Amy's Reviews > How High We Go in the Dark

This is simultaneously a beautiful and painful piece of literature. Every chapter is something new and surprising. However, every chapter explores different facets of death. At first, I was intrigued and captivated by the author's imagination. But it eventually just became too much. Of course, we all die, but we don't want to think about it. And I don't mind thinking about death, but I apparently have my limits. The chapter on assisted suicides for pandemic-afflicted children was definitely a rough one.

The novel is inventive. Each story follows a different character, but the main characters are all interconnected in different ways. The first character we follow is on the site of an archeological excavation that uncovers a virus in the Arctic that unleashes a deadly plague. Then we follow other characters, including a worker from an amusement park for dying children, a crematorium operator, and other people who have direct connections to the death and suicide industry that has grown up as a result of the plague. The storyline goes back to the earth's origin story as well as to events surrounding our eventual exploration of outer space. So, it has a pretty far-reaching story arc.

Overall, it's a five-star book, but I have to knock it down to four stars because it's depressing as heck. I honestly don't think I came out mentally okay after reading it, and books don't usually phase me. So, read it at your own risk. If you think it might be too emotionally difficult to read, it will be.