What do you think?
Rate this book
Darkmotherland
“A Dickensian sweep and a vast cast of characters, Upadhyay created an ancient world saturated with the spirit of our time and shaped by political ambition and dark vision . . . A grand novel indeed.� —Ha Jin, National Book Award–winning author of Waiting
An epic tale of love and political violence set in earthquake-ravaged Darkmotherland, a dystopian reimagining of Nepal, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
In Darkmotherland, Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay has created a novel of infinite embrace—filled with lovers and widows, dictators and dissidents, paupers, fundamentalists, and a genderqueer power player with her eyes on the throne—in an earthquake-ravaged dystopian reimagining of Nepal.
At its heart are two intertwining narratives: one of Kranti, a revolutionary’s daughter who marries into a plutocratic dynasty and becomes ensnared in the family’s politics. And then there is the tale of Darkmotherland’s new dictator and his mistress, Rozy, who undergoes radical body changes and grows into a figure of immense power.
Darkmotherland is a romp through the vast space of a globalized universe where personal ambitions are inextricably tied to political fortunes, where individual identities are shaped by family pressures and social reins, and where the East connects to and collides with the West in brilliant and unsettling ways.
An epic tale of love and political violence set in earthquake-ravaged Darkmotherland, a dystopian reimagining of Nepal, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
In Darkmotherland, Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay has created a novel of infinite embrace—filled with lovers and widows, dictators and dissidents, paupers, fundamentalists, and a genderqueer power player with her eyes on the throne—in an earthquake-ravaged dystopian reimagining of Nepal.
At its heart are two intertwining narratives: one of Kranti, a revolutionary’s daughter who marries into a plutocratic dynasty and becomes ensnared in the family’s politics. And then there is the tale of Darkmotherland’s new dictator and his mistress, Rozy, who undergoes radical body changes and grows into a figure of immense power.
Darkmotherland is a romp through the vast space of a globalized universe where personal ambitions are inextricably tied to political fortunes, where individual identities are shaped by family pressures and social reins, and where the East connects to and collides with the West in brilliant and unsettling ways.
768 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2025
38 people are currently reading
1,706 people want to read
About the author
Samrat Upadhyay
11Ìýbooks100ÌýfollowersSAMRAT UPADHYAY is the author of Arresting God in Kathmandu, which earned him a Whiting Award, and The Guru of Love, which was a New York Times Notable Book, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, a finalist for the Kiriyama Prize, and a Book Sense 76 pick. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and teaches creative writing and literature at Indiana University. His eight-year-old daughter Shahzadi, is a published poet.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 15, 2025
3.5 stars.
This is such a strange novel that I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to.
If you like weird SFF novels like , , and , then you might like this. If not, then I definitely wouldn't recommend bothering with this book at all.
As a lover of weird books, this was even a little too weird for me. But I pushed through, and it ended up following the typical story beats, but with A LOT of meandering and diving into specific details and backstories for the main characters. I ended up liking the characters, so this didn't bother me too much at all.
Fortunately, I don't think you need to know anything about Nepal to read this book. If you're in any way familiar with the rise of fascism, then it's easy to understand the political backbone of this story. From there, this story follows two characters: Kranti, the daughter of a revolutionary, and Rozy, the dictator, PM Papa's, mistress. There are a couple of side characters which I also liked, Kranti's boyfriend and Kranti's mother.
I liked how this story subverted expectations, especially with Kranti and Rozy's roles as women living in a country with limited social mobility under a highly repressive government. I liked how each took highly different paths in their lives, which provided a great comparison and contrast as to how Darkmotherland society treated its women based on class (or perceived class), sexism, and homophobia and transphobia with Rozy.
I wish the novel was tightened up into something more coherent though. While I really liked reading about all of the characters and Darkmotherland's physical and political upheavals, I don't think a lot of readers would have the patience for this book.
There are subplots and subsubplots that were varying degrees of unimportant, very unnecessary sex scenes that took me out of the book because they were beyond silly, and in general this read like a rough draft written during an energy drink-fueled weekend. (Where the hell was the editor?)
Anyway, I'm not sure who I can recommend this book to. Connoisseurs of weird books, sure. But I don't know if anyone else will get the same kick out of this book. It's a lot less about (failed) revolutions and more about two specific characters and the two vastly different ways that they try to live within or break out of their prescribed roles.
Weirdly explicitly sex scenes aside, I had a good time.
Thank you to Soho Press and NetGalley for this arc.
This is such a strange novel that I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to.
If you like weird SFF novels like , , and , then you might like this. If not, then I definitely wouldn't recommend bothering with this book at all.
As a lover of weird books, this was even a little too weird for me. But I pushed through, and it ended up following the typical story beats, but with A LOT of meandering and diving into specific details and backstories for the main characters. I ended up liking the characters, so this didn't bother me too much at all.
Fortunately, I don't think you need to know anything about Nepal to read this book. If you're in any way familiar with the rise of fascism, then it's easy to understand the political backbone of this story. From there, this story follows two characters: Kranti, the daughter of a revolutionary, and Rozy, the dictator, PM Papa's, mistress. There are a couple of side characters which I also liked, Kranti's boyfriend and Kranti's mother.
I liked how this story subverted expectations, especially with Kranti and Rozy's roles as women living in a country with limited social mobility under a highly repressive government. I liked how each took highly different paths in their lives, which provided a great comparison and contrast as to how Darkmotherland society treated its women based on class (or perceived class), sexism, and homophobia and transphobia with Rozy.
I wish the novel was tightened up into something more coherent though. While I really liked reading about all of the characters and Darkmotherland's physical and political upheavals, I don't think a lot of readers would have the patience for this book.
There are subplots and subsubplots that were varying degrees of unimportant, very unnecessary sex scenes that took me out of the book because they were beyond silly, and in general this read like a rough draft written during an energy drink-fueled weekend. (Where the hell was the editor?)
Anyway, I'm not sure who I can recommend this book to. Connoisseurs of weird books, sure. But I don't know if anyone else will get the same kick out of this book. It's a lot less about (failed) revolutions and more about two specific characters and the two vastly different ways that they try to live within or break out of their prescribed roles.
Weirdly explicitly sex scenes aside, I had a good time.
Thank you to Soho Press and NetGalley for this arc.
January 5, 2025
4.25/5 ARC gifted by the publisher
I wasn’t sure if this ride will be worth it until after 500 pages, things turned around for me and I ended up really enjoying this one!
DARKMOTHERLAND is definitely for the niche audience who like weird books with super on the nose political satire that will prepare you for the incoming US administration 😂 I had a lot of fun reading about the absolutely outrageous yet totally imaginable political scenarios
There’s a very interesting juxtaposition between two woman, one a daughter of a famous political dissenter who marries into a wealthy family with deep ties to the current dictator, and another a trans woman who endured a lot of homophobia/transphobia yet found her way into the inner circles of the dictator prime minister. It is these two intertwined storylines that pushed me to finishing this 700+ page chonkers
I thought the author, albeit a man, did a great job examining femininity in authoritarian regimes. Not just for physical attraction, but how one’s femininity as considered through the lens of motherhood (mother to family, to citizens, etc) is fascinatingly described via the two FMC
That said, i wonder if the book could’ve been 400 pages to be a bit more focused on the two main storylines. I appreciate the various side characters to give more context into Nepali culture, but find the story loses its momentum in the middle
I wasn’t sure if this ride will be worth it until after 500 pages, things turned around for me and I ended up really enjoying this one!
DARKMOTHERLAND is definitely for the niche audience who like weird books with super on the nose political satire that will prepare you for the incoming US administration 😂 I had a lot of fun reading about the absolutely outrageous yet totally imaginable political scenarios
There’s a very interesting juxtaposition between two woman, one a daughter of a famous political dissenter who marries into a wealthy family with deep ties to the current dictator, and another a trans woman who endured a lot of homophobia/transphobia yet found her way into the inner circles of the dictator prime minister. It is these two intertwined storylines that pushed me to finishing this 700+ page chonkers
I thought the author, albeit a man, did a great job examining femininity in authoritarian regimes. Not just for physical attraction, but how one’s femininity as considered through the lens of motherhood (mother to family, to citizens, etc) is fascinatingly described via the two FMC
That said, i wonder if the book could’ve been 400 pages to be a bit more focused on the two main storylines. I appreciate the various side characters to give more context into Nepali culture, but find the story loses its momentum in the middle
November 8, 2024
I received this earc from netgalley. This is first time reading from this author.
Darkmotherland is an intense and challenging story about the rising and aggressively challenge political figures fighting to remain in power and those stepping into it.
I want to start off by saying this was my first time reading this author and much of the politics of Napel is unfamiliar to me. All I can do is base what I know and understand of western politics to those which were presented in this book. And
Dark-motherland made me question picking up other work but this author to be honest. Maybe this is a rough draft of the book, but even so the consistent themes of racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, classism, and sexism this book covers was just not for me. I understand that Darkmotherland is meant to present readers a story of political revolution and uprising from resistance groups. I also understand that the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship between Kranti and Professor Shrestha acts as the reader’s anchoring guide for the story. But the further we move away from that the more muddled and twisted the narrative becomes.
Was this meant to be a sardonic, satire version of the present political climate that we’ve been experiencing? To that, I have the option to say that it isn’t necessary to embellish the gross nature of situations. Especially since minorities and the oppressed groups are already familiar with it. Perhaps that’s why I was so triggered?
Likewise, because I found the dystopian line of the narrative so blurred it was not hard to imagine the world of Darkmotherlsnd as I said it is very close to our own. I did wonder if the text was also meant to be an examination of the human condition when forced into such a heavy political struggle?
I understood the Big Two was meant to be an event/time period that happened which was much bigger that then events/timeframe similar to that of WWII but beyond that I was struggling for a timeline reference. Particularly when it came to the homophobia, transphobia and racism.
Darkmotherland is an intense and challenging story about the rising and aggressively challenge political figures fighting to remain in power and those stepping into it.
I want to start off by saying this was my first time reading this author and much of the politics of Napel is unfamiliar to me. All I can do is base what I know and understand of western politics to those which were presented in this book. And
Dark-motherland made me question picking up other work but this author to be honest. Maybe this is a rough draft of the book, but even so the consistent themes of racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, classism, and sexism this book covers was just not for me. I understand that Darkmotherland is meant to present readers a story of political revolution and uprising from resistance groups. I also understand that the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship between Kranti and Professor Shrestha acts as the reader’s anchoring guide for the story. But the further we move away from that the more muddled and twisted the narrative becomes.
Was this meant to be a sardonic, satire version of the present political climate that we’ve been experiencing? To that, I have the option to say that it isn’t necessary to embellish the gross nature of situations. Especially since minorities and the oppressed groups are already familiar with it. Perhaps that’s why I was so triggered?
Likewise, because I found the dystopian line of the narrative so blurred it was not hard to imagine the world of Darkmotherlsnd as I said it is very close to our own. I did wonder if the text was also meant to be an examination of the human condition when forced into such a heavy political struggle?
I understood the Big Two was meant to be an event/time period that happened which was much bigger that then events/timeframe similar to that of WWII but beyond that I was struggling for a timeline reference. Particularly when it came to the homophobia, transphobia and racism.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 5, 2024I really don't want to do this, but I'm going to DNF this one. I feel like there's such potential for an amazing story, but there are certain elements that are distracting and problematic for me. I've read 200 pages, and at 768 pages, I'm just not willing to continue investing my time in this. 😪
Shelved as 'dnf'
December 17, 2024I want to express gratitude to Soho Press and Netgalley for providing me an advanced reader's copy. I was very excited to read and review Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay however after reading about 250 pages I need to DNF this book. I will add I was determined to keep reading as I began to learn more about the politics, story and characters in this region. I was intrigued by the similarities between this time in Nepal and our own here in the U.S. I wanted to dive deeper into the plot of the Mao revolutionaries however, there is persistent, racism, sexism and homophobia in the text. At first I tried to over look it because I ultimately thought the author may challenge some of these notions or I thought perhaps its an examination of how when a society is in turmoil these issues tend to be prevalent. There is only so much I can take of these blatant aspects of the novel.
February 17, 2025
Weird AF. Spectaculars characters. Maybe 200 pages too long?
January 10, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This was very much a complex read for me. I don't say that in terms of the density of the material or the language or approach used- more so from a contextual point of view. It is a behemoth of a novel, with a lot of thought and consideration clearly put into this dystopian version of our modern world. I will confess that there were a number of countries that I believed the Darkmotherland could be, however, understood that a very particular satirical piece was being made in the construction of the events presented. Unfortunately, I think this book simply got too far ahead of itself and decided to tackle too many social, political, geographical, and other issues in one place.
There are many characters who I did not understand or connect with, and I did find that there was a weird focus on sex scenes as a whole, as though they were the chain links that held the story together. This is sometimes done well when these things have poignancy, but often they were oddly graphic with no real reason to be as such. I thought that the themes presented on the social issues were in good faith, if not a little haphazard at most times. I will profess that I very much enjoyed the ending of Rozy's story, but I also feel like it was left in midair as to where they were to go from here.
I also feel like the changing of some names but no significant alterations left issues with determining that this was, indeed, a dystopia. Sometimes it just felt like a diatribe on the reality that we live in. I completely understand that there is a place for this, but a few more metaphors would not have gone amiss in the world of this book.
There's definitely a lot of culture and issues that are held in this book, and I admire the tenacity of the author in attempting to tackle them. Unfortunately, I feel this book could have been edited down significantly to about a solid 300-400 pages, and it would have benefited from a little more sensitivity in portraying an alternate reality.
This was very much a complex read for me. I don't say that in terms of the density of the material or the language or approach used- more so from a contextual point of view. It is a behemoth of a novel, with a lot of thought and consideration clearly put into this dystopian version of our modern world. I will confess that there were a number of countries that I believed the Darkmotherland could be, however, understood that a very particular satirical piece was being made in the construction of the events presented. Unfortunately, I think this book simply got too far ahead of itself and decided to tackle too many social, political, geographical, and other issues in one place.
There are many characters who I did not understand or connect with, and I did find that there was a weird focus on sex scenes as a whole, as though they were the chain links that held the story together. This is sometimes done well when these things have poignancy, but often they were oddly graphic with no real reason to be as such. I thought that the themes presented on the social issues were in good faith, if not a little haphazard at most times. I will profess that I very much enjoyed the ending of Rozy's story, but I also feel like it was left in midair as to where they were to go from here.
I also feel like the changing of some names but no significant alterations left issues with determining that this was, indeed, a dystopia. Sometimes it just felt like a diatribe on the reality that we live in. I completely understand that there is a place for this, but a few more metaphors would not have gone amiss in the world of this book.
There's definitely a lot of culture and issues that are held in this book, and I admire the tenacity of the author in attempting to tackle them. Unfortunately, I feel this book could have been edited down significantly to about a solid 300-400 pages, and it would have benefited from a little more sensitivity in portraying an alternate reality.
Read
December 18, 2024I received a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I nearly DNFed this but I am a completionist. What I expected was a saga of cultural exploration and revolution and instead got a rambling confused story about hating a dictator dispersed with my boyfriend is too friendly with my mother so I did a poet on the side and here’s a violent rape of an LGBTQ character. I was confused about who was who and who was the bad guy and confused about why who hated who [and this author can’t write sex at all, why do they keep going on about how hairy everyone is!] disappointing overall.
January 4, 2025
First, thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for providing an arc of the book. This book will be released on January 7th, 2025 .
Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay is a complex and challenging novel set in a dystopian Nepal. The author skillfully blends political intrigue, social commentary, and personal drama to create a haunting portrait of a society on the brink of collapse. The novel’s narrative is complex, intertwining the stories of various characters caught in the crossfire of a power struggle.
While this approach offers a rich tapestry of perspectives, it can also be overwhelming at times. The relentless pace and the dense political landscape may leave some readers feeling lost. The author’s exploration of themes such as corruption, oppression, and the erosion of human rights is thought-provoking. However, the graphic depictions of violence and the explicit sexual content may not be suitable for all readers.
While Darkmotherland is undoubtedly ambitious, it may not be the most accessible read. The dense prose and intricate plot can be challenging to follow, particularly for those unfamiliar with the specific cultural and political context of the novel. Despite its flaws, the book offers a powerful critique of contemporary society and a warning about the dangers of unchecked power. It is a bold and provocative work that demands careful consideration.
Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay is a complex and challenging novel set in a dystopian Nepal. The author skillfully blends political intrigue, social commentary, and personal drama to create a haunting portrait of a society on the brink of collapse. The novel’s narrative is complex, intertwining the stories of various characters caught in the crossfire of a power struggle.
While this approach offers a rich tapestry of perspectives, it can also be overwhelming at times. The relentless pace and the dense political landscape may leave some readers feeling lost. The author’s exploration of themes such as corruption, oppression, and the erosion of human rights is thought-provoking. However, the graphic depictions of violence and the explicit sexual content may not be suitable for all readers.
While Darkmotherland is undoubtedly ambitious, it may not be the most accessible read. The dense prose and intricate plot can be challenging to follow, particularly for those unfamiliar with the specific cultural and political context of the novel. Despite its flaws, the book offers a powerful critique of contemporary society and a warning about the dangers of unchecked power. It is a bold and provocative work that demands careful consideration.
January 27, 2025
Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay is a dystopian imagining of present-day Nepal following an enormous earthquake. This dense and complex novel follows the rise of the country’s nationalist leader, the daughter of his biggest detractor, his lover, and the wealthy industrialist family who supports him.
We see how a worn-out populace, concerned with trying to survive- either at a subsistence level or maintaining their previous wealth- will support lies, corruption, and disregard of human rights. These pressures exacerbate classism, racism, misogyny, sexual abuse, religious divides, and lack of empathy; this plays out over and over again in the text.
At almost 800 pages, there are only two characters that are fully realized: PM Papa, Darkmotherland’s leader, and his lover Rozy. The writing is rambling and packed full of random scenes, many of which do not seem to advance plot, world building or characters There is a lot of repetition, as well. A character’s clothing will be described and then half a page later will meet new people and their exact same clothing will be described again. Subplots are forgotten for hundreds of pages. Despite that, there is some very sharp political satire and social commentary. Certain scenes and people made me laugh out loud, and surprised me with their insight. A more concise and focused novel would have made that standout more.
While there are parts of this novel that I would give 5 stars, there are also parts that were just wordy and unnecessarily dense. I’ve not yet been able to decide if the payoff was worth it.
Thank you to NetGalley and SoHo Press for the advanced digital copy.
We see how a worn-out populace, concerned with trying to survive- either at a subsistence level or maintaining their previous wealth- will support lies, corruption, and disregard of human rights. These pressures exacerbate classism, racism, misogyny, sexual abuse, religious divides, and lack of empathy; this plays out over and over again in the text.
At almost 800 pages, there are only two characters that are fully realized: PM Papa, Darkmotherland’s leader, and his lover Rozy. The writing is rambling and packed full of random scenes, many of which do not seem to advance plot, world building or characters There is a lot of repetition, as well. A character’s clothing will be described and then half a page later will meet new people and their exact same clothing will be described again. Subplots are forgotten for hundreds of pages. Despite that, there is some very sharp political satire and social commentary. Certain scenes and people made me laugh out loud, and surprised me with their insight. A more concise and focused novel would have made that standout more.
While there are parts of this novel that I would give 5 stars, there are also parts that were just wordy and unnecessarily dense. I’ve not yet been able to decide if the payoff was worth it.
Thank you to NetGalley and SoHo Press for the advanced digital copy.
January 21, 2025
Real Rating: 3.75* of five
The Publisher Says: An epic tale of love and political violence set in earthquake-ravaged Darkmotherland, a dystopian reimagining of Nepal, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
In Darkmotherland, Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay has created a novel of infinite embrace—filled with lovers and widows, dictators and dissidents, paupers, fundamentalists, and a genderqueer power player with her eyes on the throne.
At its heart are two intertwining narratives: one of Kranti, a revolutionary’s daughter, who marries into a plutocratic dynasty and becomes ensnared in the family’s politics. And then there is the tale of Darkmotherland’s new dictator and his mistress, Rozy, who undergoes radical body changes and grows into a figure of immense power.
Darkmotherland is a romp through the vast space of a globalized universe where personal ambitions are inextricably tied to political fortunes, where individual identities are shaped by family pressures and social reins, and where the East connects to and collides with the West in brilliant and unsettling ways.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: There is a lot to be said for ambition in storytelling. This book, for the first third, was destined for enshrinement in my hall of fame; the second third for my favorites list; and by the end for my "you should read it if you love, or need, a full-immersion wide-angle view of what chaos really does." You should know going in that women have significant challenges regarding consensual sex here. The centering of a transfem character's experiences made for sharp commentary on gender roles in a repressive, fascistic regime, yet also made my hackles rise. I have trans folk in my life whose potential feelings about this book's explicitness I constantly found obtruding in my reading.
It's not to say this is a pure negative. I'm all for people writing uncomfortable takes on the world as we find it today. The fact that Rozy is a person with agency, albeit in a very twisted system, felt both natural and unhappy. Her choices were severely limited, and yet also used to prove the point that pressure can cause a person to become more powerful the same way water under pressure can .
The fictionalized country in the story was a background for me, a setting; the events played out on its stage. I was unable to get deeper than that, despite the story's evident desire for me to do so, by the sheer size of the cast we're following. It is always a risk to expand a cast beyond a handful of people. The great trick of numbing people to the reality of suffering is to follow Stalin's epigrammatic maxim: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." Like teaching history, telling a story in novel form only becomes less involving when you dilute your message (especially when it's essentially the same message repeated) beyond a certain point. I'm not clear if that was an intentional choice of metacommentary on the author's and publisher's part.
This story of the chaos and upheaval that attend a violent ending suffers from this dilution. It also tries its best to invest you in its very deeply felt observations on how cruelty ultimately undermines itself as it metastasizes. As ever, the issue of what is celebration and/or normalization arises as repetition of violent language and behaviors continues to assault one's readerly experience. This fine balance between intention and reception is always deeply personal. It crossed my internal line shortly after midpoint; I was too deeply interested in the results the author intended to bring to quit, as I ordinarily would have done. That's why I got as close as I did to a full four stars.
I'm not doing a good job, I fear, of expressing how deeply enfolding a tale is told here. I'm very much a fan of stories that require me to think and deeply consider the places and times and inhabitants of the storyscape before me. I think a read that makes demands on my deeper cognitive resources is a fun read. This story does that. I'm very interested in tales of messy endings that are inevitable and inherent in the setup of the world being built. This story could be the poster child for that. I was, then, very much on the side of the author and his project of elucidation.
But because of certain choices he made, it began to feel like it was just that: a project.
I wanted to end the read as much, or more in love with it as I started out being. I'm bummed that I couldn't.
The Publisher Says: An epic tale of love and political violence set in earthquake-ravaged Darkmotherland, a dystopian reimagining of Nepal, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
In Darkmotherland, Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay has created a novel of infinite embrace—filled with lovers and widows, dictators and dissidents, paupers, fundamentalists, and a genderqueer power player with her eyes on the throne.
At its heart are two intertwining narratives: one of Kranti, a revolutionary’s daughter, who marries into a plutocratic dynasty and becomes ensnared in the family’s politics. And then there is the tale of Darkmotherland’s new dictator and his mistress, Rozy, who undergoes radical body changes and grows into a figure of immense power.
Darkmotherland is a romp through the vast space of a globalized universe where personal ambitions are inextricably tied to political fortunes, where individual identities are shaped by family pressures and social reins, and where the East connects to and collides with the West in brilliant and unsettling ways.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: There is a lot to be said for ambition in storytelling. This book, for the first third, was destined for enshrinement in my hall of fame; the second third for my favorites list; and by the end for my "you should read it if you love, or need, a full-immersion wide-angle view of what chaos really does." You should know going in that women have significant challenges regarding consensual sex here. The centering of a transfem character's experiences made for sharp commentary on gender roles in a repressive, fascistic regime, yet also made my hackles rise. I have trans folk in my life whose potential feelings about this book's explicitness I constantly found obtruding in my reading.
It's not to say this is a pure negative. I'm all for people writing uncomfortable takes on the world as we find it today. The fact that Rozy is a person with agency, albeit in a very twisted system, felt both natural and unhappy. Her choices were severely limited, and yet also used to prove the point that pressure can cause a person to become more powerful the same way water under pressure can .
The fictionalized country in the story was a background for me, a setting; the events played out on its stage. I was unable to get deeper than that, despite the story's evident desire for me to do so, by the sheer size of the cast we're following. It is always a risk to expand a cast beyond a handful of people. The great trick of numbing people to the reality of suffering is to follow Stalin's epigrammatic maxim: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." Like teaching history, telling a story in novel form only becomes less involving when you dilute your message (especially when it's essentially the same message repeated) beyond a certain point. I'm not clear if that was an intentional choice of metacommentary on the author's and publisher's part.
This story of the chaos and upheaval that attend a violent ending suffers from this dilution. It also tries its best to invest you in its very deeply felt observations on how cruelty ultimately undermines itself as it metastasizes. As ever, the issue of what is celebration and/or normalization arises as repetition of violent language and behaviors continues to assault one's readerly experience. This fine balance between intention and reception is always deeply personal. It crossed my internal line shortly after midpoint; I was too deeply interested in the results the author intended to bring to quit, as I ordinarily would have done. That's why I got as close as I did to a full four stars.
I'm not doing a good job, I fear, of expressing how deeply enfolding a tale is told here. I'm very much a fan of stories that require me to think and deeply consider the places and times and inhabitants of the storyscape before me. I think a read that makes demands on my deeper cognitive resources is a fun read. This story does that. I'm very interested in tales of messy endings that are inevitable and inherent in the setup of the world being built. This story could be the poster child for that. I was, then, very much on the side of the author and his project of elucidation.
But because of certain choices he made, it began to feel like it was just that: a project.
I wanted to end the read as much, or more in love with it as I started out being. I'm bummed that I couldn't.
January 8, 2025
Here’s an extract from page 23 of this book.
‘�...Furry creatures climbed inside children’s blankets and requested bedtime stories. College girls raped by ghosts at night, awoke to sore cunts and bloody sheets……………the Big Two fucked us like no one has fucked us before, people said. If it weren’t for PM Papa, we would have been fucked even more…�.�
Right at this 23rd page of the book, I lost my grip amidst the morass of the author’s dystopian clamor drowned and disgraced by the replete use of jigged-up invectives.
Samrat seems to have written this book for himself and just for himself.
I could try just a little harder and pretend to understand the nuances ruffled wickedly in lieu of giving the benefit of all my doubt to him, but that’s about how far I could extend my olive branch.
Meanwhile, I also sincerely envy his unchecked episteme where all roads lead not to Rome but to La la land where all characters must wriggle-in to his narrative mold.
I am not a judge or a jury, and yet I am an audience to the violent rattle.
Any reader who can endure past the woes of traversing through Samrat’s jabbering amidst his distraught narrative is just going to become dumber and cerebrally inept.
So, to answer everyone's burning question-
I would not pass on this book to my children, my mother, my spouse, my colleagues, or to that one person the author might have had in his mind while writing this book..
‘�...Furry creatures climbed inside children’s blankets and requested bedtime stories. College girls raped by ghosts at night, awoke to sore cunts and bloody sheets……………the Big Two fucked us like no one has fucked us before, people said. If it weren’t for PM Papa, we would have been fucked even more…�.�
Right at this 23rd page of the book, I lost my grip amidst the morass of the author’s dystopian clamor drowned and disgraced by the replete use of jigged-up invectives.
Samrat seems to have written this book for himself and just for himself.
I could try just a little harder and pretend to understand the nuances ruffled wickedly in lieu of giving the benefit of all my doubt to him, but that’s about how far I could extend my olive branch.
Meanwhile, I also sincerely envy his unchecked episteme where all roads lead not to Rome but to La la land where all characters must wriggle-in to his narrative mold.
I am not a judge or a jury, and yet I am an audience to the violent rattle.
Any reader who can endure past the woes of traversing through Samrat’s jabbering amidst his distraught narrative is just going to become dumber and cerebrally inept.
So, to answer everyone's burning question-
I would not pass on this book to my children, my mother, my spouse, my colleagues, or to that one person the author might have had in his mind while writing this book..
January 22, 2025
Hmm, yeah, this is an odd book. I suppose if you enjoy weird SFF novels this might be up your alley. Otherwise, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, as it`s A LOT.
Even as someone who loves weird books, this one pushed my limits. It meanders a lot, diving deep into backstories and small details about the main characters. That said, I did end up liking the characters, so I didn’t mind too much. The setting/context of Nepal is interesting, but overall it felt like a meandering character study to me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review!
Even as someone who loves weird books, this one pushed my limits. It meanders a lot, diving deep into backstories and small details about the main characters. That said, I did end up liking the characters, so I didn’t mind too much. The setting/context of Nepal is interesting, but overall it felt like a meandering character study to me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review!
January 30, 2025
Love in the Time of Tyranny
Several things happen at once and we care about all of them. A nation much like Nepal suffers a devastating earthquake, flooding the capital with rural refugees. The latest coup installs an over-the-top Trump-imitating dictator. Who brings his trans lover to the palace. The opposition is anchored by a woman who names her daughter Revolution and then ignores her. Revolution and a rebellious one-percenter fall in love. And on and on. Funny, moving, always in touch with what's real - even when it's not.
Several things happen at once and we care about all of them. A nation much like Nepal suffers a devastating earthquake, flooding the capital with rural refugees. The latest coup installs an over-the-top Trump-imitating dictator. Who brings his trans lover to the palace. The opposition is anchored by a woman who names her daughter Revolution and then ignores her. Revolution and a rebellious one-percenter fall in love. And on and on. Funny, moving, always in touch with what's real - even when it's not.
March 25, 2025
DNF
I wanted to stop after reading the bit about college girls being raped by ghosts at night and awoke to “sore cunts and bloody sheets� but I thought I was being too prudish and overreacting.
Then I got to “his extra-large penis ramrod straight, perky, alert, twitching� and decided � you know what? It’s ok to be a prude if this is being prudish. I’m sick of dealing with men’s dick focused drivel.
February 10, 2025
Not surprised but still a little sad to see how many reviewers across this and other platforms managed to miss the entire point of this book.
This was a brilliant, on the nose, scathing political commentary and the ending was 🤌.
This was a brilliant, on the nose, scathing political commentary and the ending was 🤌.
Read
January 25, 2025DNF too big. Weak female character. Too political.
March 28, 2025
Wild ride, maybe a few hundred too long. Absurd magical realism + political satire all too salient for this particular moment in time
April 25, 2025
💤💤💤 read fifty percent and gave up. This is a slog.
March 24, 2025
3/13/25
4 stars
Fuck President Corn Hair!
4 stars
Fuck President Corn Hair!
August 12, 2024
I have mixed feelings about this book. It could have been really good, but it just wasn't quite there. I think part of the reason, for me, was needing more context. I think if I had a better understanding of the culture and history, the book would have made a little more sense. As it was, I feel like a lot went over my head.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.