How High We Go in the Dark - Large Print by Sequoia Nagamatsu (Paperback)

About the Book

"For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague-a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice. Beginning in 2030, a grieving archaeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic Plague will reshape life on earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects-a pig-develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet. From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resiliency of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe"--

Book Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE - ROXANE GAY'S AUDACIOUS BOOK CLUB PICK - FINALIST FOR THE URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE

"Moving and thought-provoking . . . offering psychological insights in lyrical prose while seriously exploring speculative conceits." -- New York Times Book Review

"Haunting and luminous . . . Beautiful and lucid science fiction. An astonishing debut." -- Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta

Recommended by New York Times Book Review - Los Angeles Times - NPR - Washington Post - Wall Street Journal - Entertainment Weekly - Esquire - Good Housekeeping - NBC News - Buzzfeed - Goodreads - The Millions - The Philadelphia Inquirer - Minneapolis Star-Tribune - San Francisco Chronicle - The Guardian - and many more!

For fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven, a spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague--a daring and deeply heartfelt work of mind-bending imagination from a singular new voice.

In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus.

Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy. In a theme park designed for terminally ill children, a cynical employee falls in love with a mother desperate to hold on to her infected son. A heartbroken scientist searching for a cure finds a second chance at fatherhood when one of his test subjects--a pig--develops the capacity for human speech. A widowed painter and her teenaged granddaughter embark on a cosmic quest to locate a new home planet.

From funerary skyscrapers to hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, Sequoia Nagamatsu takes readers on a wildly original and compassionate journey, spanning continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the resilience of the human spirit, our infinite capacity to dream, and the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe.

"Wondrous, and not just in the feats of imagination, which are so numerous it makes me dizzy to recall them, but also in the humanity and tenderness with which Sequoia Nagamatsu helps us navigate this landscape. . . . This is a truly amazing book, one to keep close as we imagine the uncertain future." -- Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

Review Quotes

"Lovely and haunting." - Wall Street Journal
"How High We Go in the Dark is ambitious and intricately plotted. A beautiful meditation on the way everything in this world--no, in the universe--is connected. . . . The writing is beautiful and immersive, and at times hypnotic. It asks both the big questions and the small questions of what will become of us, and even when the answers are complex, there remains the bright beacon of hope." - Roxane Gay
"Easily one of the best books I've read this year so far . . . Tender and dystopian, the pandemic novel is told in a series of vignettes, each exposing a different pocket of future society--and eventually connecting through characters and circumstances. Nagamatsu sharply paints a picture of society inevitably building industry out of grief . . . It's an ambitious critique of late-stage capitalism, wrapped up in a series of family dramas." - Polygon, The Best Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books of 2022
"Sequoia Nagamatsu's debut is beautiful and unsparing in its depiction of a world reeling from a climate catastrophe-driven plague. Though the universe these stories are unfolding within is undeniably bleak, Nagamatsu imbues his characters with a sense of cosmic hope and humanity." - NPR, 14 books that NPR staff and critics are loving the most so far this year
"Haunting and hopeful story about grief, loss and the different ways we move on . . . Deeply moving." - NBC News
"Moving and thought-provoking . . . You'll be impressed with Nagamatsu's meticulous craft. . . . Well-honed prose, poignant meditations and unique concepts . . . offering psychological insights in lyrical prose while seriously exploring speculative conceits. . . . How High We Go in the Dark is a book of sorrow for the destruction we're bringing on ourselves. Yet the novel reminds us there's still hope in human connections." - New York Times Book Review
"How High We Go in the Dark is a truly genre-transcending work in which sense of wonder and literary acumen are given boundless opportunity to shine." - The Guardian (UK)
"A small, slim gem, one that I will likely return to for the rest of my life. . . . How High We Go in the Dark chooses to transcend the chaos and anguish of our pandemic lives . . . to give us, in the tedium of fear and despair, a rare moment of wonder." - Nandini Balial, The Week
"Thoughtful explorations of how the survivors process death and loss . . . Even the bleakest stories conjure up a memorable image, and often that visual involves reaching upward: to the stars, to a memory, or even just stretching your arms skyward at the roller coaster's peak, whether or not you know how the ride ends. . . . ambitious . . . achingly poignant . . . an emotional roller coaster." - NPR
"Weirdly wonderful and weirdly powerful, a book of speculative fiction so close to real life that its heart-stopping events feel almost inevitable." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Nagamatsu's novel isn't about hope, but about how things change in the space between possible and impossible. Of course the one thing that never changes, even or especially in tragic times, is human nature." - Los Angeles Times
"Fans of Cloud Atlas and Station Eleven will love this spellbinding and profoundly prescient debut." - The Millions, Most Anticipated Books of 2022
"Through an imaginative journey that spans centuries and worlds, Sequoia Nagamatsu artfully examines the resiliency of humankind and the drive for a brighter future." - Veranda, The 22 Most-Anticipated Books of the New Year