two rivers.
She writes from the intersection of cultures, languages, ways of life, beliefs; from the silence between two rivers.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2024
A beautifully written book though often very hard to keep track of what is going on from time to time.
Overall I would definitely recommend it, just for its unique qualities, I feel that there are many people who would get a lot from this book that I simply didn't.
In many ways the moment to moment, storylines and story moments take a hefty backseat to the complexity of the character's inner monologues and feelings about the world and their past. Not much of which is shown, but its ramification on themselves and how it has shaped them in the current day is definitely told. This is all very appealing.
However the actual mystery that was teased in the synopsis, and when its the focus is very engaging and downright thrilling at times, felt very much felt like the side plot. Despite some intriguing clues and a gradual piecing together of evidence all gets solved in very simple and brief way. I was not a fan of the last couple of the chapters but endings are very hard.
That being said I did care about the characters even if their introduction to the plot was sometimes a bit clunky and their relationships not always super clear. The way they, and the story at large, are described and portrayed is a beauty to behold and suffuses events with a kind of magical surreal quality that feels very personal to author and kind of makes me regret I didn't really get it as much as I might have.
I will definitely be picking up any other books I see written by this author though.
Overall I would definitely recommend it, just for its unique qualities, I feel that there are many people who would get a lot from this book that I simply didn't.
In many ways the moment to moment, storylines and story moments take a hefty backseat to the complexity of the character's inner monologues and feelings about the world and their past. Not much of which is shown, but its ramification on themselves and how it has shaped them in the current day is definitely told. This is all very appealing.
However the actual mystery that was teased in the synopsis, and when its the focus is very engaging and downright thrilling at times, felt very much felt like the side plot. Despite some intriguing clues and a gradual piecing together of evidence all gets solved in very simple and brief way. I was not a fan of the last couple of the chapters but endings are very hard.
That being said I did care about the characters even if their introduction to the plot was sometimes a bit clunky and their relationships not always super clear. The way they, and the story at large, are described and portrayed is a beauty to behold and suffuses events with a kind of magical surreal quality that feels very personal to author and kind of makes me regret I didn't really get it as much as I might have.
I will definitely be picking up any other books I see written by this author though.
June 29, 2023
This is a brilliant novel! Seawell is a great word smith, the Mark Twain of our time. Stories and characters are woven throughout the novel;educating the reader through storytelling. A masterpiece of storytelling. I can't wait to start the next one, Urbane. You will want to savour this reading, tidbits of poetry mixed with story. Even Bees "sing." I rarely review books, but for this novel I had too. It is that good!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews