It’s about grief and melancholy and connection and hope; it hit me so hard in the feels I cried through the last chapters. Outstanding use of the cheesy amnesia trope, a worthy homage to While You Were Sleeping. (Sam is absolutely the British Sandra Bullock.)
It’s also laugh-out-loud funny, courtesy of Sam’s whole work family, Jonathan’s whole real family, and GOLLUM THE CAT.
And let me pay this forward: do not miss the narration. I’ve actually read it thrice, because I got the paperback via preorder, but then my friend Meg convinced me I could not miss the audio. She was 100% correct. And then I started the audio again over the long Thanksgiving weekend when a little comfort was needed. As per usual with Alexis Hall, there’s a lot of attention to dialect, and to hear Sam’s Liverpool voice brought to life makes the story. There’s a reason Will Watt has been winning awards for his performance, it’s perfection.
(As if the cover isn’t a clue, the Material World series shares a universe with London Calling. No offense to Luc, but Sam’s work gang nearly rivals the CRAPP crew.)