When the land got submerged under the waves of the seas, people moved to boats. It won't be for everyone-I'm still not sure whether I enjoyed it so much as appreciated it, myself-but at the same time, I can't wait to pick up Rocklyn's next book. All told, this is a fantastic book, and a short, powerful read with gorgeous prose.
I will say that there's some backstory and drama which clutters up the story a bit more than I think might have been necessary, but then again, since it also gives some breadth to the story and gives the reader a break from the immediacy of the present moment we're focused on, I can see it was included. If this book had been a novel, I'm actually not sure I could have made it through the tale, but as a novella, the length and focus on topic are just enough to be painful without being too much. In many ways, I felt "seen" by this book in a way that I've rarely, if ever, experienced when the topic of pregnancy comes up, and the pure focus Rocklyn brings to bear on the protagonist's situation here is as artful as it is terrifying from moment to moment. And yet, this is a gorgeous book worth appreciating in all its facets, and I'm glad to have read it, just as I'll be glad to pick up anything else Rocklyn writes.The power of this tale is so timely, the immediacy of the content is almost crushing if you allow yourself to think about it.
(Oct.Flowers for the Sea is not an easy read-the story itself, the prose, and the progression all make for a journey that a reader must embrace and travel through in a fashion that (at least for this reader) might well involve working for meaning as well as cringing away from some of those very same meanings. Agent: Roseanne Wells, the Jennifer De Chiara Agency. Still, the constant threats of life on the water present just enough tension to keep this novella afloat. Rocklyn conjures Iraxi’s precarious position in fluid, lovely prose, though the tight focus on her pregnancy causes the narrative to feel stagnant at times, as the ark lacks direction both literally and metaphorically, and the world that came before is only hinted at. As Iraxi’s due date comes ever closer, a darker fear takes root: that her baby may be something other than human. But Iraxi questions the morality and purpose of bringing life into such a disastrous environment: razorfangs circle in the water, the refugees scrape by on a dwindling supply of rosehip water and beans, and interpersonal conflict abounds. Now Iraxi, who had been a commoner on land, is in the final days of a pregnancy, and many on the ark view her unborn child as a sign of hope. Iraxi and her community have survived at sea for 1,743 days, refugees of a flooded, highly stratified kingdom. Rocklyn’s lyrical gothic fantasy debut considers how life can persist in a world of rot, death, and destruction.
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