In a network of lines that enlace

I tried reading this novel 2 years ago, and couldn’t connect with it. I decided to pick it up again at the end of last week; and didn’t stop until I finished.

The novel is a dystopian historical fiction of a world where the Allies lost WW2. Japan, Germany and Italy are the ruling powers, the Mediterranean Sea has been drained and the Africa has been destroyed. It’s a frightening reality, where crimes against humanity are ripe, and technology has advanced in strange ways; space travel and rockets are part of everyday life.

Reality is fluid in this novel, creating an interesting but disturbing read. You’re never sure where you are, nothing feels creating. The novel is set in one reality, so different from ours and references passages from The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a radical book imagining if the Allies had one the war. In addition to this, there are various undercover agents, subterfuge and trickery happening between characters. It’s a novel that keeps you guessing, and you don’t know who to trust.

It’s a gripping and brilliant read, making you think and feel as you go through.