NNO Book Club: Awake in the Floating City

We read a lot of dystopian books in this book club, which I guess works out well because WOW, there are a lot of dystopian books being published. But while we like a good premise with a solid explanation for the “why” and “how” of the world presented in the book, we like books that use the setting to explore what it means to be human and relationships even more. This one has an interesting setting but from what I can tell, it is far more about the people than the place. For April, we are reading “Awake in the Floating City” by Susanna Kwan.

Half-joking warning: This is a debut novel, as stated in the first paragraph of the summary. We all know how that can go…here’s hoping. :)

***Book summary from Goodreads***
An utterly transporting debut novel about the unexpected relationship between an artist and the 130-year-old woman she cares for—two of the last people living in a flooded San Francisco of the future, the home neither is ready to leave.

Bo knows she should go. Years of rain have drowned the city and almost everyone else has fled. Her mother was carried away in a storm surge and ever since, Bo has been alone. She is stalled: an artist unable to make art, a daughter unable to give up the hope that her mother may still be alive. Half-heartedly, she allows her cousin to plan for her escape—but as the departure day approaches, she finds a note slipped under her door from Mia, an elderly woman who lives in her building and wants to hire Bo to be her caregiver. Suddenly, Bo has a reason to stay.

Mia can be prickly, and yet still she and Bo forge a connection deeper than any Bo has had with a client. Mia shares stories of her life that pull Bo back toward art, toward the practice she thought she’d abandoned. Listening to Mia, allowing her memories to become entangled with Bo’s own, she’s struck by how much history will be lost as the city gives way to water. Then Mia’s health turns, and Bo determines to honor their disappearing world and this woman who’s brought her back to it, a project that teaches her the lessons that matter most: how to care, how to be present, how to commemorate a life and a place, soon to be lost forever.

***This month's restaurant selection***
Returning to what I had planned for January, before I had to cancel. This month we are returning to a favorite – Liang’s Bistro. They do a lot of different things and all of it quite well. You can check out their menu here: https://www.liangsbistro.com/

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.