Awake in the Floating City

Awake in the Floating City
AuthorSusanna Kwan
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPantheon Books
Publication date2025
Publication placeUnited States

Awake in the Floating City is a 2025 climate fiction novel by Susanna Kwan.

Themes

According to Lorraine Berry of The Los Angeles Times, the novel "asks whether those songs may be sung if there are no choirs to sing them. Choirs require community, and the role of community during environmental disaster is one of the themes that runs through this thoughtful novel about art, creation and the ways we care for one another." AudioFile described the novel as being "about identity and creating a sense of home amid displacement."

Reception

Kirkus Reviews reviewed the novel as "marvelously graceful." Alexandra Pierce of Locus reviewed the novel as "a very human, almost mundane story... By mundane I do not mean boring: I mean one that doesn’t try to fix the problems of climate change, or have exciting adventures despite or because of it," saying that it "demonstrate[s] human resilience in the face of ever-more challenging circumstances. And not just resilience: compassion, creativity, love. Kwan brings her city and her characters to life with grace and beauty."

Publishers Weekly reviewed the novel as "a lyrical tale" with "spare and sometimes enigmatic prose," albeit criticising that "the plot is too leisurely paced, and Bo’s relationship with a married man named Eddie feels somewhat superfluous and underdeveloped."

References

  1. ↑ Elias, Naomi (6 May 2025). "In a Flooded Future San Francisco, Care Is All We Have". KQED. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  2. ↑ Chihaya, Sarah (16 May 2025). "The ocean is swallowing San Francisco in this curious novel". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Nobakht, David (6 August 2025). "SUSANNA KWAN paints a future of 130-year-olds living in drowned cities". Buzz Magazine. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Hard Rain". Literary Review. July 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Berry, Lorraine. "'Awake in the Floating City': Holding on in a San Francisco high-rise". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY". AudioFile. 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Awake in the Floating City". Kirkus Reviews. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  8. ↑ Pierce, Alexandra (6 July 2025). "Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan: Review by Alexandra Pierce". Locus. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "Awake in the Floating City". Publishers Weekly. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.