“There passes a time of happiness in your life, which I will not describe to you. It is unimportant. Perhaps you think it wrong that I dwell so much on the horrors, the pain, but pain is what shapes us, after all. We are creatures born of heat and pressure and grinding, ceaseless movement. To be still is to be… not alive.” The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is a carefully crafted, Hugo Award-winning fantasy novel about grief. The first installment of The Broken Earth trilogy, The Fifth Season follows Essun as she faces the unthinkable loss of her son and the kidnapping of her daughter by the hands of her own husband.
But grief is not the only obstacle Essun must overcome. That same day, a massive quake strikes the single landmass of the world, leaving a massive crack in the ground that is spewing ash so thick it blocks out the sun. In just one day, Essun finds herself racing against the clock to save her daughter and survive the end of the world.
N.K. Jemisin has created an immersive and intense read filled with grief and heartbreak. Jemisin's narrative style unraveled in such a way, it was hard to put down and keeps the reader hooked.
While the story is beautifully crafted, there are some places where I was left wanting more and felt almost cheated out of an interesting scene. Jemisin also does an amazing job with her world-building, but this does create a slow and complicated start to the story.
Overall, I found The Fifth Season to be a must-read for fantasy and sci-fi readers alike. Before you chose to read this book, you should know that it is not for the faint of heart. It takes time to sort through the information the author gives and to understand the world it is in. This book also deals with grief and abuse heavily, so if this is something to remember when picking it up.
My advice is to give The Fifth Season at least a hundred pages to become familiar with the world and characters before making any judgments about the novel.
I chose to rate The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 4 out of 5 stars. As much as I enjoyed it, there were moments I wanted more of certain characters and there are times that it is hard to follow due to how much information there is to wade through.
Content Warning: Abuse, language, and sexual content.
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