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4.0 

The Past Is Red

By Catherynne M. Valente
The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

“The Candide of our #@$\*%?! age.”— Ken Liu, award-winning author

Catherynne M. Valente, the bestselling and award-winning creator of Space Opera and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland returns with The Past Is Red, the enchanting, dark, funny, angry story of a girl who made two terrible mistakes: she told the truth and she dared to love the world.

A Hugo Award finalist! An inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction finalist! A Locus Award finalist!

The future is blue. Endless blue…except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown.

Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she’s the only one who knows it. She’s the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it’s full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time.

But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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464 Reviews

4.0
Thinking Face“Overall I wasn’t really sure what to make of this one. I mostly liked the mc the way she sees her world is absolutely beautiful and I loved seeing it through her eyes. But I couldn’t quite see her as a role model the way I think she’s supposed to be. Mostly because she’s got this ‘just live life as it is’ attitude when it comes to trying to make any sort of change, and while I don’t think that’s bad on a personal level it’s not something I feel should be applied to other people in a situation where they actually do want to try for change, especially not forcefully. The humor is also fun although not as fun as the author seems to think it is and the critics of society can be a bit overbearing. That said I did find the mc charming and the world building is unique and vivid and interesting. Plus I also really loved the ending.”
Surprised Face with Open Mouth“The writing style of this book felt so much like Kurt Vonnegut. I found myself giggling despite the storyline getting bleaker and bleaker. Don’t expect an uplifting feel good book. But this author has something to say that feels pretty darn important in our current climate (double meaning intended). You’ll need to pay attention as you’re reading. There’s a lot of world building that is unique and the writer has a way of revealing important moments and then moving on very quickly. Time winds around and can be a little confusing. But if you are looking for a sharp-witted, atmospheric, and dystopian tale this may just be the book for you.”
“Sad but hopeful. Funny but tragic. Heartfelt but irreverent. Definitely weird. I love this book. The genres this book falls into are not ones I normally enjoy but that’s how good the writing is. I am so glad I randomly picked it up. It’s one of my favorite books ever.”

About Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente is the New York Times bestselling author of over two dozen works of fiction and poetry, including Palimpsest, the Orphan’s Tales series, Deathless, Radiance, and the crowdfunded phenomenon The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (and the four books that followed it). She is the winner of the Andre Norton, Tiptree, Sturgeon, Eugie Foster Memorial, Mythopoeic, Rhysling, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo awards, as well as the Prix Imaginales. Valente has also been a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with a small but growing menagerie of beasts, some of which are human.

Find out more on her website and on Twitter!

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