Synopsis
Thurava of Astrava is intended to become a herder, a most honored position for her dwindling community that clings to life on the banks of the Najimov, the river that’s the lifeblood of the high desert. But the Glass City on the horizon threatens the delicate balance the Astravans have managed to hold on to for centuries, polluting the air and water as the city grows bigger and bigger. The Glass City’s clockwork liaisons offer to bring the Astravans into the Glass City’s walls, but they will have to give up their ways and their precious herds to do so. Thurava must decide who she is without her animals, using the stars as her guide, putting herself on a collision course with the secrets the Glass City holds dear
Review
A Hunger with No Name by Lauren C. Teffeau is a brilliantly written novella filled with critical themes and one that pleasantly surprised me.
The world itself was my favourite part. The way that this setting is described is amazing and I was captured by the way that Teffeau describes the world, the skies and everything else. You can really feel how these people adore the world they live in. The Astravan’s worship this world and Teffeau has an encapsulating gift that holds us to these descriptions.
This helps tie to the themes present. Thurava, the main character, finds herself in the Glass City – a completely different place than the desert we are introduced to and full of technology. Here, the plot unfolds. Teffeau has us questioning existence, be it natural or otherwise. They also have us debating consumption and extinction, and if these go hand-in-hand.
This is a descriptive novel and one that rewards us emotionally and logically. Lauren C. Teffeau has created an important novel that is wonderfully written and I urge you to give this a read.
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