Sunday, July 18, 2021

2021 book 147

 Victoria Goddard’s The Hands of the Emperor

I can’t entirely explain why my ultimate comfort read is a 900 page book about a highly ranked government official slowly enacting sweeping societal reforms (like universal basic income), except that maybe I want to live in this world? I mean, it is also a book about a bunch of middle aged men and their friendships and their FEELINGS, which is also somehow a rarity in fiction. I mean, this book is not perfect: the stuff about the protagonist’s family and friends not understanding his job gets a little repetitive. And I don’t know if there are any issues with the depictions of the protagonist's minority culture, which I think is based on the Pacific Islands (and since this is clearly another world, if that matters), though I am a minority in some respects and think she nails the insider/outsider stuff. But it makes me cackle and it makes me cry and I love all these dudes and their need to be hugged. 

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