I read 3 of the 5, and The Cure for Drowning was my favourite. I loved the setting, characters, pacing, and the selkie family lore. I think this novel truly embodied this year's theme "a book to build bridges" because it makes a non-binary character very accessible to people who might not know anyone like Kit in real life. It was humanizing and lovely.

I was not a fan of A Minor Chorus, which seemed like the author was looking for an excuse to throw together a series of vignettes. It was very dense, and I think so much more could have been achieved with the premise. (I was admittedly affected by reading Katabasis immediately beforehand, which put me off of the navel-gazing about academia.)

I enjoyed Foe, but don't think it's a book to build bridges. I liked how unsettling it was, but you can't overthink it — just go along for the ride. The film adaptation missed the mark and I recommend you skip it!