Genre: Literary Fiction
Published: Alcove Press, July 9th 2024
My Rating: 5/5 stars
"I have two lab notebooks. The regular one is for observing life as a biological phenomenon. The second one is for observing life as a personal experiment. This is the second one."
A marine-biologist researching the origins of life at the ocean floor inadvertently discovers the origins of her own life along the way in this wonderfully crafted debut.
The Story:
Our story opens with Abby, a former Korean “drop-box-baby”, who’s now works as a microbiologist researching the origins of life through her studies of endosymbionts (bacteria living inside the cells of) in sea-slugs. An unexpected discovery at the lab leads her to the start of another origin-story entirely; her own… When she accidentally discovers an anomaly inside one of her own cells, one that might be passed on genetically and could help her retrace her maternal line, she embarks on a scientific quest for her own roots. When tragedy strikes her adoptive family, Abby journey of discovery turns to a complicated one of grief, trauma, belonging and the home we carry within us…
What I loved:
As someone with a soft spot for family-sagas, especially when they deal with trauma and grief, ánd ocean-based motifs ánd speculative/sci-fi with biology elements, you can see how this books premise was catnip to me. I’m so excited to say that that premise held up, and Janie Kim manages to execute it to near perfection.
Don’t let the mention of “speculative science/sci-fi” deter you if that’s a genre you aren’t comfortable with. The speculative elements are more of a side-note in an otherwise grounded literary story. They’re also very well rooted in true science (not a surprise as the author has a PhD in the subject), so they never feel outlandish. In fact, to me, it balanced the elements perfectly: they’re there as wonderfully consistent motifs for readers (like myself!) who love them, but can also be almost ignored by people who’re just here for the family-story.
Speaking of which: the character tale at the heart is where this novel clearly shines. It interweaves a wide range of complex themes like family, adoption, grief and guilt over a family-members death, memory and inheritance, into a tight and intimate story. The prose is stunning and lyrical, and due to fantastic editing, not a single word feels “too much”. Everything about this book feels deliberate and balanced: from its quotable lines, to the emotional punches that hit home without ever becoming melodramatic. The magnitude of the story the author manages to tell in only just over 300 pages would be impressive for anyone, but considering this is a debut… My mind is blown!
Overall: Janie Kim is an author to watch out for in the future, but only after you go ahead and savour this debut-gem. With stunning prose and a beautiful story, she managed to strike an emotional chord with me that will linger for quite some time.
Many thanks to Alcove Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this book here on Goodreads.
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