Our Memory Like Dust

by Gavin Chait

Why do we tell stories? To hold on to what has been loved and lost, to create new myths, to explain and teach in ways that seep into memory.
Shakiso Collard leads the evacuation from Benghazi as jihadis overwhelm the refugee camp where she works. On arrival in Paris, she is betrayed by her boss, Oktar Samboa, and watches in despair as those she illegally helped escape are deported back to the warzones of Libya.
Elsewhere, Farinata Uberti – strongman CEO of Rosneft, the world’s largest energy company – arrives in London after triggering a violent insurrection in Tanzania to destroy a potential rival in the oil market. In the Sahara, an air convoy on its way to deliver billions of dollars of drugs and weapons to Ansar Dine jihadis crashes and is lost.
A year later, having spent months in hiding, Shakiso travels to West Africa. She is there to lead the relief effort that are hoping to stop the 200 million refugees fleeing war and environmental collapse heading for a fortified and fragmented Europe.
As the myths of these millions seeking new lives across the Mediterranean intrude into reality, Shakiso is drawn into the brutal clandestine fight against Rosneft’s domination of European energy supplies being conducted by the mysterious Simon Adaro. And, deep within the disorienting Harmattan storms of the desert, a group of jihadis have gone in search of the crashed convoy of planes - and a terror that could overwhelm them all.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

393 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2017

About the author

Born in Cape Town in 1974, Gavin Chait emigrated to the UK nearly ten years ago. He has degrees in Microbiology & Biochemistry, and Electrical Engineering. He is an economic development strategist and data scientist, and has travelled extensively in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia and is now based in Oxford. His first novel, Lament for the Fallen, was critically acclaimed (Eric Brown in the Guardian called it ‘a compulsively readable, life affirming tale’). Our Memory Like Dust is his second.

Follow Gavin on Twitter @GavinChait, or at https://gavinchait.com

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Axiom's End, 'Our Memory Like Dust' is a sci-fi novel I grabbed in the library without really knowing anything about it, then found somehow not to my taste. It frustrated me that I didn't appreciate 'Our Memory Like Dust' more, as it contains many elements I should have really liked. Set in the 2050s, it depicts Africa suffering from civil wars, failed states, climate breakdown, and a massive refugee crisis. Meanwhile, Russia seeks to safeguard its energy monopoly at all costs, China seeks to break it, London is mostly flooded, and a European NGO attempts to help the refugees from across Africa who are barred from crossing the Mediterranean. Centring the novel on the refugee crisis and calling the displaced people 'seekers' are both excellent choices. I also liked the concept of interjecting West African myths reinterpreted for the 2050s, although this did make the pacing a bit odd. However, the messianic tech billionaire main character who fought Islamic fundamentalists and saved Africa with technology was hard to swallow.

I am so tired of media (it's mostly films) that depict selfless billionaires, in absolute defiance of reality. Where did this hero get his money from in the first place? The novel's explanation was unconvincing, as no-one becomes a billionaire without exploiting vast numbers of people or inheriting from those who did. Moreover, the idea of a rich blue-eyed white man saving Africa is straight up distasteful given the historical causes of both the continent's impoverishment and climate change itself. Shakiso, who works for an NGO, starts the book with the more humble perspective that it isn't easy to fix climate-related social collapse, then becomes a much less interesting character as a love interest for the tech billionaire. Although there is a lot of potential in the political and social world-building, I found it tended to slip into technological determinism (including the wonders of blockchain) and convenient sentiment. When all the border guards on the militarised Mediterranean decided to let every seeker in, then families spontaneously took the seekers in, it was a lovely idea but did not strike me as realistic. Given that this is a world with neo-fascist politics more extreme than our own, it felt naive to assume the problem of climate refugees could fix itself so easily. The amount of nuance accorded to the issue seemed to vary at different points in the narrative. The tone was likewise variable, which made it difficult for me to get caught up in the narrative.

There was also much less about climate change than I expected - have extreme weather events stopped by this point? What are atmospheric CO2 levels? If London is flooded, how much have sea levels risen? I think Kim Stanley Robinson has set such a high bar for climate change sci-fi novels that I am especially critical of them. 'Our Memory Like Dust' does some very interesting things and some very frustrating ones. I found it more of an effort than I expected and ultimately unsatisfying. It was still worth reading, though, as novels examining forced migration caused by climate change are thin on the ground.

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did read and enjoy the debut novel by Gavin Chair so was intrigued by his newest book especially as that stunning cover certainly entices you in. I have always been fascinated by the themes of memory both in fiction and real life, especially within the origins of folklore. For myself, family stories are a way of keeping previous generations alive and they are passed from parent to child. I’m often asked by my grandchildren to “tell me the story of when Great Grandma/Grandpa/Mummy did ******”. All of these stories are now part of our family history and they somehow change slightly, mutating the more they are told.

For the first eight chapters of Our Memory Like Dust, I have to admit I was very confused. There were so many characters introduced within multiple threads that I ended up taking notes, something I never really do but felt I had to have something to refer to as I continued to read. Once we meet Shakiso in Chapter Nine, things started to fall into place and the narrative flowed easier for me then although I still had to refer back to notes occasionally.

Set within a dystopian future, mainly on the African continent, there is plenty within this novel that we can relate to within today’s political climate and I think that’s what scared and fascinated me the most here, that it was a future which doesn’t seem that far off or unlikely! This books has so many themes under its futuristic umbrella that are relevant to today society such as terrorism, immigration and the damage to our natural environment. It is no wonder one of the solutions here has been to colonise Mars! As the thousands of “seekers” leave their homelands due to the horrors of war, searching for a better life away from the refugee camps, they become entangled in the politics of a society powered by greed and the need for commodities such as energy and arms. Although Shakiso is an experienced aid worker working to help them, it seems that their necessary requirements go beyond what anyone can deliver and the camps are not meeting those needs. As the threads of these stories gradually weave together and the relationships between characters becomes clearer, the plot slowly builds up its momentum until the shocking denouement brings everything together.

Twisted throughout are the stories and myths and these were perfectly placed to break up the narrative adding a poignancy to the circumstances and events surrounding the characters. They marked a parallel dimension from where we see hope for the future of mankind through the spellbinding tales passed down by each generation as they make them their own.  This cleverly constructed storyline is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered before with its complex and imaginative methodology as it gradually reveals it’s secrets.

This isn’t an easy read but it’s a book I’m very glad I did read and its mythology has stayed with me, hovering around me like a ghostly presence which you will understand if you read it. There is a wonderful line that says “And drifting through the air, memory like dust spreads and settles. That none may forget.” Stunning isn’t it? Our Memory Like Dust journeys through a rich and evocative descriptive narrative with an almost poetic, prophetic voice that will resonate in today’s society. A powerful and thought provoking experience.

[Danie Ware]

Started twice and beat me both times - fifty/sixty pages of utterly bewildering, info-dumping flashbacks that ricochet you from here to there to somewhere else so fast you get whiplash. No idea what was going on, who anyone was or why I should care about them. And the (what I assume to be) main PoV character, who is presumably there to thread them together, offers no insight or explanation- not as much as a toehold. I won’t, on principle, rate a book I didn’t finish - and a genuine shame, because I really enjoyed his first one.

[Fatimah Almutawa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let’s just say that i have no idea what this book is about 🙂

[Nia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gavin Chait’s second novel, Our Memory Like Dust, hits hard from page one. Depicting a not so distant future where Earth is ravaged by war, suffering and loss, the novel warns us that we must take responsibility for our actions before the fate we carve for ourselves and our descendants becomes flawed and dangerous.

The novel follows several strands which are set up early on. Each are rich, complex and relevant, pulling the reader through a fast-paced narrative; a tense drumbeat drawing us ever closer to the dramatic events it presents. Set in West Africa, the lives of Shakiso, a refugee worker; Farinata Uberti, the ruthless CEO of Rosneft energy company; and Ansar Dine, a jihadi tribe, intertwine through the actions of a mysterious blue-eyed man, Simon Adaro. They each have their own motive – to resettle those who are lost, to become the world’s most powerful energy company, to undermine the social structure and become revered and feared. Simon Adaro’s motives are less clear; he is at once philanthropic, ruthless, secretive and loyal, either charming or unsettling every person who crosses his path. Shakiso is drawn to him, sensing a powerful affinity beneath his business-like exterior. However, she soon realises that he is a target, sought out by dangerous enemies in Rosneft and Ansar Dine, and becomes embroiled in a power struggle that threatens the world as they know it. Technology is at the forefront of politics in the novel, as a group of corporations throw their weight around, vying to lead the energy market, brutally ignorant of the impact their actions are having on the rest of the world’s inhabitants. Times have change and progressed, but Chait is careful to maintain that the issues are still the same.

Far from a novel preaching to the masses, Our Memory Like Dust has a complex narrative rooted in storytelling. The novel is peppered with stories told by Gaw Gon, a mystical figure who shape-shifts depending on the audience of his tale – he appears to some as a wise old man, to others as a huge baboon. The listener is guaranteed an immersive experience as they settle down to hear him speak, and can never be sure that their interpretation is the same as their neighbour’s. Stories have power in the novel; they foreshadow events, reveal a person’s true character, lay souls bare. The shifting, drifting population of the world have little to their name, but hold on to the myths and legends they have carried with them from generations past. As they seek refuge in a place they cannot call home for long, they introduce their genii and gods to the land, where they take root. The genii are ambivalent forces, threatening yet kindly; with one hand they offer guidance and with the other they incite fear. Even the most powerful characters seek their wisdom, and are little more than pawns in their own narrative. In Our Memory Like Dust, myth and reality are fluid, and so are memories. Like the sand that relentlessly drives against the characters in the novel’s desert setting, memories are ever-shifting, ever-changing, but they have the power to determine fate, bring people together and drive them apart. Memories in the novel are collective; they are physical, part of the earth and air. Characters’ eyes are clouded with memory, they are haunted by it. Memories fuel passions, hatred, and desire – Shakiso is determined to learn from the past so it will never be repeated, while the jihadis of Ansar Dine are motivated by their rage over past injustices. Memories also offer hope, solace, a sense of home – the refugees who are displaced and downtrodden are always clinging to their cultural heritage and the strength it provides. Amid the chaos of war, the rapid advancement in technology and the power struggles of the few deciding the fate of the many, all are bound together by memories of what has gone before, and what is yet to come. Through his portrayal of memory as a tangible force, Chait encourages the reader to consider their role – we are forging the memories that Earth’s future occupants will take as myth; we hold power in our hands that must not be misused.

Our Memory Like Dust is fast-paced and gripping, but Chait does not skip over detail or plot to maintain this. His settings are rich and visceral – it is possible to feel the incessant desert wind whipping sand into your eyes, or the claustrophobic heat that shimmers and shifts, playing tricks on the eyes. He writes of familiar countries and cities, but they have changed beyond imagination – London is largely under water due to flooding caused by climate change, for example. Tension is maintained throughout the novel, largely by Chait’s unique and complex characters. Each has a backstory, a motivation; they are all conflicted and not purely ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Both the heroes and the villains have equal page-time and the opportunity to tell their own story, to use their voice. The novel’s detailed, shifting storyline can be hard to follow at times – there are multiple characters, complicated motives, tangled alliances and rivalries. The first few chapters require a large amount of concentration as a range of characters are introduced, and scenes fly by with little revelation. However, once the reader becomes familiar with the characters, it is difficult not to be drawn in to Chait’s intelligent writing – the emotion is raw, the action is thrilling and the hope present throughout the novel is uplifting. I raced through the final few chapters, hooked on the dramatic and tense narrative, and was itching for more after reading the closing lines.

Our Memory Like Dust proves that Chait is a unique voice in science-fiction writing. The novel is poignant and thoughtful, part warning fable, part intelligent reflection on modern society. Relevant and engaging, Our Memory Like Dust is a novel for our times, and perhaps the one we all need now more than ever.

[Judith Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review and more up on my blog: http://bit.ly/2uLC6QK

It’s alternative futures gone bezerk! I’ll start by saying that this book took me a while to fully understand. It’s a slow burn at first as you try to get a handle of who is telling what story and how it is ever all going to come together. Once you wrap your head around what’s actually going on and what the author is trying to do it starts to make a bit more sense and it’s smooth sailing from there on out.

This book is hugely topical with the way the world is now and I don’t know whether that favours it or not? Asylum seekers and conflict can be very tricky issues to deal with when you’re looking at facts, bring in an element of fiction and a mythology and you get an even more complex maze to navigate.

I will say, in the author’s notes at the end he apologises for any errors in his use of Senegalese folklore/mythology which I appreciated and which made me feel a little less awkward about someone not from Senegal using that tradition. I bow to the opinions of those who’s culture this is but to me this felt like it was handled well.

One of my main concerns was that the characters in this book would feel very ‘white saviour’-y but again I was pleasantly surprised by the way this was handled.

This is just about the right level of science fiction for me. It brings in tech and ideas that we don’t currently have but that are believable within the time frame. The solar farms, metal gel armour and other tech are all plausible and understandable for a laywoman such as myself. If you like hardcore science fiction this may be a bit light for you, but honestly in this case the characters and the story are far more significant than the setting anyway.

I have only given this book three stars (meaning that I liked it but didn’t love it) just because it darts about so much, across the world and in flashbacks etc. that it’s hard to ever feel like you’re in one coherent narrative. Once you get to the end you can sort of piece it all together and try to make something of it but until then I felt a little lost.

This is an incredibly interesting story and a good way of looking at contemporary issues through the lense of science fiction and fantasy. Our Memory Like Dust is one of those books that everyone is going to be told to read at some point in life, and they probably should.

My rating: 3/5 stars

Our Memory Like Dust releases on July 27th so you can preorder now or wait to nab it from your local bookshop if you think it’s something you might like!

By the way, I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Kirsty Hanson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought Lament for the Fallen by Gavin Chait ages and ago (and I still haven't read it) so when I was given the opportunity to read another one of his novels: Our Memories Like Dust, I jumped at the chance. And now, I really wish I hadn't... 

Shakiso Collard leads the evacuation from Benghazi as jihadis overwhelm the refugee camp where she works. On arrival in Paris, she is betrayed by her boss, Oktar Samboa, and watches in despair as those she illegally helped escape are deported back to the warzones of Libya.

Elsewhere, Farinata Uberti – strongman CEO of Rosneft, the world’s largest energy company – arrives in London after triggering a violent insurrection in Tanzania to destroy a potential rival in the oil market. In the Sahara, an air convoy on its way to deliver billions of dollars of drugs and weapons to Ansar Dine jihadis crashes and is lost.
A year later, having spent months in hiding, Shakiso travels to West Africa. She is there to lead the relief effort that are hoping to stop the 200 million refugees fleeing war and environmental collapse heading for a fortified and fragmented Europe.

As the myths of these millions seeking new lives across the Mediterranean intrude into reality, Shakiso is drawn into the brutal clandestine fight against Rosneft’s domination of European energy supplies being conducted by the mysterious Simon Adaro. And, deep within the disorienting Harmattan storms of the desert, a group of jihadis have gone in search of the crashed convoy of planes - and a terror that could overwhelm them all.

"Will we recognise the suffering and hope in the journey of these refugees? Or will we raise a wall of steel and drown their faith in the waters of the Mediterranean?

- Gavin Chait, Our Memories Like Dust

All of the way throughout this book I was confused. I mean you just have to read my Goodreads updates to know that I wasn't enjoying it. There were too many characters so I kept getting confused, the plot seemed to be all over the place and the fact that the formatting on an e-reader for this book wasn't good either, so that didn't help with the confusion. 

I did finish the book but in my mind, I feel like I DNF'd it at about 35%. I'd just had enough... And not enjoying this book has kind of put me off reading Lament for the Fallen, but I'm still going to give it a read in the future because I want to see if it was just this book that I didn't like or whether I just don't like Chait's writing style. The only reason that I've given the book it's one and only star is because of the issues that this book addresses. Our Memories Like Dust is set in the future and explores issues such as terrorism, the divide between the lower and upper classes, religious beliefs and refugees. I thought it was interesting to see how Gavin Chait portrayed each of these issues and how all of them intertwined with one another, but it was just a shame that it was all over the place.

Overall, this book was just disappointing. I was expecting so much more from it and it just failed to provide the type of story that I was looking for. There are only 3 reviews on Goodreads, and all of them give this book 3 stars, so maybe this book just wasn't for me? It's obvious that other people enjoyed this book waaayyy more than I did, so if you've read it, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments! 

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 27th July

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a complex, ambitious book that wildly succeeds on some fronts and not as much on others. I can't even begin to summarize the plot because it's not about one story. It's about many stories -- all of our stories -- and how we're remembered by others when we're gone. It's not an easy book to read, especially not in the beginning. The rapidly shifting POVs -- sometimes changing from paragraph to paragraph -- were the biggest problem for me. They prevented me from deeply connecting with any given character, and caused at times a lot of confusion that pulled me out of the story. Gavin's dazzling prose is what helped me stay with the book when the proliferation of characters and POVs sent me reeling.

Once I met Shakiso, though, the immigration smuggler and her biogenetically altered caracal companion "Tuft," I had a fascinating character to hang onto in this science fiction dystopia with themes of immigration, terrorism and climate change that bear an unsettling resemblance to the current state of the world. Shakiso is fighting to save immigrants fleeing Benghazi by smuggling them into other countries. Her soon-to-be lover, Simon Adaro, is building life-saving solar farms in climate-compromised Senegal while smoking out the dangerous jihadi group, Ansar Dine. As their plotlines intertwine, the Russian mafia and the jihadi work to destroy them.

Meanwhile, a mysterious character named Gaw Gon -- sometimes appearing as an ape, sometimes as an elderly man -- is a spiritual figure who wants only one thing: to hear your story, even if you have to tell it as you die. Gaw Gon was both the most baffling and most powerful character in the book; he was the thread that stitched together the seemingly disparate pieces of narrative, sometimes even introducing stories of his own. His presence haunted the heart-wrenching stories of refugees fighting for a better life, as well as the struggle of Senegal as it suffered the brunt of climate change.

And when I say technology, I mean realistic advances that could be made in the next 30 years. The technology in this book is very cool. I thoroughly enjoyed Chait's take on the future of 3D printers and bankless ID-credit cards, as well as how criminals would operate with them. But his depictions of climate change filled me with dread. The devastation of Africa is exactly as the UCLA professor Laurence Smith depicts in his book, THE WORLD IN 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future. Seriously frightening stuff.

I do understand some reviewers complaints about the "white savior" in Simon, but Shakiso isn't white (at least, not as I read her, so maybe I'm wrong) and she's arguably the ultimate hero in this tale. I'd love to see more about her and Tuft. Who doesn't love a woman with a dangerous cat at her side?

Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Jenny Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this but worth reading. On the one hand, scarily plausible dystopia of climate change and the migration it drives ('the arc of fire' across Africa) playing out in a pretty likely scenario. I haven't read that many climate change books which really focus on Africa, so that was refreshing. Some memorable lines and scenes, particularly with minor characters. I feel like I was missing a lot of the significance of the framing folk motif.

On the other hand, reliance on a single (white) saviour, and some truly implausible technology (I don't mean solar panels - and the author sensibly avoids mentioning what type of solar projects they are, mostly).

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How do you wish to be remembered?"

This is a dystopian/sci-fi novel set in Africa (specifically, Senegal) and featuring a lot of local folklore magical realism elements. I repeat: dystopian science-fiction set. in. Africa! How can you not be intrigued by that? It has a varied cast of interesting characters on all places on the spectrum between good and evil - showing how politics and big international conflicts are everything but black and white, and overall rather messy. There are politicians, terrorists, aid workers, economic leaders, a lot of action, some romance, some scheming, and a lot of cool futuristic technology.

But most importantly, this novel turns a lot of contemporary issues extreme to show how they could develop in the future: climate change, refugees, terrorism, data protection and privacy, even Brexit. There is a lot of diversity as well, starting with all of the African characters and continuing with LGBT+ and disabled side characters. I loved that the African countries were empowered and shown thinking of themselves first, standing up to the likes of superpowers like China, Russia and Europe to not let themselves be exploited.

The beginning was a bit rough - told in magical realism mind-reading / torture flashbacks. It was a weird structure that stretched my patience because it was rather unclear. That was the first 80 pages. It took only 20 more for me to completely fall in love. Gavin Chait has a complex and well-done vision of the future world and a unique narrative style that fit very well. With powerful, minimalist descriptions and only little information, he makes his story and the scope of what the characters know about fell very realistic. Even though it was written in such broad strokes and jumped around on the timeline, the reader still feels an emotional connection to the characters. Overall, the style was almost visual, like a documentary - which fit the content very well.

I guess what I am trying to say is: read this book! Get through the rough patch of the first 80 pages and you will not be disappointed!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't so sure when I first stared the book, where everything's written in italics and it's hard to keep up with whose who. I wondered if I'd been remembering the last book too fondly, and had set my hopes to high for this one. As I got further into the story, I changed my mind swiftly: this story felt every bit as good as his first work, perhaps even better. I love how he constructs a vision for the future out of current politics, so that this sci-fi future feels somehow familiar and tangible, and possible. I love how he blends it with an air of folklore, so this vision of the future seems tied to old mythology: it gives the story a sense of being part of the greater path of history. You warm to the characters of the book organically, the way you'd get to know a friend: at first they're a stranger, and you struggle to remember their name and who they are, but soon they feel familiar to you, and you're attached to them. The writing style is poetic, but it never feels pretentious because it never feels like the phrases chosen are more than what the story requires.

[Adam Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

"All your experiences print themselves upon you. The scars on the surface are the easiest to see and have the least impact. The ones that mount are those on your soul and spirit: when you have cared unconditionally and experienced loss. When you have been placed in situations where, whatever your choice, you will cause hurt and you must make that decision anyway. Life has ambiguity that resolves in ways that linger. Sweet sorrows for all the missing and forever gone. Stories untold moments unshared."

An affecting novel in terms of its near-future world-building and its incorporation of myth and philosophy, but let down somewhat by prose, narrative, and characters that were, for me, less compelling.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would certainly read another by this author, which probably tells you enough, but I did find it hard work. An interesting blend of genres, which leads to a lot of characters and storylines to keep track of (you could almost benefit from taking notes). You can't pick it up and put it down - you'll probably want to get through it in a few longer reading sessions, but I'd say it's worth it.

[Yva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed, very disappointed, after the amazing first book. The world just lacked the magical futurism as we went back in time. Similarly, the characters didn't feel like the same people I'd come to appreciate either.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still confused as to what this book was about.

[Michael S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I read it. But .....would I ever re-read read it ? No 😉

[LoisReadsBooks]

Full review can be found on: https://loisreadsbooks.wordpress.com/

I was intrigued by this book after reading its synopsis in passing on Goodreads. This book is extremely relevant as to what is going on in the world at the minute. I feel as though this helped with my interest in the book.

At first this book for me was incredibly confusing. There are multiple stories within the first few chapters of the book. I got confused by this because my brain spent a lot of the time trying to work out who the stories were about and if they linked. There are a lot of characters and places introduced in these first few chapters, which also adds to the confusion. But this all came into place around 50 pages into the book. I began to wrap my head around all the different stories and how they linked and began to enjoy the book even more.

When I began reading this book I was worried I would not connect with any of the characters. This is always an issue for me when I begin a book as I must be connected to at least one character to like the story...

[Wole Talabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an ambitious near-future sci-fi thriller that aims for something quite lofty but doesn't always land. It does land enough for me to recommend it, even if cautiously. The plot follows several threads - but in brief, it tells the story of Simon (a technology entrepreneur) and Shakiso (an aid worker), both trying to help North-to-West Africa deal with devastation caused by climate change caused mass migration, working with local people and governments while fending off Russian business interests and Islamic terrorists. Following their stories, is a mythical figure named Gaw Gon.

The ideas are interesting and all (unfortunately) come across as plausible even though the author doesnt go into much detail of how exactly they would work. And I quite like the concept of Gaw Gon used as a framing device to follow the stories and link it to the people and the culture. Unfortunately, this is done quite unevenly. The rapidly shifting POVs, rambling dialogue in the middle and use of inconsistent styles to introduce and interpret Gaw Gon are confusing. There is also the problem that both Simon and Shakiso are very obviously written as white savior characters.

Overall, I call it one a bold swing for something grand that just missed, in my opinion anyway.