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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Deaths throughout the linked stories; some graphic medical content
Language
Some
Adult language in the literary fiction register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The novel's sustained meditation on grief — and the ways people find meaning in the face of overwhelming loss — creates its quiet devastating weight
What this book is about
Sequoia Nagamatsu's debut novel is structured as linked short stories set in a world decimated by a plague released from melting permafrost. The stories span decades and connect in unexpected ways — a children's hospital euthanasia specialist, a ghost haunting her own funeral home, a stand-up comedian performing for dying patients, a scientist in space carrying his daughter's recorded voice. Nagamatsu writes about grief and love with extraordinary sensitivity.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Death and grief throughout
Assisted death as a recurring element
Reader Verification
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