Little Gods

4/5 stars

Su Lan was a brilliant physicist. She kept herself distant from every person in her life. Her complex personality made her an enigma. Even more intriguing is how determined she was to erase her past. Now she has died and her daughter, Liya, travels to China to collect Su Lan’s ashes. From the perspectives of the last person to see Su Lan before leaving China, Liya’s father, and Liya herself, we learn about who Su Lan was and how she became the distant mother Liya knew. 

This book was quite though-provoking and definitely required a bit more work on my part. Learning about Su Lan from other characters could be a bit confusing a times, but it was cool to see the intricate ways in which people were connected to Su Lan. The scenes would shift quickly. Also, no quotation marks were used for dialogue, so I definitely needed to be paying close attention or else I’d get lost. 

Parts could feel slow, and there were moments when I wasn’t sure what new information I was learning about Su Lan. Despite the pace, there was something about the book that didn’t let me put it down. Perhaps it was the rich culture described throughout, but I think the main reason was Su Lan. She was absolutely brilliant and often misunderstood. She was a fascinating character and almost indescribably unique. I really wanted to connect with her, much like the characters in the book. It seemed like the more distant she became, the greater the need to seek her out.

Fans of character-driven books will really enjoy Little Gods. Others may find the style challenging at first, but I recommend you give it a try!