Did not finish. The premise of this book sounded exciting but the writing left much to be desired. The story was told, in no way did the reader begin to feel immersed in the story. I tried several times, but just could not get into the book and never did get past the first few pages..

The description of The Lost Book of Adana Moreau piqued my interest despite being outside my usual choice for a novel. But I am so glad I gave it a chance. Totally immersive in style and content and spun out in gorgeous, almost poetic, prose, this is the tale of a manuscript lost for centuries, discovered and resulting in a present day road trip, with characters that breathe. Some of this writing is almost breathtaking ("Memory is a gravitational force. It is constantly attracting us to the past , even if we shouldn't stay there for too long.") Astoundingly polished for a debut. CanNOT wait for what comes.

Fans of Exit West should give this one a go. It's bold and innovative and layered. It's wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal.

I normally only reviewed SF/F but had decided to include mainstream titles too. I had thought another ARC would be the first to go in the new section, but this one fits the bill. It will appeal to SF fans, but the speculative elements are restricted to books within the book that have been written by characters. It's really literary fiction, and of the highest order. An incredible debut. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Zapata has written an ode to stories - storytelling and story-listening. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a beautiful novel. It covers some dark events and heavy themes but ultimately feels hopeful and uplifting. Zapata wraps the reader in the comfort of a much-loved childhood memory, while igniting the fires of possibility and potential for the future. It was the (unintentionally) perfect book to start the new year.

A plot summary really can’t capture the greatness of this novel, but here goes: Saul was raised by his grandfather in Chicago. Now a grown man, Saul is living an uninspired life. His grandfather’s dying request is for Saul to send a package to a man in Chile of whom Saul knows nothing. When the package is returned undelivered, Saul takes up the quest to find the mysterious Maxwell Moreau.

Enfolding in dual time periods, the narrative has even more shifts in period and place as the reader hears each character’s story. But the multitude of moving parts works because each story is so engrossing on its own. It’s like a patchwork of short stories woven into a novel. A patchwork that mimics the interconnectedness of Zapata’s characters to create a pleasing symmetry.

Five beautiful stars to The Lost Book of Adana Moreau.

This book is a whirlwind. The prose is beautiful, and the characters are richly explored. There are two main threads, but many side stories that are (for the most part) just as intriguing as the primary story. The ending fell a bit short for me after the lengthy build up, but it’s a book I enjoyed and will remember.

Maxwell closed his eyes and thought of nothing and everything, all at once, just as Saul had taught him, as if he were walking through a dark labyrinth, the center of which was bathed in moonlight, or, like his missing father, sailing through an endless dark blue sea toward something unknown. Then he opened his eyes and began to read.

This is one of the most unusual books I've read in a while. The whole time I was reading it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I wasn't fully sure what was happening or where the story was going. And even after finishing the book, I am not fully sure how I feel about it. I want to make sure to mention that this is not a "plot" driven book. Not much happens in this book. Actually that's not true. A lot happens in this book, but it's like you get to know each character and their life story and how they get to be where they are and who they are so there is a lot happening but none of it is a single plot the story follows. The only plot is really that Saul finds Adana's book and wants to return it to her son as his grandfather requested. That's the actual plot. The rest is really the story of each of the characters. There are a lot of historical events and politics in this book surrounding the lives of each of the characters.

Some parts where more interesting to me than others and I loved the writing throughout but I didn't fall in love with the book until I read how Maxwell and Saul's grandfather meet. That section was by far my very favorite of the book.

In the end I loved my time with this unusual story.

But no matter how much we think we know, we end up knowing so little of our parents and even less of our grandparents, most lives are forgotten as soon as they’ve occurred.

with gratitude to netgalley and Hanover Square Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an Ok book for me, I was interested enough to finish. It reminded me a lot of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Which was a 3 star book to me. Which I know it mentions in the description, but it was very comparable I found.
I found the story moved a little slow at the beginning, picked up when we met Saul, but then began to drag again. It was only 272 pages but it felt at times like it was closer to 600.
There were some rambling parts, like the Dominicana’s Welsh doctor tells her a story from his childhood and going to work in the coal mines. I wasn’t sure what the point of including was. Also the lack of chapters bothered me.
There were some very graphic scenes, especially the scene of the Jewish Refugee being tortured near the end of the book, which I really didn’t feel added to the story, but were a shock factor.

Michael Zapata hits the ground running with his debut novel “The Lost Book of Adana Moreau”. On one level it is a collection of straight-forward stories that take you to multiple parts of the world during multiple era. However, once you start to figure out how the stories are connected, it becomes something quite different: complex, layered with elements of tragedy, circumstance, and magic.

“The Lost Book of Adana Moreau” is different than the books that I usually read. I think that that will be a common reaction from readers. While Zapata name checks a whole bunch of my favorite authors, books, films, and art, he does it in a unique manner. It’s not often that I am presented with Pirates, deserts, daggers, the Russian Revolution, theoretical particle physics, and multiple iterations of New Orleans in one and the same novel.

There is lots of love for heart-broken families, journalists, independent bookstore owners and delis. All in all it is a fascinating read chock full of historical facts, stories, songs, and poems. The cadence is lovely with never a dull moment. We will be hearing lots more from Mr. Zapata.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the eARC. Much appreciated.

Very literary and heady novel regarding a Saul's grief over his grandfather and the discovery that his grandfather possessed a lost manuscripts of a science fiction novel from the 1930s. As Saul tries to locate the son of the novel's deceased author, he reunites with an old friend recently returned from decades as a freelance journalist, and Hurricane Katrina ravages New Orleans, the prior home of the author and her son. Dense and beautiful prose and complex telling make it a delight to read.

This book shines on every level: sentence after sentence is beautiful and precise. The characters are complicated and sympathetic, the ideas are sweeping and profound, but are never too overt. It’s a rare novel that is as accomplished in its meaning as it is in its storytelling while also succeeding wildly on the language level as well! A novel to lose yourself in and then reflect upon again and again.

Wow! Just... wow. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a complex, satisfying read, gradually building connections among narratives that initially feel disparate. The voice is engaging—a mix of whimsy, tangential thinking, and philosophy. While the entire novel takes place on our Earth, it explores the idea of multiverses, of the ways crucial events might have played out differently, and the ways individual characters might have been shaped differently. Reading this book requires thoughtful attention because the links between the narratives are subtle at times, but it pays back that work with a glorious sent of ideas for readers to continue to mull over when the reading itself is done.

Thank you NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Description
The mesmerizing story of a Latin American science fiction writer and the lives her lost manuscript unites decades later in post-Katrina New Orleans

In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel titled Lost City. It is a strange and beautiful novel, set in a near future where a sixteen-year-old Dominican girl, not all that unlike Adana herself, searches for a golden eternal city believed to exist somewhere on a parallel Earth. Lost City earns a modest but enthusiastic readership, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she and her son, Maxwell, destroy the only copy of the manuscript.

Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfather’s home when he discovers a mysterious package containing a manuscript titled A Model Earth, written by none other than Adana Moreau.

Who was Adana Moreau? How did Saul’s grandfather, a Jewish immigrant born on a steamship to parents fleeing the aftershocks of the Russian Revolution, come across this unpublished, lost manuscript? Where is Adana Moreau’s mysterious son, Maxwell, a theoretical physicist, and why did Saul’s grandfather send him the manuscript as his final act in life? With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Maxwell in New Orleans, which is caught at that moment in the grip of Hurricane Katrina. Unable to reach Maxwell, Saul and Javier head south through the heartland of America toward that storm-ravaged city in search of answers.

Blending the high-stakes mystery of The Shadow of the Wind, the science fiction echoes of Exit West, and the lyrical signatures of Bolaño and Márquez, Michael Zapata’s debut shines a breathtaking new light on the experiences of displacement and exile that define our nation. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a brilliantly layered masterpiece that announces the arrival of a bold new literary talent.

A beautifully crafted book. Well written! It's tough for some authors to get a cohesive feel when dealing with alternate timelines. While I had to really concentrate most of the time, I found myself deep into the complexities of the world that was created - all while still happening on our Earth. Mesmerizing!

This is a beautifully written and crafted mystery, love story, homage to Latinx SFF and history, and a joy to read. Follow the stories of writers, pirates, parents, children, physicists, journalists, and the other rich and complex characters of this novel and learn about the glory of writing from the imagination, the past, and the hoped-for future. In the 1910s, Adana Moreau writes SFF with a decidedly personal twist, calling up her childhood in the Caribbean. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Saul and Javier search for her son, trying to return his mother's last manuscript to him. Zapata's writing about the Caribbean, New Orleans, and Chicago is evocative and gut-wrenching, and his voice--through Adana Moreau--is a beautiful attempt to honor the women of SFF and particularly Latinx SFF who have been neglected.