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Reading ‘How High We Go in the Dark’ by Sequoia Nagamatsu
I’ve long anticipated reading How High We Go in the Dark — simply because it is about climate change and pandemic and it is by Sequoia Nagamatsu.
I have over two thousand titles on my to-be-read list, so I don’t waste time rationalizing why I want to read any particular book. I just know that I do want to read it. If the stars ever align, I get a copy.
Today is the release day of How High We Go in the Dark, and it was a privilege and a joy to read it on its birthday as the sun rose.
Something About the Book
From the story’s opening in a climate-altered landscape that looks “like some god had unzipped the snow-topped marshlands,” the language drew me in. The description is equal parts scientific and theological, simple and convincing:
“You know they call Batagaika the gateway to hell? Probably started when the locals cut too many of these trees. And vegetation, my friend, is what keeps this land frozen. This piece of the underworld is getting bigger every year.”
A lethal virus spreads in the warming water. It kills humans in a creepy sci-fi way. If an infected person’s skin is broken, they can be infectious to others. Reminiscent of the early days of…
