CN. Cancer, Deep Water, Homophobia and Transphobia (in one chapter from the perspective of a villain), Insects (Ants), Insects inside a Body.

This book!

What an unexpected shock of a completely random book from a charity shop!

The premise of the book is telling stories using various philosophical thought experiments, with each experiment being outlined at the beginning of each chapter/ story, that coke together to create one powerful novel narrative and various metanarratives that run alongside.

That's an awesome idea, but definitely one that needs a certain kind of handling to be successful. Personally, I think Ward did an exquisite job and has created something that is instantly humble and inviting and human that grows and expands and explores the human condition and our universe in ways that are bold, audacious, and exciting!

I will say that this book is wild and you have to be willing to go with it and do some of that wonderful accepting silly and seriousness at the same time, or perhaps speculative and out there might be more accurate than silly. I think some readerrs may not feel the same way I did about the ant motif, but I genuinely adored it.

I also think this could be a really interesting way to introduce science fiction to someone who doesn't normally read it.

I genuinely laughed, got choked up, felt gross, was left open-mouthed, and excited and so much more.

I don't know if this is the 'best' book I've read this year, but it is easily one of my favourites and the one that has shocked me the most by coming out of nowhere and blowing me away, which is very similar to how I felt about Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto. Hierarchies are inherently gross, so who cares? This is a beautiful book and I truly cherish it dearly.

I absolutely need to read more Sophie Ward!