Bridge

I was most caught on Lauren Beukes by her earlier and slightly stranger work - Zoo City in particular, but I also enjoyed Moxyland. The subsequent ones have been a little more grounded (if that's the word), the emphasis very much on the close and personal, with the science fiction elements toned down.

She has great strengths in characters and relationships - their messy, ambiguous, and ambivalent nature. This is a strong one on that front, in which the people involved are drawn along by their commitments despite how they might otherwise feel or think is the sensible thing to do.

I don't want to say too much more as it would be spoilers all the way, and Beukes doles out the information and insight very sparingly. Worth a read.

I listened to the audiobook, read brilliantly by Lisa Cordileone, which really helped me to keep up with the plot as it leapt around.

It took me several attempts to get into Bridge, but finally, this week, I picked it up again and was sucked in. There are plenty of other novels about traveling multiple universes to see the other yous, and Beukes knowingly stops to play with those expectations. The real story here is about loss, and the memory of a person vs the person they really were. But there's a lot of good science fiction fun to be had along the way.

Sometimes Beukes really works for me, and when it does, it's a five-star barnburner. But sometimes it doesn't quite work. This is one of those times. I found the story both confusing and disturbing. Of course it's meant to be disturbing, but I guess she's so good it is more disturbing than I can take. I have a strong allergy to horror, and this bordered on it for me. I'm sure some readers will have the barnburner reading experience, though. I just couldn't stick with it.