meeg reviewed Thirteen Storeys by Jonny Sims
Review of 'Thirteen Storeys' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Jonny Sims says eviction is death! Jonny Sims says no war but the class war!
But no, really, this book is incredible. What if the scariest thing to exist, the rot at the center of it all, is capitalism?! How does it corrode everything it touches? How does trauma linger? Where does grief go? What does choice look like and can it even exist under oppression?
I listened to the audiobook version and the narration was incredible- I'm very familiar and love Sims' vignette style (full disclosure, I read this book in the wake of finishing his other work, [b:The Magnus Archives: Season 1|53840244|The Magnus Archives Season 1 (Magnus Archives, #1)|Jonathan Sims|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591359764l/53840244.SX50.jpg|84167246]) and even though I've listened to all 200 episodes of TMA it still took me until the 4th chapter to realize that I should have start my mental yarnboard from the very beginning. The story and …
Jonny Sims says eviction is death! Jonny Sims says no war but the class war!
But no, really, this book is incredible. What if the scariest thing to exist, the rot at the center of it all, is capitalism?! How does it corrode everything it touches? How does trauma linger? Where does grief go? What does choice look like and can it even exist under oppression?
I listened to the audiobook version and the narration was incredible- I'm very familiar and love Sims' vignette style (full disclosure, I read this book in the wake of finishing his other work, [b:The Magnus Archives: Season 1|53840244|The Magnus Archives Season 1 (Magnus Archives, #1)|Jonathan Sims|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591359764l/53840244.SX50.jpg|84167246]) and even though I've listened to all 200 episodes of TMA it still took me until the 4th chapter to realize that I should have start my mental yarnboard from the very beginning. The story and characters are compelling, and an intense critique on capitalism, classism, racism, work, choice, wealth, and family. I loved it from beginning to end, especially the end.
If you're like me and enjoyed the more critical aspect of TMA (the conversations about work, working conditions, wealth inequality, hierarchies, etc.) you'll really, really enjoy this book too. And the scares are as horror-rule breaking as they were in TMA (looking at you, "the blanket never did anything" levels of breaking the rules about imaginary friends).