The marigold is a strange book and I’m not even sure how to review this. The synopsis of the book led me to believe it would be an apocalyptic type of horror novel, which parts of it are. That is the main issue though-the book is disjointed and told through loosely connected points of view and stories all centering around a building, The Marigold and a virus like disease called the Wet. I think there is some commentary to be found on climate change and gentrification embedded somewhere, but I couldn’t latch on to anything strongly enough to grasp what the author was trying to convey. The premise was interesting and I do feel like there was a good story somewhere in this-but the execution made it difficult to follow and to invest in the plot.

Thanks for to the publisher for the arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This had such a promising synopsis, but sadly did not live up to it for me. There were too many, and repetitive, POV’s which led to characters being extremely one-dimensional and lacking motive for any actions/decisions. Likewise, the plot was stretched too far across the various POV’s which meant that the book failed to justify its page count. I would’ve DNF’ed this, unfortunately, and not really cared for the rest but it was very easy to just keep reading with the simplistic writing style - and it was an ARC so I feel obligated to finish it! I was hoping for an eco-techno-horror but got none of those vibes, and so much of this felt un/underexplained that I just desired more across the entire book from craft to setting to characters. Also, there was a weird fascination with Stan’s genitalia that really did not need to be present. You can tell this was written by a man, and it seems I prefer women writers. One of these stars are for the raccoons. I love raccoons.

Don’t really have much of substance to say, much like this book’s commentary, besides that it wasn’t for me and that Sullivan is a one-time author for me.

Unbearably depressing and emotionally draining. A character driven horror story with a demanding message of decay and absolution. Not for the faint of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan #twentyfirstbookof2023 #arc

CW: death, murder, fungus

In a near-future Toronto buffeted by environmental chaos and unfettered development, an unsettling new lifeform begins to grow beneath the surface, feeding off the past.

More sporror! Fungal horror is everywhere right now, and I am usually a fan. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. It was slow reading and I wasn’t ever excited to get back to the book. I didn’t particularly care about any of the characters whose perspective the book followed, and I almost DNFed at 60%. I don’t know why I kept going but I wish I hadn’t. I just didn’t find it interesting.

This book has lots of ideas about climate crisis and class but they’re bogged down and not executed well. None of the characters are fleshed out very well. The one thing I liked? The cover.

Thank you to @netgalley and @ecwpress for the advance copy. (Pub date 4/18/23)

#fungi #fungalhorror #sporror #thewet #themarigold

My Quick Take: This book crept up on me unexpectedly, building to a literal and metaphorical apocalypse.
***
The Marigold crept up on me (...infected me?) with its weirdness. The action is in a near future Toronto, and climate change has obviously taken its toll. Weather is unpredictable, random sinkholes wreak havoc on the landscape and something mysterious is happening in the ground below condo developments. A mold: “The Wet”. The narrative takes the form of multiple points of view, with a couple of truly over the top characters. Gradually I saw a creepy apocalyptic vision of Toronto in my imagination.

There is so much metaphor here. The Wet could be a stand-in for climate change, or more specifically the wages of our sins: ignoring the climate crisis; unfettered capitalism; or extreme avarice.

It sounds all so serious, but I detected a note of humour here too. A hint of camp. Though I may be wrong. This is urban lore–meets climate change fiction–meets plague novel–meets…hmm, maybe Ghostbusters? I’m sure this never occurred to the author, but I picked up on a few hints and references that reminded me of the movie, in a really good way! (To be clear, the plot of Ghostbusters and The Marigold have almost nothing in common–it’s more of a vibe I’m getting at). Though this is a story where the Ghostbusters wouldn’t emerge from the building triumphant, but rather running in terror from a black toxic sludge.

As you can tell this novel grew on me. It made me think a bit, and I had some fun reading it. I think it’d make a good movie!

Thanks to @netgalley and @ecwpress for a digital ARC in exchange for my review.

There was enough to love here that I can still very much see encouraging people on the fence to give it a try. I found that with so much going on I wanted more from those things. It felt muddy at times, too much adding up to not quite enough for me to enjoy reading it. I really felt that drag in the middle and the end didn't quite make up for that to me. That said, the setting was interesting and the horror felt both familiar and specific. It wasn't for me, but I could see how, if this specific type of satire is your thing, it could still be for you!

The Marigold is dense in subtextual (and textual) commentary on gentrification, development, and environmental crisis and its speculative world makes use of features of Toronto that I’m certainly familiar with. Ultimately, I found the narrative structure both choppy and slow, which makes it a book I admire intellectually but did not particularly enjoy reading.

I liked this one a lot better if I think of it as a series of interconnected stories rather than a novel. As a novel, it's a bit disjointed and I couldn't really tell what the main plot was until near the end, and even then it seemed weirdly paced; however, exploring the Wet phenomenon from so many different angles was fascinating.

This book was not for me. I felt that there were too many disparate perspectives that didn't really align within the narrative. I'd just be getting into the story in one perspective, only to be pulled out of it to hear a different part of the story from someone else.

I can understand that this was a stylistic choice and probably really works for some people but for me there was just too much going on.

I was excited by the premise as I'm really interested in how climate is being used in literature, particularly fears around climate change so I was really looking forward to this but ultimately couldn't finish it.

This was a very intense read that drops you into the middle of it's strange world immediately and does'nt wait for you to catch up. The plot does keep moving despite the many different directions the story is pulled given it's various perspectives. I think that it was a unique and intriguing story, but it was trying to do so much and doesn't end up doing enough of any of it. I thought all the perspectives were interesting to read from, but i could not get very attached or come to a real understanding with any of them because they weren't given a lot of real estate. Still, this was a very original work tackling so many topical issues in an inventive way.

The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan is a creeping dystopic eco-horror about the corruption of capitalism, poor urban planning, building health code violations, and sentient mold. The story follows various citizens—a mysterious gardener, a cab driver, and two health inspectors—as a strange black mold spreads throughout Toronto.

I admit, the story does take a while to take shape due to its cast size, but, pacing issues aside, this book still lured me in with some fantastic body horror. We get freaky shrieking biomasses reminiscent of the Symbiote from Venom, which is a monster trope I’m an absolute sucker for.

Overall, this book is a Black Mirror-esque type of “thinker” sci-fi that examines the horrors of urban society through a speculative lens, delivering biting social commentary alongside a dose of slime and decay.

A near-future Toronto on the brink, The Marigold reminds me of High Rise with a touch of mushroom horror. Pacing is a bit slower than I'd like, but the creeping unease is real. I'll booktalk this to horror and thriller readers.

I really enjoyed this book. A crumbling Toronto, greedy real estate developers, a dank and dark atmosphere make a great eco fiction/horror novel. I had Jeff Vandermeer vibes while reading it. It is told from several POVs but it moves the story along and the reader learns as the characters learn. The story held my attention throughout and wasn’t predictable.

Is it a horror novel? A social commentary? A new, or revamped older, mythology? An eco-novel (if there is such a thing)? Who knows but The Marigold is definitely a different type of genre mashup! The real question is whether you will enjoy reading it.

The novel is set in a near future Toronto which sounds very close to present day New York City. The rich run the town without regard for the poor struggling to live within it. Lately, high rise buildings are collapsing. Is it incompetent builders, cheap owners using subpar products, or something else much more complex?

I liked the combination of horror with climate change. The mythology was intriguing. But I just couldn’t get past the constant social commentary. I get it. The rich are out for themselves. All Americans understand that after four years of the last president (or the robber barons of a century or so ago). Perhaps innately friendly Canadians haven’t realized it yet. Still, it was pervasive and felt overdone. It definitely adversely impacted my enjoyment of the novel. For that reason alone, The Marigold gets 3 stars from me. However, if that type of preaching to the choir doesn’t bother you and you enjoy innovative horror plots, you should pick up this book.

Thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Andrew Sullivan loves Toronto and The Marigold is a tribute to that great city. His latest book, chock full of rich prose and vivid imagery, is about decay, urban sprawl, unchecked development, human irrelevance, and the vengeance of nature.

It’s about the Marigold, a shining jewel in the cityscape. A condo tower, the masterpiece of a developer, is developing a mysterious and spreading sludge. A health inspector discovers the foundations of the Marigold are actively rotting. Construction of a second Marigold has stopped. The lives of the residents of the condo are affected, and the humans are left to determine what will become of them in a city that seems increasingly alive.

Like the city, the cast of The Marigold is sprawling. The majority are balanced well by Sullivan and given depth in little page time. Each is a fleshed-out individual, flawed and doing their best to thrive within the shadow of the Marigold as the decay inevitably sets in.

Sullivan’s intent is to demonstrate the lives of individuals amidst an uncaring, almost sentient cityscape. Decay is inevitable as man’s hubris, but he makes a firm attempt to humanize those having their lives affected. Balancing many different perspectives and approaching the story from numerous directions is a difficult prospect, but Sullivan makes it work.

The theme of decay permeates the book. Sullivan’s descriptions of the inevitable rot setting through the metal are grotesque yet hauntingly compelling. The social commentary is obvious, with Sullivan covering the consequences of unchecked growth and how nature always reclaims its own.

The Marigold is a hauntingly beautiful tale of decay told through the eyes of the city itself, experimental and bold.

Please see the podcast review and interview below, where the hosts of Podside Picnic talk to author, Andrew F. Sullivan about The Marigold.

I was very intrigued by The Marigold's premise. Urban fantasy/sci-fi is a genre I enjoy a lot (like NK Jemisin's Great Cities duology), so seeing one set in Toronto was very intriguing to me. And Andrew F Sullivan delivered on that front. I loved this. It was weird and unsettling but had a really important message. Highly highly recommend this!

The Marigold by Andrew F Sullivan, 360 pgs, Pub date: Apr 18th
Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prose ⭐⭐⭐💫
Pacing⭐⭐
Character Development ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scary ⭐
Gore ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Library or Buy-worthy: I'm buying a finished copy.

The Marigold by Andrew F Sullivan is a weird dark blend of political philosophy, eco-horror and rotting dystopia with a dash of cosmic occultism for good taste. I'll say right up front, if you're reading this hoping for 'The Last of Us' then this isn't that book. You have to go into The Marigold reading it on it's own merit.

Through a variety of intertwined short stories the picture of a diseased future Toronto emerges. The snap shots of different lives, and how they are affected by the Wet (a strange disease) and the Marigold family was an interesting way of creating perspective. Going into this I expected to prefer a more typical style of novel, following one character throughout but I was wrong. This style fits the world building and the slow unfolding of the cohesive plotline perfectly. The city itself becomes a character. I loved the atmosphere this author was able to create. I could almost smell the damp stink and rot. An amazing amount of character development was achieved as well within these short chapters. Every character was intriguing and fully fleshed. I liked the LGBTQ character representation. Parts of this book had a uncanny Eyes Wide Shut/ Lost Highways /Fight Club vibe that I quite enjoyed. The Diva Tarot deck Irving reads was perhaps my favorite part. The level of humor was the perfect counterbalance for all the darkness.

In general I love weird books, eco-horror and spore horror so I'm biased but I liked this book so much. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but I'm simply impressed by the originality. Good writing, dark gritty world building, raccoon symbology and a touch of black gelatinous mold growing on every surface has me following this author for future books. This book is definitely getting filed with my favorite well thought-out, top shelf weird collection. Fucking outstanding work @afsulli.

This net galley copy expired before I could read it all, I was able to get thru about 150ish pages, This was really disappointing, I was really getting into the story.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.*

This book was good, I really enjoyed the story and thought it had lots of potential. However, it is told from so many different perspectives and directions. It jumps from character to character which made the storytelling so slow.

That being said, the social commentary in this book was really on point. It was at the heart of the book and was present and consistent throughout.

I would’ve liked a bit more tension and a few less character perspectives but the idea of the story was very cool and gave Succession vibes.

#TheMarigold #NetGalley