Name: Kristen Claiborn's review of The Perishing by Natashia Deón
Item: The Perishing
Rating: 3
Author: Kristen Claiborn

Natashia Deón

A Black immortal in 1930's Los Angeles must recover the memory of her past in order to save the world in this extraordinarily affecting novel for readers of readers of N. K. Jemisen and Octavia E. Butler. Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care. Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed--perhaps even in a past life--and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason, one that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good. Set against the rich historical landscape of Depression-era Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home.

A Novel

The Perishing

Amanda Ferguson

Kristen Claiborn

I have mentioned, many times, that how somebody reacts to a book depends on so many factors that have nothing to do with the book itself. I think my opinion of this book might be as much a product of what was going on in my life as it is the book itself. Is it fair of me to do the review anyway? Probably not, but here we are. 
	This book struck me as a gigantic inside joke for which we never quite got the punchline. Almost like we were given enough to make us curious through the finish, then extremely frustrated that we didn’t get the entire story. I still have no idea what happened; who the hell those people were and what the point was. 
	What was the point? 
	This one isn’t going to go down in my favorites, but I will put it on the “re-read this someday” list. I had experienced a death in my family not long before picking this one up, and I do think it might have clouded my ability to fully absorb this book. So I’ll revisit it at some point in the near future, and possibly amend my review.

Summer Stanley

I don’t think the back cover “blurb” is very appropriate for what actually happens in this book. Not at all what I was expecting. 
There were some powerful moments, I think, but I was so confused most of the time that I struggled to feel the impact. 
I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn’t get a grasp on it. 

Nadia Borgdorff

Wow. You know when you want to grab a highlighter because the quote you just read needs to be cherished forever? Imagine that on almost every page. The writing style is poetic and wonderful. Sometimes the plot felt slow, but there were always new things to discover. I really liked this book and think I'll reread it often.

Dawy

This was a really strange read, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I felt like I could follow along the alternating time points in the first 1/3 of the book, but somewhere along the way it started to drag and I was really confused about where everything was leading up to. The last 30 pages or so of the book felt like they came out of left field, like there was this whole other chunk of the story that swooped in at the end. I ended up feeling just sort of confused and dissatisfied, and I wish I didn't.

Because there was so much of the book that I did like! I put sticky notes on so many pages where the prose just really stuck with me. I learned so much about LA's history, and it was so cool to be told about my city's past from the perspective of a fictional character who had lived through it all and interacted with all that had happened. And the recurring theme of racial injustice was so spot on.

Overall, complicated feelings. I think the idea of telling a city's history through an immoral character who has lived multiple lifetimes is a fascinating idea. And a really great way to underline the various ways racial and social injustice has occurred in the past, and how it still manifests today. I just wish the actual story arc of it--who Lou is, who the immortals are, and all the characters connected to them--was executed more clearly.

Amanda Ferguson &
The Perishing by Natashia Deón

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Amanda Ferguson &The Perishing by Natashia Deón

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Join the club

Amanda Ferguson &
The Perishing by Natashia Deón