The Mars House

Pulley has crafted a stunning story that starts with a brief introduction to ballet principal, January Stirling. A London whose normal it is to be submerged, January gets rescued from the sinking city by a Chinese ship that is taking climate refugees to Mars. This book was like the most propulsive rollercoaster ride, dipping and zipping through a swirling and intriguing narrative landscape that I could not get enough of. The novel shows that it's important to remember that you do not have to BE a literal refugee to feel all the disconsolate ways being an immigrant affects your entire being... your perceptions, and how you are perceived. January's story was like witnessing all the ways you can feel trapped in the margins by being "other", and used as a political pawn in an overarching national story that fashions a life that isn't even one you have access to. It was utterly wretched to read at times, hard hitting in emotional spaces and very humbling. Natasha is a masterclass with her prose and the way she brings her characters to life. Something about her novels just hit some special spot in my brain. A MUST READ!