(From ECW):
A precisely crafted, darkly humorous portrait of a family in mourning
Sunday’s father is dying of cancer. They’ve come home to Malagash, on the north shore of Nova Scotia, so he can die where he grew up. Her mother and her brother are both devastated. But devastated isn’t good enough. Devastated doesn’t fix anything. Sunday has a plan.
She’s started recording everything her father says. His boring stories. His stupid jokes. Everything. She’s recording every single “I love you” right alongside every “Could we turn the heat up in here?” It’s all important.
Because Sunday is writing a computer virus. A computer virus that will live secretly on the hard drives of millions of people all over the world. A computer virus that will think her father’s thoughts and say her father’s words. She has thousands of lines of code to write. Cryptography to understand. Exploits to test. She doesn’t have time to be sad. Her father is going to live forever.
ThoughtsI received a copy in this book from ECW Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion.
What did I just read? I honestly was so shocked when I received this book in the mail…I mean, I wasn’t expecting it to be so small! But Malagash just proved to me that good things really do come in small packages.
This is such a heart-warming, and heart-wrenching book all at the same time. I was laughing from one page to crying to the next. I had all the feels while reading this book. The dark humour and the depth of emotional trauma between the whole family worked so well together. I loved the family dynamics, and how Sunday’s father acted throughout his entire situation – it seems like something many fathers would do.
Sunday is an inspirational character, with the best intentions. Although it’s not clear how old she is, I would imagine she’s around 12-14. She inspires her brother, and together they try to make the impossible, possible (and it’s not about the virus! It becomes so much more than that).
FYI: I read this book on the bus, and I really don’t recommend it if you’re a cryer like me!
Final Grade5/5 : I loved everything about Malagash, and it was so uplifting and soul-crushing all at the same time. Small but mighty, this book will relate to anyone who has had been touched by cancer, in whatever capacity.
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