November 16, 2022
Having read a number of books this year that are written beautifully, it’s refreshing to read something ugly. N.K. Jemisin’s second entry in the Broken Earth Trilogy is harsh, difficult, honest, and often mean. The author makes no attempt to use language to shield us from truths we might prefer to ignore, and instead uses words like weapons, intentionally digging into the places humans are most vulnerable. By the same coin, however, these realities are presented as exactly that–realities. Children bonding to their abusers and learning to murder for the sake of their loved ones, mothers with great power blindly lashing out as a response to PTSD, lynch mobs and cannibalism rising in the wake of societal collapse; while all of these things are explored with the weight of tragedy, our characters simply have no time or patience for anything other than the next moment, the next practical response. Thus we the readers are handed a bleak, cynical, desperate view of life and its labors.
Jemisin’s first book felt a bit like 400-odd pages of exposition and set-up for what would become the true dramatic plot of this story. This second volume pays that off in a big way. Where before lore was plentiful but answers were few, now we start to see the true shape of the conflict at hand, and with that deeper understanding comes an increased pace, a sense of urgency to replace our protagonist’s prior numbness. This makes for a more engaging and satisfying read, and also helps to validate the groundwork done up to now. In addition, the narrative structure changes in a big way, and by adding new perspectives Jemisin is able to direct attention to new developments instead of leaving us wishing for the comfort of a familiar framework.
While the world and the macro-plot of this trilogy are deeply compelling and well-designed, the real star thus far is the character development. By using an innovative 2nd person perspective to tell this story, the author creates an iron-clad bond between the reader and the protagonist, not just allowing us into the characters mind, but presenting the machinations and revelations as our own. With this connection sealed (in stone, as it were), Jemisin walks us through the traumas and crucibles of a world destroyed, and by the end we feel as though we lived it ourselves. A difficult, upsetting, and wholly excellent read.
8.5/10
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