Flowers for the Sea, Zin E. Rocklyn
Received to review via Netgalley
I’m not certain why I originally requested this on Netgalley, because it is very much not my thing. It’s set on an ark, in a world where water has swallowed the land, and the main character is pregnant when others on board have all lost babies, died in childbirth, etc. Slowly, we get some details about the world before the ark, while it becomes obvious that it’s no ordinary pregnancy.
It’s a very visceral book, ripe with details about scents (most of them awful) and sensations (again, most of them awful). Much of it is body horror, which is extra specially not my thing.
It’s beautifully written, which is most of what kept me turning the pages. I sometimes felt that the dreamlike narrative got in the way of me understanding quite what was happening — mostly in the memory sections, and in the relationships between the characters. It probably didn’t help that it was so very much not my thing, as well: I can’t say I was paying my best attention to the details while cringing!
Hmm, yours is not the first mixed review I’ve seen, unfortunately, and the more I read the more I feel this probably won’t be my thing either. Thanks for the honesty!
It feels beautifully written, and that’s kinda what kept me going… but I just didn’t enjoy the subject matter, y’know?