Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained from the publisher in advance of the book's release on July 20, 2021 in exchange for a potential review. I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.
And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed
And What Can We Offer You Tonight is the latest novella by Premee Mohamed, this time published by Neon Hemlock, a newish publisher of shorter, usually queer, and often very weird science fiction and fantasy. My experience with Mohamed is.....interesting - her work tends to have characters who are very introspective, with their internal monologues and thoughts being as important as the many external things that could be happening in any given story. And as a result, while her works have usually left me thinking, I've often been unsure if I actually liked or recommended them.
And What We Can Offer You Tonight continues in that same vein, featuring a dystopian future in which the poor and lower class after age 10 are basically fair game to be culled, unless they wind up in the employ of a House - in this case a House that prostitutes out its employees. Its a revenge tale, as a dead prostitute comes back to life and wreaks havoc, told from the story of another woman employed by the House who is both scared of what her former friend is doing and scared of her current life at the same time, who sticks to secret traditions that are spat on by her masters, and is never sure of what to do. It's a really interesting tale of how one acts under such oppression, and how things change when one such person becomes free of it and can finally act for herself.
Quick Plot Summary: When Winfield was murdered, Jewel grieved, and she and her fellow courtesans undertook their most sacred secret ritual of respecting their dead. Except Winfield didn't stay dead, and when she came back, she wanted nothing more than to get vengeance upon the rich man who killed her, and the people who enabled him, like the rich masters of their House. But in a world where the poor can get culled just for turning 10 and where any mistake may send a courtesan back to the streets, can Jewel afford to be seen helping Winfield? And what is truly sacred, and what is worth living for, if Jewel is always forced to be scared, no matter how much she hurts inside?
Thoughts: For a short novella (this is ~80 pages by the publisher's description), nearly all of what happens in And What Can We Offer You Tonight occurs in Jewel's internal narrative, as she observes what's happening with Winfield and the House, and fears and awaits what will happen as a result. This is a dystopian world, where the rich act with impunity and a good outcome for the poor is to be snapped up by a House to provide pleasure for someone better off....and even then to have to work oneself hard to avoid starving or being set aside. Where ones own body, no matter how much you spend of your own resources in modifying it for pretty (Jewel's best companion Nero has wings), can be destroyed with impunity by the higher class.
And yet the fear of having even less paralyzes everyone, even Jewel, who knows full well how wrong it all is, and isn't shameless like a new girl who everyone knows must be a spy, and makes them act in fear and cowardice. Not that mindless vengeance, as Winfield is at times, is always better, although when the rich manage to profane even the few things that are worthwhile and sacred, even that feels worth it to some extent. All of these thoughts are carried in this narrative, which makes this a fascinating read, and well worth your time....even if you may be frustrated in Jewel's lack of action - because that's the whole point.
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