First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

As rising waters – and an encroaching police state – endanger her life and family, a girl travels through water and time to rescue vulnerable figures from the margins of history.

A visionary writer with an unmatched gift for capturing stories of people on the margins, Lidia Yuknavitch now offers an imaginative masterpiece: the story of Laisve, a motherless girl from the late twenty-first century who is learning to harness the power of meaningful objects to carry her through time. Under the shadow of a giant, never-finished national monument, Laisve discovers a talisman that will allow her to connect with a series of characters from the past two centuries – innocents and criminals, workers and subversives – finding her way to the present day and then, finally, to the early days of her imperfect country, to forge a connection that might save their lives, and their fractured dream of freedom.

Audacious in scope, abounding in vivid characters – and marked by Yuknavitch’s signature blend of the sensual and the transcendent – Thrust is a parable of body, spirit, and survival from one of our bravest and most admired storytellers.

Happy Friday everyone! Just like that, another work week is in the books. Personally, it has been a tedious one, quite unexpectedly to be honest. A document we prepared due for submission has been scrutinized by our Head Office and they had quite a lot of comments that needed to be incorporated into the document. As always, we had very little choice but to abide by their comments and requests. Thankfully, the work week is done, leaving me and everyone with two days of reprieve before yet another challenging week at the office. I hope that everyone will have a restful and peaceful weekend. Here in Manila, the heat has been picking up, with no signs of letting up. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing great, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Before I dive into the weekend, let me cap another week of blogging with a new First Impression Friday update. Since I started doing this weekly meme, I haven’t backed down as it has become an integral part of my weekly blogging routine. There is no switching to the weekend without a fresh update even though my updates are late sometimes. These First Impression Friday updates allowed me to reassess my understanding of the books I am currently reading. They provide a breathing room, allowing me to reflect. Some of my weekly updates have become a springboard for my subsequent reviews of the books I featured. Reading-wise, the first two months of 2024 have been dedicated to reading books published during the current decade. This journey has brought me to various parts of the world and made me travel through different periods, like how my current is doing.

It was toward the end of 2022 when I first encountered Lidia Yuknavitch. I had never come across her before 2022 when her latest novel, Thrust, was released. The book has received quite positive feedback, with some literary pundits and publications listing it as one of the best reads of the year. This naturally piqued my attention and over a year after I obtained my copy of the book, I finally picked it up to be part of my current reading journey. I just learned that Thrust is Yuknavitch’s fourth novel. At the heart of the story was Laisvė. I surmise that Yuknavitch has Lithuanian heritage which, it if is true, would make this book a first as I have never read the work of a Lithuanian writer before. Laisvė, in Lithuanian, means Liberty.

Laisvė is essentially an orphan. She has lost her mother and brother. She is currently residing with her father Aster in The Brook, a remnant of what was once the bustling Big Apple. Yes, the novel is set in the future, with the story commencing in 2085. As many can already surmise from the time frame alone, the novel is steeped in dystopia. Climate change has irreversibly altered our landscape. Coastal cities have slowly sunk as rising sea levels have submerged them. This then brings the focus to Laisvė. She was no ordinary child as she was born with the ability to travel by water back and forth through time. Across time, she ferried unusual objects of great significance and delivered them to their rightful owners. The ultimate goal was to alter the course of their personal history.

Due to her unusual ability and her life mission, Laisvė was able to interact with celebrated artists, accused murderers, and even the children of dictators. As she navigates history, various factors are slowly encroaching on the last piece of land she calls home. The rising waters are threatening to topple the Sea Walls separating The Brook from the waterworld. There was also the descent into authoritarianism which has become synonymous with dystopian societies. This reminds me of 1984 and even the more recent works of dystopian fiction. In this facet, Thrust shares several elements with other works of dystopia. However, what I feel distinguishes it from the rest is Laisvė as there is something special about her, not just her unusual ability.

By the way, there is nothing linear about the story. It toggles across various timelines. After all, time travel is a prominent element of the story. Time is fluid in the story. We also meet a set of eclectic characters, such as 19th-century French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty, and his charismatic cousin Aurora, a sex worker living in America. While it deals with several dark but seminal and timely subjects, the story feels like a fever dream. Yuknavitch’s writing is lush. I think one can easily figure out how the story will end but I must commend Yuknavitch for her ability to reel in the readers and keep their attention from the onset.

I am just a couple of pages away from completing the novel. I am looking forward to how Yuknavitch concludes this interesting tail which is also a grim diagnosis of the future. This reminds me, I am currently working on my review of Stephen Markley’s The Deluge, another ambitious and complex diagnosis of our future should we fail to address growing concerns apropos climate change. How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you taking with you for the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy them. Again, happy weekend everyone!