Debut Novels about Shadowless people and Immortality

The Book of M and Suicide Club have been noteworthy debuts of 2018. Peng Shepherd explores a real phenomenon called Zero Shadow day in her novel which lead to different readers label it as fantasy, dystopia and magical realism. It is set in our world with an unexpected element of shadows getting stolen from their owners. Suicide Club is a futuristic world which reminded me a bit about the movie In Time where people do not age after 25 years. In Rachel Heng’s world youth and health are things to aspire for and those who don’t have these qualities are labelled unworthy. It is an interesting take on what life means and also whether death is a choice or something we run away from.

The Book of M

slow paced. diverse cast of characters. mythological threads
 

Something strange is happening. People are losing their shadows and soon after, their memories. Then they lose all sense of self – forget to breathe, forget to eat, forget to open a locked door and finally die. This novel is inspired by Zero Shadow Day, an astronomical phenomenon restricted to a few geographical locations in India where twice a year shadows disappear for a few moments due to an alignment of sun and earth.

The story is told from the POVs of four people –  Orlando Zhang (Ory), who is in pursuit of his wife who left him after losing her shadow; Max, his wife, who keeps recording herself speaking to her husband as she will lose her memories soon; Mahnaz Ahmadi, an Iranian archer, stuck in Boston; The Amnesiac who lost his memory in an accident. The book also includes Hindu mythology wonderfully incorporated in the narrative as well as mention of several Indian cities (Mumbai, Pune, Trivandrum), gods (Guruvaayoorappan, Sun god) and fairytales (Peter Pan). I was happy that the author gave due time for her research on the Indian bits; there were no stereotypes and there was accurate representation. The characters are of different ethnicities, the setting spans from India to the States and the imagery of this new shadowless world clearly satisfies a global audience. And the climax! OH THE CLIMAX! It broke me, which is why the book is so good.

The Book of M is slow, memorable debut with three dimensional characters and multiple POVs adding  more tension to the narrative. Pick it up if you are looking for a good book with magical realism. I might say you’d love it in audio format more since it is a slow read. This one is guaranteed to haunt you for a long time

Author : Peng Shepherd
Publisher : Harper Voyager
Publication: 2018
Language : English
Pages : 496
Rating : 4/5

Suicide Club

future. focus on world building. themes of life and death
 

The Suicide Club is set in futuristic NYC where lives last at least 300 years and death is a taboo. When Lifer, Lea who has a perfect life with a great job and a genetically perfect fiancé comes across her ‘unhealthy’ estranged father, she needs to make choices. There is also a club of rebels who cringe at immortality and want to make life and death a personal choice.

The book explores our obsession with youth and beauty. Burgers, oily food, junk food are all termed as ‘trad food’ and frowned upon in this world. Fruits and vegetables are not encouraged to be eaten either. The residents survive on a mix of juicing, exercise, closed windows (so that the air does not get inside apartments) and regular maintenance. There is super blood, diamond skin and a long life to revel in. I enjoyed the book and it definitely had my attention from the start to the end. However, I felt it was not conflict driven as I expected it to be. I enjoyed the world building of Lifers, the political hierarchy and the thought process of the rebels. The idea was a brilliant one and I felt it could have been explored in more detail and depth.

Suicide Club is all about the perfection we crave for and how disastrous such a world can be. Rachel Heng is definitely an author to watch out for and I am keen on what she publishes next.
#SuicideClub is a look into our obsession with beauty and youth and a debate on whether death is a taboo or a human right Click To Tweet Disclaimer : Much thanks to Harper Collins (The Book of M), Sceptre (The Suicide Club) for the books. All opinions are my own