This is so beautiful and tragic and hopeful. Ocean Vuong meets sci-fi meets sapphic love. This is the best thing I’ve read in a while. I feel raw.

…is how my notes scribbled in the back of This Is How You Lose the Time War, written as a finished the book late last night, read. I found myself having to slow myself down to fully enjoy this, because I kept wanting more and more of it. This, for me, is one of the pieces of art that are certainly better for engaging, but which brings a feeling of a hole once it’s been finished. The prose is delicious like Vuong, the story is gripping. I usually try to ignore the review blurbs on the back, but Madeline Miller’s calling this a “fireworks display” from the authors feels apt.

The prose is breathtakingly beautiful, the story as well. More shocking is that this was written collaboratively. Somehow. I’m currently writing some non-fiction collaboratively and it’s hard enough to sync on that. El-Mohtar and Gladstone, together, have created something beautiful.

I don’t assign ratings to books anymore, but if using Jay Beaman’s definition of favorite—the last thing that blew his mind—this book is my favorite.