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This book is a heartbreaking representation of the ways colonialism & racism affect our most intimate relationships. As Kimmortal says, “Real, real love’s in decolonization / total liberation of all nations.” This book is a step on the path towards love. 🥲

For me, the last section of The Message was the most impactful. I am so grateful that Coates returned to “the Palestine question” here and treated it with the care and respect it deserves. It’s refreshing to see a celebrated author admit that he got something wrong.

I think that all children growing up in the “Columbia” River basin (the region whose lands and people dams like Grand Coulee have devastated) should read this! Virgil “Smoker” Marchand was a locally famous metal sculptor & Arrow Lakes tribal member. It’s lovely to see his illustrations in here.

I am thankful to this anthology for giving me some tools to survive the next phase of the disaster we are living in. I love the concept of visionary fiction. Definitely worth a read!!

I loved reading about a wide variety of approaches & contexts in one place. The text provided some context to make commentary fairly accessible to someone with little background, but it also prompted me to do my own research to engage more meaningfully with the critiques. I found the interviewees’ challenges to the interviewers were informative and useful and appreciated their inclusion, though I take other reviewers’ points about the interviewers’ shortfalls. I learned a lot and have ideas of where to look to learn more.

Me encantó todo. En partículas fue muy interesante que incluyeran dos historias traducidas con su versión original (en inglés y kaqchikel respectivamente).

My favorite part was the poetry written in stanzas, and I especially loved listening to the author’s Theory of Ice album using the poems as lyrics.

I am a huge fan of Babel. This book is so different! The biggest similarity is that weeks later, I still keep thinking of certain scenes. Kuang’s use of an unlikeable main character made the entire book uncomfortable to read. I think that’s part of why so many turns of phrase stuck in my mind. Also, I’ve started making pandan pancakes…

The writing is excellent, and I loved learning about the internal lives of the large cast of characters. The commentary on environmental destruction was devastating and beautiful. But I did not love this book. The plot was strange in a way that is not as interesting to me as the way others of Erdrich’s plots are strange.

I really enjoyed what I perceived as the romantic subplot. After the first 75 pages or so, I was drawn in and read the rest very quickly.

The last line of this book - “The future is Indigenous.” - hit me so hard after reading all of the stories in the book, including so many people who had passed on before the book’s publication. I’m so thankful this beautiful book exists! I bought it for my parents, and it sits in their living room where they flip through it and read a story at a time rather than reading it cover to cover. I appreciate that Project 562 offers multiple ways to engage with its content.

I really enjoyed immersing myself in this world that is almost ours but not quite. The violence throughout and conclusion were satisfying.