The World Gives Way

A Novel

By: Marissa Levien

Narrated by: Christine Lakin

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

In a near-future world on the brink of collapse, a young woman born into servitude must seize her own freedom in this glittering debut with a brilliant twist—perfect for fans of Station Eleven, Karen Thompson Walker, and Naomi Alderman.

In fifty years, Myrra will be free.

Until then, she's a contract worker. Ever since she was five, her life and labor have belonged to the highest bidder on her contract—butchers, laundries, and now the powerful, secretive Carlyles.

But when one night finds the Carlyles dead, Myrra is suddenly free a lot sooner than she anticipated—and at a cost she never could have imagined. Burdened with the Carlyles' orphaned daughter and the terrible secret they died to escape, she runs. With time running out, Myrra must come face to face with the truth about her world—and embrace what's left before it's too late.

A sweeping novel with a darkly glimmering heart, The World Gives Way is an unforgettable portrait of a world in freefall, and the fierce drive to live even at the end of it all.

A New York Times Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novel of 2021

A Fortune Magazine Best Book of 2021

"A staggering marvel."—The New York Times

"The World Gives Way has a sweeping world rich in lore and an electric plot."—Brandon Taylor, Booker Prize-nominated author of Real Life

©2021 Marissa Levien (P)2021 Redhook

Excellent dystopian read

Loved the story and the narrator, too. A dystopian read that was just sci-fi enough to provide space from our current state of the world.

Holy wow, this book

The narrator is excellent and this story is fantastic. I am so moved. Highly recommend.

great story, awful ending

Beautifully written and engaging but it really sucks when a page turning book has a flat ending. Otherwise it would have been fantastic.

Sudden ending

The ending was too sudden. How did they die? Is there a book two. Please.

Not at all the interesting story it might have been

Has a good set up just no followthrough. But the author keeeps you reading because you think, something interesting will have to happen. IMO it doesnt.

A new take on interplanetary diaspora

Terra dies and a monstrous ship is sent towards a new solar system to develop a new home for humanity but hundreds of years into the trip a major failure starts to develop in the ship. This Is a a story of how a few people cope with that time. One a young indentured servant. The other the son of two cons who becomes a security officer.

Ok. Some of the characters felt like caricatures

This book was ok, but I wouldn't really recommend it. The sci fi setting is just a backdrop and is not believable or explained very much. Instead, the book focuses on how people respond in an apocalyptic situation. While it is an interesting premise and there are some cool outlandish images, I would have preferred if the author had gone into the background of the story a bit more.

That being said, the main issue I had with this book is that some of the characters just felt like over the top liberal caricatures. It was very, very easy to identify the authors political leanings.

Contemplation

Too many people choose to go through life ignorant of their realities. This story is relevant in that it provokes contemplation of the what if of our lives. Choosing to ignore the realities of mortality will not change the facts of the inevitable.

It can be hard to keep reading when a story gets stuck. Luckily there is enough for the reader to contemplate while the story meanders along some parts.

Put this Debut on your list

PUT THIS DEBUT ON YOUR TBR!

How would you spend the weeks leading up to the end of the world? Marissa brilliantly tackles this question in 🌎The World Gives Way🌎

Thanks to #Netgalley and #Redhookbooks for the eARC of #TheWorldGivesWay (opinions are my own)!

Myrra, a contract laborer, finds out information about the spaceship she and the rest of humanity is on. She ends up on the run with baby Charlotte, trying to evade Agent Tobias and the information she learned.

This was part police procedural, part apocalyptic, part science fiction, part literary fiction, part love story and part examination of humanity’s drive to survive and finding out what really matters.

all the stars 🤩 I loved both POV characters, it was so well paced and finding out about the world within the ship was so cool. I’ll be on the lookout for whatever Marissa Levien puts out next.

Also the narrator was fantastic!

With a bang and a whimper

The world Marissa has built is beautiful and heart wrenching. It clearly is a metaphor for the world we are living in, while simultaneously reading as though it’s a prophecy about our inevitable future. The characters are compelling, and their journey kept me on the edge of my seat. Powerful work.