In Berlin

I longly hesitated on whether I should give this book three stars or four. Consider it a 3,5 rounded up, because I still think it is worth the read. (Edit: rounded it down to a 3 because I'm still mad three days later.)

Let's start with the good things, shall we?

First of all, this is a very fast read. Not in the sense that it is short or lacks depth and complexity, not at all. In fact, it is a pretty thought-provoking book. I mean fast in the sense that I couldn't put it down for a second. The characters and their story cling to your brain and soul and you can't shake them off, so you keep turning pages. One more chapter often turned into one more part for me. I was too invested to stop myself from reading.

That's also partly thanks to the author's amazing writing skills : I was inside the book, smelling what there was to smell, seeing what there was to see, tasting what there was to taste. That extends to the character's emotions too. I felt Anna's frustration at being trapped in a bed talking to people who didn't want to hear a word of what she had to say, felt Batul's drive to be a doctor and her fear at being unable to, and so on and so forth.

I loved Anna and Batul's relationship from the first time they met. They felt like a breath of fresh air in each other's perspectives and they both wanted the best for the other, which sounds like the bare minimum, but I feel like it's so rare to find relationships that are truly mutually beneficial and altruistic in media. Their discussions showed how interested they were in what their friend (and more) had to say.

Those conversations often contained political references, software vocabulary and medical jargon, but they were not off putting in the slightest, as they were well explained and necessary to the progress of the story, in my opinion.

All of these things are why this was at least a four-stars read for me, up until the ending.

To me, the huge time jump didn't make any sense. I didn't recognise Anna anymore and the sudden science fiction made me wrinkle my nose. It's a genre I love, just not when I'm thrown into it by force. It all felt very idealistic too, especially considering the rest of the book. Moreover, the sudden switch from Anna not letting her disability keep her from her life and dreams to suddenly getting miraculously healed and infinitely happier left a sour taste in my mouth. Why perpetuate the idea that people with disabilities cannot be truly happy?

Although maybe I'm just bitter, this didn't feel like a resolution. A shame for what I hoped I could rate five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!