(3.5) Okay, so imagine this: you're floating down a lazy river. It's outside, and it's kinda chilly and grey and drizzling slightly. The river water is warm but the rain is cold, and you're feeling a little existential, but it's a calm existentiality, 'cause your on this calm-ass lazy river. That's the experience of this book.

To be honest, I thought this was a totally different kind of book upon reading the synopsis. I figured it'd be more about Bo trying to escape this "floating city," which I also thought was a fictional place instead of a future version of a real place (i.e., a fantasy). This was a really dumb assumption, but I frequently skim synopses because I like to go into books as blind as I can. Sue me! ANYway. It's kind of a weird mix between a contemporary, interpersonal drama and a cli-fi. It's a very interesting version of a cli-fi, as the future here is dreary rather than threatening (not to say it's not dangerous, but it's very infrequently presented this way here). Our heroines find themselves working mostly through discontentment and depression and not, say, starvation or oppressive heat or anything. There's a lot of flooding, but it's not really treated as a huge threat. This book is moreso interested in dealing with the effects of the flooding--the personal (loneliness, isolation, depression) and the cultural (how do we remember what we have lost once it's washed away?).

As an environmental geography student, I really enjoyed the themes and ideas presented in this book, but I also think the story just didn't 100% work for me. It's a really interesting book, and almost kind of cozy, in a weird way. Calm. But... there's basically zero action. Like I said, lazy river! I prefer a bit more pushing and pulling in my books, you know, cool ass shit! But that's just not what this book is, right? so I can't fault it for that. It's a neat book no matter what. And the writing is PHENOMONAL. So effective. Susanna Kwan knows what she's doing. Some people just let words tell their stories, while others let words help build upon their stories, and Kwan definitely does the latter. If that makes any sense at all. o.O

Awake in the Floating City was unlike what I usually read. It felt very poetic & flowy. The main character, Bo feels almost stuck & going through the motions every day, and not actually living. She’s lost joy in her life after her mom goes missing. Years later she is given a note stating an older woman in the building needs some care. The older woman, Mia is 130 & is slowly declining with no family close by. She’s harsh at times but she’s lived an incredible life. Bo & Mia start to understand each other & Bo finds her love of painting again. She wants to make something incredible for Mia before she passes. At times I felt I needed to skim through paragraphs because it was almost too in depth but I laughed, cried, smiled, & felt pieces of myself in Bo.

This was a good book about a dystopian future that is underwater due to climate change. This book was pretty eye opening and made me wonder about a lot of things. I liked the pacing of this story, the characters, and the themes it covered.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I enjoyed this book very much. Kept me thoroughly interested through one sitting. Look forward to much more by this author.

"Awake in the Floating City" presents life in a dystopian future with San Francisco underwater (eerie and uncomfortably close to current anxieties with the climate crisis). Those who left the city live in a new world of high rises with markets on roof tops and tenuous bridges for transportation. People curate their food with mycelium walls and scavenge for octopus, lobster and eggs.

The protagonist, Bo, is unusual in that she chose to stay behind after losing her mother to the floods. In limbo as an artist, she takes a job caregiving a 130 year-old woman named Mia. Their unlikely attachment becomes the anchor at the story's center, although there are layers of relationships that Mia must wrestle with as she chooses whether to stay or take an opportunity to evacuate.

Kwan is gifted at illuminating ties between people, as tenuous and tenacious as the rooftop bridges. I marked many sentences for their beauty and insight. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC. Publication date: May 13, 2025.

#AwakeInTheFloatingCity

The cover of this debut (!!) novel drew me in, but the story kept me!

This story happens sometime in the future in San Francisco (or what was San Francisco). Given the recent happenings with the horrendous flooding in North Carolina and surrounding areas... this dystopian novel does not seem so far fetched. A San Francisco that is underwater, it rains frequently, and those "left" live in high rises, with roof top markets and "sketchy" bridges from one roof to another. But the real story is about Bo and Mia... Bo, a person in limbo... not wanting to leave and go with the family she has left but really not wanting to be "entirely present" in SF either, and she is in limbo about her ability to be an artist (which she absolutely is!) So she takes a job caring for people in at the end of life... it might seem like a job no one would want to do, but there you have it.

And so the relationship between Bo and 130 year old Mia begins. This relationship seems rocky at first, but as time passes, Mia begins to share her life story with Bo. Where that story takes both Mia and Bo is really amazing... heartwarming... liberating. And yes, I shed more than a few tears as I read this beautiful story.

I am stunned that this is a debut novel, Kwan knocks this story out of the park! It will be a story that I will be thinking about for a very long time and I really want everyone to read it so I can talk about it! Yes, I highly recommend it!

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this advanced digital copy. Awake in the Floating City: A Novel will be published May 13, 2025.

This is one of the best books I‘ve read this year. In the future San Francisco has been mostly abandoned due to flooding. Artist Bo is paralyzed with indecision after her mother disappears in a flash flood and stays. She takes a job as a caregiver for Mia and the family they make together is just a beautiful thing. This was a testament to people's desire to come together, and the power of caregiving. With everything going on these days I really loved reading such a hopeful book set in the midst of destruction. I hope to see this book on many summer reading lists next year.

The setting of this story is so unique. I knew I had to read this.

Perpetual rainfall has flooded future San Francisco. Many have fled north but the inhabitants that remain, have adapted to the torrent downpour and the elevated water levels that have deemed land a thing of the past. Habitation has been reserved for the higher levels of apartment buildings, with all commerce happening on the roof of these structures, connecting each together by series of bridges.

This novel explores the relationship between Mia and her caregiver, Bo. At times, the pacing was slow but I understand the author’s decision. It was nice to subtly see the two women grow into each other. The relationship between the two characters matures to a touching conclusion.

I understand Bo’s regret after the loss of her mother and her desire to record Mia’s history. I wish I could sit with my late father and transcribe his life from his own words. I utterly yearn for that. I understand being drained creatively and also the grief of losing a parent.

“I guess,” she began slowly, “I guess I’ve been missing my mother.” “Hmm.” Mia sounded skeptical. But then after a minute she said, “You wanted her for longer.” “Yes,” Bo said, and time crowded her. “But you get the time you get.”

Thank you, NetGalley, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm of two minds about this book, so I'll start with what I liked and then talk about what didn't appeal to me. I thought the setting for this book was very atmospheric and interesting, the idea of the population of the West Coast being forced to live and carry on in a flooding city was engaging. Also the nod to Americans being the refugees fleeing to other countries was poignant in this day and age. I appreciated the aged perspective Mia could lend to the novel, grounding the plot in history and giving some structure so the reader could orient themselves in the happenings of the book. The commentary on immigration, marriage, and belonging was very well done and had meaning when taken in context to current events.

On the other hand, I found Bo a difficult character to relate to. It was clear she likely had depression and/or anxiety as well as the grief that comes with losing a parent; but she was so far divorced from everything going on around her that it was difficult to relate to her. It was clear through flashbacks that she was always kind of unaware of what was going on in the world, and that ignorance was difficult for me to swallow. Overall though, I appreciated the prose and writing style of the novel. I found the idea and execution novel, even if some of the character arcs didn't appeal to me. Fans of literary fiction will greatly enjoy this book!

An absolutely gut wrenching read but one of the most hopeful climate change fiction books I’ve ever read. I will not spoil anything of this book, just that if you enjoy a different take on found family, I suggest this.

Awake in the Floating City is about a future San Francisco destroyed by neverending rain. Bo is a woman who lives there, whose cousin and uncle encourage her to leave the waterlogged city. She’s lost her mother, she’s lonely, when she gets a letter from a 130 year old woman Mia asking her to become Mia’s caretaker. Mia and Bo become friends.

Bo learns of Mia’s life, her husband, her home, her life, her child, everything that makes up who a person becomes, events shaping somebody’s life. I usually don’t read literary fiction, but I fell in love with Awake in the Floating City. The prose was gorgeous, the ending was bittersweet and everything fell together with a dozen side plots and explorations of family lineage, climate change, age, death, life, motherhood, daughters.

“Could anything be more tender and brutal as a daughter’s pity for her own mother?” “You can’t outrun the world.”

“And to a daughter, a mother was an entity too vast to know.”

“Each generation was built with the intention of passing along what was meaningful, but the cycles always repeated.”

“It was the practice of remembering.”

I went back and forth on whether to give this book four or five stars, but ended up choosing five because I know that it will make me think - about caregiving, climate change, family structures, death, burial, art - for so long. There isn't much love more than a book that opens up little parts of the world for me that I've never considered.

This book takes place at some point in the future as unprecedented rain has left San Fransisco uninhabitable. With her family and friends gone to other countries and states, Bo still cannot leave. She cannot bring herself to let go of the only home she's ever known, even if she can't recognize it anymore. To pay the bills and keep her busy, she signs a contract to be a caretaker for Mia, a 130-year-old woman who lives in her building.

As their friendship grows, Bo gets a glimpse into Mia's past, her marriage, her interests, and her relationship with her daughter. Mia's life inspires Bo to work on a project to serve as a memorial for Mia when she is gone. But as it turns out, the project is much bigger. It's a way to bring those still left in the city together and grieve everything they have lost.

_____________________________________________

"Awake in The Floating City" is such a moving and yet simplistic book. It reads almost like an essay, without too much flourish and too many subplots. It feels raw and real, although parts of the story give off almost a dystopian feel. Of the 41 books I have read this year, often full of love and sadness, this is only the second one to bring me to tears.

I ABSOLUTELY encourage you to add this to your TBR list for its release on May 13,2025. If you're a fan of contemporary fiction and endearing friendships, you're sure to enjoy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I absolutely loved this book. The story follows a young woman in a post natural disaster San Francisco as she takes care of a 130 year old woman who is at the end of her life. As both women struggle with loneliness and a lack of human connection they quickly form a bond that goes beyond caretaker and client.

The characters of this book are rich and have a depth that I love. You experience themes of family, grief, and self discovery as the main characters struggle through different seasons of life. Although quite heavy at times as this book faces some challenging end of life scenarios, I found the story to be overall uplifting and a pleasant reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your loved ones is to just be present.

The writing style was almost poetic at times with a great flow to the story. I read this as an ARC and the publishing date is currently set as May 15, 2025. If you get the chance to read this I can’t recommend it enough!

#awakeinthefloatingcity #netgalley #bookreview #arcreview #bookrecommendations

This is a deeply thoughtful, lyrical novel that was difficult to get into initially because of how much it explores the interiority of its main character Bo. To me, the strength of the novel lies in its character growth and development, as well as its vivid descriptions of the Floating City -- the way the despair and loneliness of its inhabitants are reflected in the run-down, deteriorating, empty surroundings.

I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of Bo as a self-conscious artist going through a low period in her life. I would guess that Kwan has first-hand experience with watching and worrying about her peers, trying to balance her commitment to her art and the delicate nature of managing the "black dog" of mental health.

Highly recommended for enjoyers of literary fiction, environmental/ecocide fiction, and anyone who's struggled with art and creativity.

Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for early access.

This is a beautiful novel that is deeply thematic.

It’s very much in the literary fiction genre, which I don’t normally read. The story is simple yet moving.

I would’ve loved to see a bit more dialogue. There would be pages upon pages of writing with no dialogue and I found my mind wandering.

Overall, this is a fantastic debut novel, and I would recommend it to people who frequently read the literary fiction genre.


Thank you to the publishers and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a very long time to get into this book, but it was worth the wait. The end was spectacular, and the character development really kicked in around 80% through I finally felt attached to all the characters.

Susanna Kwan has a beautiful flow to her writing. Even when it took me a while to connect with the story and characters the writing was enjoyable from the first page. By the end I really felt the essence of humanity, and our need to connect on a deep level and feel seen and loved. Loneliness is an awful thing. What a great first novel! I can’t wait to see what else Susanna Kwan writes in the future.

Thank you Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for allowing me to read and review this book.

#netgalley #awakeinthefloatingcity

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This book was something I normally wouldn't read, but the cover and title caught me. This is such a beautiful story that is told so well. I love how easily I am about to envision this society in my mind. I really love the meaning behind the novel pointing out how so many different people and places are so important to us. This would make a great book club book!

What an absolutely beautiful book. The writing is simplistic, but so descriptive that you can easily picture this dystopian society overtaken by water. I connected with the main protagonist, Bo, trying to hold on to her familiar, yet completely changed, world. This will make an outstanding book club pick and I have a feeling it will be a modern classic.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read!

Wow...wow a beautiful novel. Sometimes simplicity is key and yet as simplistic this review is I want you to know the this novel itself is quite complex with well loved characters and vivid descriptions. The writing is thoughtful and lyrical in a sense that carries you through the pages as if you are gliding through the narrative alongside our main character Bo, where we examine a world that she lives in so believable and well constructed it makes you look out the window and almost picture it like a painting. I absolutely loved this novel and will talk about it with all my reading friends.