Book Review: Satellite Love by Genki Ferguson

Satellite Love by first-time novelist Genki Ferguson is a mystical story about loneliness, friendship, and the human need for connection. 

Set in Sakita, Japan at the dawn of the new millennium, Anna struggles to find friends. She is picked on at school and often left on her own to care for her aging grandfather. But his memory is failing, so the one consistent adult in Anna’s life doesn’t even know who she is. For these reasons, and many others, she often feels “hollow.” Nevertheless, Anna has a tremendous imagination and a deep connection to that which cannot be seen. When Soki, an equally sensitive and thoughtful boy, moves to town, a series of events follow that will form them both. 

Ferguson’s prose is easy to read. In fact, it is so smooth it almost reads like a Young Adult novel. It would be easy to mistake the fluidity of the prose with simplicity. Instead, I think it reflects the author’s meticulous attention to style and craft. The novel unfolds through four points of view, most of whom are teenagers, and the facility with which Ferguson captures the cadence and tone of each teenage voice allows the prose to trip effortlessly off the page. As a result, the reader is invited to melt into the narrative. 

Satellite Love tackles the big questions: What does it mean to exist? Do our actions (or inaction) have any impact? Is there life after this life? Is anyone looking out for us? These universal questions lay heavy on the hearts of our characters, and so too for the reader, but Ferguson confronts them head-on through the lens of philosophy, spirituality, and faith with charm, humour, poignancy, and thoughtfulness. This is a lovely debut with a lasting impression.  

PS: The illustrations included throughout are equally charming and contribute to the overall tone of the novel.

Satellite Love By Genki Ferguson McClelland & Stewart, 2021, p.p. 278 ISBN: 978-0-7710-4987-3