Finna by Nino Cipri

It's kind of a funny story how I ended up with this book. I read a review about a book of poetry with the exact same title, complete with a sample of the poetry, which I loved. I mean, I loved that poem so much I immediately got online and ordered the book. Then, it arrived and I discovered that I did not have a book of poetry but a sci-fi published by Tor. Well . . . I like sci-fi, so that wasn't going to kill me and I read it. I've ordered the poetry book, now, incidentally. I can't wait to read it.

Finna by Nino Cipri is another multiverse book but it's totally different from the one I reviewed, yesterday: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Finna takes place in a store that's similar to an IKEA but with crazy room designs rather than sleek, Swedish modern furnishings. It also happens to have a portal that leads to other worlds. Occasionally the wormhole will open up and someone will wander into this multiverse. There used to be a team of people who were charged with rescuing customers who accidentally walked from one world to another, but they were disbanded by corporate and now the boss just chooses a couple random, minimum-wage employees to risk their lives using the Finna, a device that helps them find the missing customer.

Ava and Jules used to be a couple but they've broken up. Ava is trying to avoid Jules completely but she's called in to work on a day that Jules is also working. When an elderly lady goes missing and Ava discovers that the wormhole has opened, Ava and Jules are chosen to rescue her.

I wrote a review about Finna at Goodreads and apparently didn't save it so I'm just having to go by memory but I think what's most interesting about Finna is that while it's set in a multiverse and there are some interesting scenes because of that, I thought the book was as much about the relationship as the action.

I confess to finding the relationship a little confusing at first because Jules is gay trans (nonbinary, I think) and goes by "they" instead of he or she. This was my first time reading the use of "they, them," etc. to describe an individual. Since there were two characters searching for the missing woman in the multiverse, "they" often could refer to the two as a former couple or as a pair of people working together and I would have to halt, briefly, to figure it out. But, I liked the viewpoint of seeing this very different type of couple struggling with the same things that wreck other relationships with the added complication of prejudice from the boss and customers.

Will they be able to find the missing woman? Will they survive their search in the dangerous multiverse? If they do survive, will Ava and Jules be able to move forward and become friends?

Recommended - A serendipitous purchase, Finna has been accused of being too much like a couple other books and I can see why people draw those parallels, especially to Horrorstör. I found that because of the emphasis on the relationship and the fact that the store was unique in the naming of the room styles, its uniquenesses outweighed the multiverse in an IKEA-like store framing. I also appreciated reading about a kind of couple I've never read about before. Expanding the old horizons is a favorite thing.

One small warning: it can get a little bit gory at times. I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares after reading Finna.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

I bought a copy of The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin because I kept seeing it all over Instagram and while I'm pretty sure I couldn't figure out quite what it was about, I was intrigued. I've heard of the author but I'd never read any of her books and The City We Became is the first in a series, so it seemed like a good place to start.

And, now I understand why I was unsure what the book is about. You can call it speculative fiction or urban fantasy; I prefer the latter. A person represents or is, each borough of New York City as the city is about to be thrust into an inter-dimensional war. Each of the boroughs personified by an individual must figure out how to protect the city and is faced with unique challenges of his or her own. Gradually, the individuals/boroughs seek each other out because they will have more power together. But, one of the boroughs is weak and influenced by the dark side (so to speak). How will they win without the combined power needed to face the enemy?

What I loved about The City We Became was that it tackled so many subjects. The people who represent the boroughs are an extremely diverse bunch and with them come their personal histories and experiences. So, through their experience, we see racism, misogyny, sexism, xenophobia, entitlement, the problem with gentrification, the virtual erasure of Native Americans from a city's consciousness. It is both brilliant and entirely unique.

Highly recommended - Astounding writing. I don't normally like fantasy (although I'm intrigued by the concept of the multiverse) but The City We Became is a wild ride and it touches on so many important topics that I loved it for that alone. I did occasionally find it a bit overwhelming; that is typical of fantasies, for me, and the reason I seldom read them. But, the ending was absolutely perfect and I'll probably end up sending this book to my son in New Jersey (who works in Manhattan), at some point. I think he'll appreciate the way the author described and personified each of the boroughs and I'm certain he'll love the ending.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.