Kree Toronto is roaming around during a restless time, through apocalyptic type landscapes and among occasional survivors. We get her story in stark flashes and vignettes, unclear sometimes on the chronology.

I ultimately did not finish but made it 61% into the book. The writing is atmospheric, gritty, and each chapter seems to drop the reader somewhere new, at least between sections. Like Kree, it feels like we are kept off balance. I am confused about the use of the word "what" throughout this book; understanding that it was originally written in another language, I do wonder if something was lost in translation. The way the word is pervasively used, but not in a manner that makes sense, makes me feel like it's supposed to mean something else or indicate a dialect of some kind. Ultimately this wasn't for me but I could see those who enjoy cerebral and post apocalyptic stories with futurism enjoying this.

Thank you to University of Minnesota Press for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 10/22/24. I'll be posting reviews on our after September 22.

[received an advanced copy from netgalley and university of minnesota press, thank you!]

very dense world-building done in a very approachable way--like taking a small peek into a large, uncomprehensible world! written very beautifully, i'd like to see more of this author's work in the future. 3/5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Univeristy of Minnesota Press for the arc!

Unfortunately couldn´t finish this one. I tried so hard but it was way to confusing, the way the word "what" was used really confused me. I´m not a native english speaker or reader but i do pride myself on being quite advanced when it comes to understanding the language and being able to follow the story and understanding everything. This book made me feel really stupid.

What i did understand i found really interesting and would have loved to know more. Unfortunately my brain could not follow.

This book is highly ambitious. Its focal point is its dark, dismal atmosphere. If you are looking for a book that makes sense, this book is not for you. If you don't mind trudging through the ash and clay of a decaying world (or perhaps several worlds) alongside a woman who is both living and dead, you may find this book to be an ideal companion. Kree has several ideological and abstract threads that connect its chapters and sections. These threads were not always satisfying to me because it didn't feel like there was anything substantial for the threads to string together. The characters are illusory by choice, their behaviors are animalistic, and their motivations are ephemeral. This book has the angry coherency of a fever dream. While I feel it is more ambitious than successful, I can appreciate the many paths Kree tried to take.

Dark, chilling, and more than a little confusing. There doesn’t seem to be a transition or break between when she’s trying to punish the people that killed her dog and when she’s captured.

Kree is an abstract wander through a desolate wasteland left behind after a vaguely described apocalyptic war and environmental crisis. This is the kind of story that is going to connect to a particular kind of reader who enjoys a more abstract and atmospheric type of writing as opposed to the more traditional plot heavy and linear story telling. A lot of the best parts of this book are the descriptions of a dismal grey world that is strange in every conceivable way from the world we live in today. The story and characters are intentionally confusing and bizarre leaving readers disoriented and always guessing if what they are witnessing is real life, the after life, or something in between. It will leave you grappling for understanding both of the plot itself and any underlying themes and messages. The cast of characters are strange and sometimes off putting. The timeline jumps back and forth from life and into death. And none of the mysteries that it establishes are easily answered. Again I think this is the kind of book that people will either really love or really hate completely based on their reading preferences.

Unfortunately for me I am one of those readers who prefers a linear plot. I had an extremely hard time following where the story was going at any given point in time thanks to frequent perspective changes as well as a lot of traveling through different time points and sometimes dipping into environments that were likely hallucinations but never explicitly confirmed to be so. Add to that an open ended ending that honestly created more questions then it answered and I just couldn’t get invested in any of it. The writing style was also something I struggled with and I had to go back and forth through a couple of passages to get a handle on what was actually being written.

This review will be posted onto Goodreads and Instagram closer to the publication date in compliance with the publisher’s request.

Perhaps one of the more approachable novels in the post-exotic universe of Antoin Volodin, Manuela Draeger, Lutz Bassmann and others. I'm always fascinated by the ways in which each of the post-exotic novel tries to invent means to talk about the breakdown of human civilization as it exists now, and I chuckle every time I see Marxist-Leninist Lamaism. Or, perhaps, the bardo of post-exoticism very precisely speaks of where are we at right now with its hallucinatory implosion of spacetime.

What an interesting novel. The world building is great, the characters super interesting in a post apocalyptic world. It’s is pretty bleak, I really enjoyed the author’s writing. Will be checking out more of their books. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

There is a wonderful vividness and lyric richness in Manuela Draeger's prose. Also, a great imaginativeness to the setting that they have created here. Ultimately this book proved to not be for me, but that's mostly because I personally the dreamlike, magical realism-heavy nature of "Kree" proved to be a bit much for me, but I can definitely see others relishing in the thick of this read.

Wow. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this before. Loved the world building. This immersive fantasy novel will take you on one hell of a ride.