The Washington Post has selected The Last One as one of the best science fiction books of July!
“Oliva brilliantly scrutinizes the recorded (and heavily revised) narratives we believe, and the last 100 pages will have the reader constantly guessing just what Zoo is capable of doing to find her way back home.”
Things have been wonderfully hectic since the book came out, and I've gotten a wee bit behind with updates. Time to catch up! Here are some of my non-fiction pieces that have found their way onto the internet in recent days.
1. An essay about that crazy-intense wilderness survival trip I went on while researching The Last One:
“I was too hungry to listen, too hungry to care—but then Cat’s line of speaking shifted slightly. She began talking about respecting our food sources. It’s a big deal to take a life, she told us. Your bodies need protein, she told us. My hunger slipped into the background. Knowing glances traversed our circle. We all knew what this meant...”
2. A piece exploring my long road to publication:
“You think about giving up, but you don’t. You don’t know if this is because you’re tenacious or because you’re trapped. The latter is feeling more and more true. When people ask what you do, you still answer “I’m a writer,” but now you’re saying it like “I’m sorry.””
3. A short post including some thoughts on reality television:
“Despite reality TV’s reputation for being vapid and playing to the lowest common denominator, it’s really just another form of storytelling. Any story can have depth or be shallow, can include characters who are well-rounded or lazily conform to stereotypes – those choices aren’t determined by form, they’re determined by the storyteller.”
4. Guest blog on Waterstones.com about a particularly unnerving experience I had during my wilderness survival trip:
“I was on edge, anxious about how I was about to be left alone in the middle of nowhere for forty-eight hours. I would much prefer to have just seen a raccoon than a predator that could snap my spinal cord with one bite.”
The Seattle Times has reviewed The Last One:
“This is the genius of Oliva’s storytelling. As the story unfolds, we don’t know what is “real” and what is possibly a very well-executed television program...”
I have two book events scheduled for July--one for each coast! I'll be reading, signing, celebrating, etc. All are welcome to come join the fun.
Seattle: Friday July 15th, 7pm at Elliott Bay Books.
New York: Wednesday July 20th, 7pm at BookCourt.
The librarians have spoken! The Last One is a LibraryReads top ten pick for July. Deeply honored to be included on this list.