The Soul Sector

4,5 stars, rounded up to 5.

If I had to choose only three words (+ an "an") to describe this book, I'd describe it as "an amusingly bizarre onion". It's not haha-funny, it was more of this dry, weirdness that just had me reading with an amused smile a lot of the time. I found the twists and turns and leaps of fancy to be just down my alley of enjoyment. Bizarre because really, this book should be included in definitions of that word! And lastly onion because of the many layers it conceals and if you read it at all with care, you'll be amazed - and some might even make you cry a bit.

Who would I recommend this book to? Fans of the Netflix-show "The Russian Doll" comes first to mind. The atmosphere of that show and this book share a lot of similarities, even if the topics differ. Others who I would think are likely to enjoy this one are people who likes books that aren't too straightforward - books that make you think and actually put in an effort when you read. Those who like bizarre tales and analogies and doesn't lean too far to the right politically - or take their religion too seriously. Don't understand me wrong, this is not an anti-religion book - it is actually has some quite brilliant and intriguing thoughts on the subject - but if you take your own specific brand of faith very seriously, you just might get a bit offended.

As I already wrote, this book is like an onion in the way that what seems to be a bizarre tale about how the MC dies and ends up in the afterlife and then a string of random events follow and you try to hang on somehow as to not loose the red thread of it all, has quite a few analogies within it. Capitalism and all its controversies and inhumane practices sure gets more than one hit to it, highlighting its faults and just why it is not sustainable - or should not be anywhere else but in the depths of hellish nightmares. Morality is the other main topic - what is moral, what is not? Who decides? Is there One Big Truth that defines it? Can morality change with time? Can we, from our time, judge people from another era as morally corrupt or not based on our values, or should we judge them on the values from their era even if we think their era really was quite screwed up on that account? Same thing would go for different cultures, but that is a subject that is not as clearly evident in this book - even if it is touched upon as well, if ever so slightly.

Other topics that come up are such as afterlife and the existence of (a) god(s), and more subtly, but quite masterfully, the subject of the loss of a loved one and the guild that might follow and different grieving processes. Alcoholism and its effects on families, how not talking and avoiding pain just leads to more pain are other minor topics that this book touches upon.

Characters: I quite like Rose, the mc. She's quite the antihero, with her brokenness and backward way of doing things. I loved how she tried to figure out what is moral and what is not and her self-doubts and struggles to open up and connect with those around her made her feel quite real and relatable. Her growing friendship with Jade was quite beautiful and I adored Harold who in his awkward kindness was the heart of the story.

Lauren was quite invisible for someone who was described as Rose's best friend though. Cynthia and Bobbo were amusing, at times aggravating in there ignorance, but also perfect for the story just as they were. Chase were kinda bland, the only thing that made him interesting was his relationship to Victoria who were the Queen-Bitch of the story. James, the mysterious guy who kinda started it all, was the one I liked the least though. He did come through in the end, but mostly he was just unlikable and felt that he was quite unneeded after he had been there as the catalyst in the start. He could just have stayed hidden and mysterious and it would have been so much better!

All in all, I did greatly enjoy this book. Before I read this one, I read a few fast-paced thrillers. This one was quite a change from that as it was not a book that just pulled you along with it. Instead you had to work for it, to really stretch your brain to keep with it. It was so worth it though, and I can hardly wait for the next book in the series!