Book review: Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: PAOLO BACIGALUPI is the author of The Water Knife and The Windup Girl, as well as the YA novel Ship Breaker, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He has won a Hugo and a Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and he is a three-time winner of the Locus Award. He lives in Colorado.

Publisher: Knopf (Jul 09, 2024) Length: 576 pages (hardcover) Formats: audiobook, ebook, hardcover 

So, I’ve found my new favorite book of 2024. I’ve always enjoyed political intrigue, deeply personal stakes, and secondary Machiavellian characters. In Navola, Paolo Bacigalupi brings goods to the table!

The story follows Davico di Regulai, the reluctant heir to a powerful banking family in the city of Navola. Unlike his ruthless father, Devonaci, who controls the city from the shadows, Davico dreams of a simpler life, one filled with honesty, connection to nature, and kindness. Power and manipulation don’t appeal to him, but alas, he has little choice since his life is just a piece of the giant, ambitious puzzle played by his father.

Some reviewers complain about following the story through the POV of the least interesting character, but I disagree. I think Davico’s goodness and naivete make characters like Devonaci, Lady Furia, and Stilettotore even more fascinating and mysterious. I mean, think of Lord Vetinari in Discworld novels - he’s so fascinating because we witness his machinations mostly through the eyes of lesser minds and this trick emphasises his cunning and ingenuity.

Davico feels inadequate and trapped in a world that perceives kindness as a weakness to exploit and use against you. But I love coming-of-age arcs, and Bacigalupi is shockingly good at writing them. A word of caution, though—he’s also extremely good and ruthless at destroying kind characters. Davico’s foster sister, Celia, plays a crucial role in his life as his closest friend and potential love interest. The dark machinations of his father and his enemies make everything much harder for them and lay the groundwork for shocking twists and turns that left me staring blankly at the pages, muttering WTF.

There’s a fantasy element too—the dragon’s eye kept by Devonaci plays a pivotal role in Davico’s fate. But why on earth would I spoil it for you? Anyway, the relic, a remnant of a long-lost age, suggests the lingering presence of magic in a world increasingly dominated by human ambition and greed. And it’s not looking kindly at the world or its inhabitants.

Navola is a brilliant book. It takes the classic coming-of-age story, sets it in a fascinating Renaissance Italy inspired world and makes it a part of a brutal power play and political intrigue. It plays with coming-of-age storyline beats but twists them significantly. Things you’re sure will happen, won’t happen. Things you’re sure won’t happen, will happen.

Bacigalupi’s world-building is excellent—Navola comes alive through its detailed landscapes, complex societal structures and interactions, and the language filled with faux-Italian / italiante words. The di Regulai family’s influence over the city is immense, and Bacigalupi captures the tension between power-hungry factions and players. He also shows that sometimes calculated violence and unrelenting political maneuvering is the only way to maintain power.

I loved the prose and found it elegant and immersive. The novel’s pacing, while slower in its beginning, builds to a shocking twist that will change everything about the story. Anyway, the opening chapters consist of vignettes that shaped key moments in Davico’s coming-of-age arc. I found them incredibly effective at setting the tone and making readers lower their guard.

In short, Navola is brilliant and juggles heartfelt moments with outbursts of calculated violence and extreme bleakness. I loved every second of it. Some reviews mention it’s a standalone story and while it can be read as such despite an open ending, I choose to think it’s just the beginning of a brilliant epic series.