Mav Vidamo

Rambling review from a rambling brain. TL;DR - Amazing book, only thing holding it back from 5 stars are subjective things, like the fact that the style is very good but not the style that I deeply enjoy. Speaking of the style, it's easy to read but unexpectedly poignant. Deeply personal. 4.9/5 stars, 11/10 recommendation. Now, the rambly part that says nothing: The writing style grated on me from time to time, but that is PURELY opinion based; the style of this book is amazing. It feels similar the oral storytelling vibe of No Country for Old Men, but it goes much deeper than that. Erin Swan's writing truly places you inside a character's head, and also in the room beside them. It's an incredibly personal sensation, especially as you follow the characters from one generation to the next. Walk the Vanished Earth also brilliantly slaps you with violently different waves of emotion at a very fast pace; you'll be feeling like the vanished Earth real quick. WtVE is a story about adolescence and the growth and struggles it brings. There's a scene in one of the storylines that I'll be thinking about for a long time. It perfectly captures a feeling that we've all experienced but can't describe with words: when we cross the bridge from child to adolescent, the purgatory before adulthood, we often want to rush straight ahead, to learn everything. We quickly discover that we don't know how, don't know the right questions to ask to move forward. We feel trapped and frustrated, and the adults around us clearly don't feel like helping. You probably know what I'm talking about, but it's rather clumsy to describe, isn't it? Well, if you don't know what I'm talking about, Erin Swan demonstrates it perfectly!