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The Perishing

by Natashia Deón

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1862146,080 (3.12)None
"Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care. Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed-perhaps even in a past life-and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason. One that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good. Set against the rich historical landscape of 1930's Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home"--… (more)
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I enjoyed the story. But, I don't understand the underlying "live forever" portion of the book. There seemed to be zero point. So, I think you could have entirely taken that out and it would have been a better book. ( )
  ankhamun | Nov 2, 2023 |
Fascinating premise, but poorly executed. This book felt like two disparate plots barely strung together.

The historical fiction elements were well done and I was fairly invested in the life of Lou in the 1930s. However, the speculative fiction elements were not tied into the rest of the story well. For the majority of the book, Lou only gets hints that she is an immortal - her lack of memory, strange dreams, and rapid healing - with no real idea what they mean. But rather than a gradual build-up, learning more about what she is and what it means for her, they remain a minor part of the story until suddenly, in the last fifty pages or so the story pivots to focus on this plotline heavily.

All at once (view spoiler) It didn't make for a satisfying ending both because of the pacing issues and because it felt like it came from a different book than the rest of Lou's story.

I still thoroughly enjoyed the historical fiction aspects and some of Sarah's reflections on her life, but it was too much of a letdown to give above 3 stars. ( )
  solenophage | Aug 13, 2022 |
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"Lou, a young Black woman, wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles, nearly naked and with no memory of how she got there or where she's from, only a fleeting sense that this isn't the first time she's found herself in similar circumstances. Taken in by a caring foster family, Lou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. She'll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Times, but Lou's extraordinary life is about to become even more remarkable. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gym, Lou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of ever meeting him she's been drawing his face since her days in foster care. Increasingly certain that their paths have previously crossed-perhaps even in a past life-and coupled with unexplainable flashes from different times that have been haunting her dreams, Lou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent to this place and time for a very important reason. One that only others like her will be able to explain. Relying on her journalistic training and with the help of her friends, Lou sets out to investigate the mystery of her existence and make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to her from throughout the ages before her time runs out for good. Set against the rich historical landscape of 1930's Los Angeles, The Perishing charts a course through a changing city confronting racism, poverty, and the drumbeat of a coming war for one miraculous woman whose fate is inextricably linked to the city she comes to call home"--

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