The Perishing

A Black immortal in 1930’s Los Angeles must recover the memory of her past in order to discover who she truly is in this extraordinarily affecting novel for readers of N. K. Jemisin and Octavia E. Butler. Lou,a young Black womanwakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles with no memory of how she got there or where sheΓÇÖs from. Taken in by a caring foster familyLou dedicates herself to her education while trying to put her mysterious origins behind her. SheΓÇÖll go on to become the first Black female journalist at the Los Angeles Timesbut LouΓÇÖs extraordinary life is about to take an even more remarkable turn. When she befriends a firefighter at a downtown boxing gymLou is shocked to realize that though she has no memory of meeting himsheΓÇÖs been drawing his face for years. Increasingly certain that their paths previously crossedΓÇöand beset by unexplainable flashes from different eras haunting her dreamsΓÇöLou begins to believe she may be an immortal sent here for a very important reasonone that only others like her can explain. Setting out to investigate the mystery of her existenceLou must make sense of the jumble of lifetimes calling to herjust as new forces threaten the existence of those around her. Immersed in the rich historical tapestry of Los AngelesΓÇöProhibitionthe creation of Route 66and the collapse of the St. Francis DamΓÇöThe Perishing is a stunning examination of love and justice through the eyes of one miraculous woman whose fate seems linked to the city she comes to call home.