How High We Go in the Dark

How High We Go in the Dark

2022 • 304 pages

Ratings270

Average rating3.7

15

A euthanasia theme park, a talking pig named Snortorious P.I.G., and a funerary hotel. There is no shortage of dark humor to be found among the increasingly macabre story beats of How High We Go in the Dark. Even so, some sections are just incredibly devastating to read and that's a credit to Nagamatsu's excellent writing. 

Not every vignette worked for me, but the ones that did were awfully affecting. My investment in each small story waned as we moved farther away from the “present day,” but the ever-evolving interconnectedness of the narratives was intriguing to track throughout.

If you're looking for an escape from our current pandemic-ridden world, this is not the right book for you. If you can put that aside, there's some really effective storytelling at work here. 

My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

For my true fractional star rating see this review on The Speculative Shelf.

November 17, 2021