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cecile87's review against another edition
3.0
I just saw a GR quote: the world is incomprehensible and full of surprises. Missed the creator of the quote. It fits for this book.
Anyway, I CAN’T BELIEVE I READ THE WHOLE THING! Someone, give me a Sidecar or some other crafted cocktail without the honey or sugar, please. A combination of audible and print got me through it. I listened while doing chores, etc. That got me through a lot.
The mood of the book—sort of surreal and slightly menacing—hung over me like a cloud and interfered with my dreams during sleep. I had to stop reading it before bedtime, as I would awake the next day feeling a bit morose.
I get the celebration of books and stories herein, but I couldn’t follow the metaphors. There were so many of them. And lots of little fables. My favorite was about the moon and the innkeeper.
Then, I discover in reviews I read along the way from the NYT and the Guardian (or WP) that the metaphors don’t always have any meaning we are to discern from the author.
I saw a YT review where the reviewer demonstrated playing a drinking game every time the word door was mentioned! I laughed out loud as she read some passages I recognized and took lots of sips.
The book seems so random, especially towards the last third. Monsters came from nowhere to trick and subdue some of the protagonists. There were talking obsequious bees. Made me think of the movie eyes wide shut—which I only saw snippets of with no plan to watch. If my book club hadn’t chosen this book to read (we read Night Circus years ago), I don’t think I would have finished it.
The book was rich in complexity with well-written passages. I’ve learned from a reviewer that this is a setting-driven story. Amazing world-building. I did appreciate the multi-cultural inclusion. POC and non-binary folks were in the story like no big deal, as they should be, IMHO. And some of the readers where also POC. (Turns out I know one of the readers!) That’s why the three stars instead of less. But I didn’t enjoy the ride. A long journey where I didn’t know where I was headed after the first chapter or two.
Anyway, I CAN’T BELIEVE I READ THE WHOLE THING! Someone, give me a Sidecar or some other crafted cocktail without the honey or sugar, please. A combination of audible and print got me through it. I listened while doing chores, etc. That got me through a lot.
The mood of the book—sort of surreal and slightly menacing—hung over me like a cloud and interfered with my dreams during sleep. I had to stop reading it before bedtime, as I would awake the next day feeling a bit morose.
I get the celebration of books and stories herein, but I couldn’t follow the metaphors. There were so many of them. And lots of little fables. My favorite was about the moon and the innkeeper.
Then, I discover in reviews I read along the way from the NYT and the Guardian (or WP) that the metaphors don’t always have any meaning we are to discern from the author.
I saw a YT review where the reviewer demonstrated playing a drinking game every time the word door was mentioned! I laughed out loud as she read some passages I recognized and took lots of sips.
The book seems so random, especially towards the last third. Monsters came from nowhere to trick and subdue some of the protagonists. There were talking obsequious bees. Made me think of the movie eyes wide shut—which I only saw snippets of with no plan to watch. If my book club hadn’t chosen this book to read (we read Night Circus years ago), I don’t think I would have finished it.
The book was rich in complexity with well-written passages. I’ve learned from a reviewer that this is a setting-driven story. Amazing world-building. I did appreciate the multi-cultural inclusion. POC and non-binary folks were in the story like no big deal, as they should be, IMHO. And some of the readers where also POC. (Turns out I know one of the readers!) That’s why the three stars instead of less. But I didn’t enjoy the ride. A long journey where I didn’t know where I was headed after the first chapter or two.
linzlee's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
laurenamacker's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
searchingforeden's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
monfernx94's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful story about stories and doors and chances taken and not taken and bees and keys and feathers and hearts and crowns and swords and even Love.
kikijuly1's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
2nd read: 22-23 October 2022
And no story ever truly ends as long as it is told.
Borges said that paradise must be some kind of library. Erin Morgenstern wrote it for me: so vividly that I can see and feel it, like honey on my tongue.
It's like an art museum and an overflowing library were relocated into a subway system. Yeah. Paradise
This book is ten thousand times better upon rereading. Do you know how rare that is? Most books remain as good as one remembers and expects them to, while some rarely disappoint upon revisiting. A book is almost never better for being reread, a familiar story retraced. This one is the holy exception. I must admit back upon my first reread, at the start of a pandemic, unemployed and bound to move to a different country all on my own, I was not in the right headspace to believe and fall in love with the m-word of this book. I needed this reread as I needed to be convinced of my worth as a reader and believer in the power of stories.
Do you think you're fated to meet with the books or authors you're reading? I do. I have some fantastical stories, relying on coincidences (though I do not believe in coincidences) for all my most beloved tales and storytellers. I met Erin Morgenstern as a teenage girl, left behind in the book section of a supermarket by busy parents. After reading the first ten pages of her debut novel and thinking obsessively about it over the weekend, I ordered the book and now I own seven copies and I know chapters by memory and by heart. She made me want to write again, when I though the words will never speak to me. She steered me to communities and friends and worlds that would have remained closed if I haven't fell in love with her own universe. My 18th birthday cake was in the colour theme of her work. I found my favourite video game thanks to Morgenstern, and that is just as powerful as a story, a story told just differently.
It's hard for a follow-up book to live up to the kind of impact my favourite book had on my life. But upon opening The Starless Sea, the familiarity of the sentence cadence, of the characters' flair and interest, of a world imbued with sense and love and mystery and books... I knew I had to love it. I didn't, not truly, until now. And this reread just made the blood in my body sing with righteousness, that the world is filled with people who love stories as much as I do - and the chase is worth it, for the moments when you can find a book like this one, that talks to everything that matters in you. I am overwhelmed by how much I care about this tale, by how glad I am to get to meet it again, to know its ending, but enjoy its secrets and hints so much more for it, retracing it as a detective, learning to adore it, allowing it to carve a space for itself in the mapping of my self. And Erin Morgenstern crafts her books with *THAT* much care: a broom is mentioned on page 41 and then on page 219 you are told where it came from, and how important it is. You're being told a tale on page 3, and until the last one, you believe against the story's tides, because it's hard to believe what you're being told.
I regret the fact that I cannot imagine things when I read so much more when stepping into an Erin Morgenstern book. All I have are impressions, a corner of a detail, never a full painting. But I am glad to have sailed The Starless Sea, and believe in its story.
BRB, I am booking myself a chest tattoo. Guess which symbol I'm having carved in my skin forever, because I love this book so much?
I have a playlist made for this book if that's something you like!
1st read:23-25 August 2020.
You know those autumn fair's rides? That start slow, and then the speed just goes up more and more, faster and faster until you're high up in the air and screaming at the top of your lungs, in joy and fear?
That's how this novel made me feel.
I was already a fan of Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus in my all time favourite novel, and the writing style is so incredibly comforting to my heart. Literally, opening this book and reading its first page, I was just hit with so much love, warmth and peace. Just the way in which this author strings words together already helps at building up the atmosphere of the story, and so much of its magic.
Magic, the M-word. That's another special trait that makes me love this book so dearly. I love how uncontested and strongly you can feel it seeping through the pages, sticking to your mind and heart like honey.
But you know, as with things you love a lot, it's difficult (and almost impossible) to find the right words to explain your feelings. I just love it, I loved the characters and the stories and all the hints that are actually not going anywhere, and all the surprising twists that pop up instead.
And no story ever truly ends as long as it is told.
Borges said that paradise must be some kind of library. Erin Morgenstern wrote it for me: so vividly that I can see and feel it, like honey on my tongue.
It's like an art museum and an overflowing library were relocated into a subway system. Yeah. Paradise
This book is ten thousand times better upon rereading. Do you know how rare that is? Most books remain as good as one remembers and expects them to, while some rarely disappoint upon revisiting. A book is almost never better for being reread, a familiar story retraced. This one is the holy exception. I must admit back upon my first reread, at the start of a pandemic, unemployed and bound to move to a different country all on my own, I was not in the right headspace to believe and fall in love with the m-word of this book. I needed this reread as I needed to be convinced of my worth as a reader and believer in the power of stories.
Do you think you're fated to meet with the books or authors you're reading? I do. I have some fantastical stories, relying on coincidences (though I do not believe in coincidences) for all my most beloved tales and storytellers. I met Erin Morgenstern as a teenage girl, left behind in the book section of a supermarket by busy parents. After reading the first ten pages of her debut novel and thinking obsessively about it over the weekend, I ordered the book and now I own seven copies and I know chapters by memory and by heart. She made me want to write again, when I though the words will never speak to me. She steered me to communities and friends and worlds that would have remained closed if I haven't fell in love with her own universe. My 18th birthday cake was in the colour theme of her work. I found my favourite video game thanks to Morgenstern, and that is just as powerful as a story, a story told just differently.
It's hard for a follow-up book to live up to the kind of impact my favourite book had on my life. But upon opening The Starless Sea, the familiarity of the sentence cadence, of the characters' flair and interest, of a world imbued with sense and love and mystery and books... I knew I had to love it. I didn't, not truly, until now. And this reread just made the blood in my body sing with righteousness, that the world is filled with people who love stories as much as I do - and the chase is worth it, for the moments when you can find a book like this one, that talks to everything that matters in you. I am overwhelmed by how much I care about this tale, by how glad I am to get to meet it again, to know its ending, but enjoy its secrets and hints so much more for it, retracing it as a detective, learning to adore it, allowing it to carve a space for itself in the mapping of my self. And Erin Morgenstern crafts her books with *THAT* much care: a broom is mentioned on page 41 and then on page 219 you are told where it came from, and how important it is. You're being told a tale on page 3, and until the last one, you believe against the story's tides, because it's hard to believe what you're being told.
I regret the fact that I cannot imagine things when I read so much more when stepping into an Erin Morgenstern book. All I have are impressions, a corner of a detail, never a full painting. But I am glad to have sailed The Starless Sea, and believe in its story.
Spoiler
My favourite thing about Morgenstern, so far present in both of her books, is just the fact that she creates these amazing, wonderful, dreamy worlds only to pull them apart and let them crumble and destroy them, not allowing her characters, or you as a reader for that matter, to indulge in their fantasy for nearly long enough. And then from the ashes, she builds you something softer, kinder, smaller -but maybe better, if you dare continue believing.BRB, I am booking myself a chest tattoo. Guess which symbol I'm having carved in my skin forever, because I love this book so much?
I have a playlist made for this book if that's something you like!
1st read:23-25 August 2020.
You know those autumn fair's rides? That start slow, and then the speed just goes up more and more, faster and faster until you're high up in the air and screaming at the top of your lungs, in joy and fear?
That's how this novel made me feel.
I was already a fan of Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus in my all time favourite novel, and the writing style is so incredibly comforting to my heart. Literally, opening this book and reading its first page, I was just hit with so much love, warmth and peace. Just the way in which this author strings words together already helps at building up the atmosphere of the story, and so much of its magic.
Magic, the M-word. That's another special trait that makes me love this book so dearly. I love how uncontested and strongly you can feel it seeping through the pages, sticking to your mind and heart like honey.
But you know, as with things you love a lot, it's difficult (and almost impossible) to find the right words to explain your feelings. I just love it, I loved the characters and the stories and all the hints that are actually not going anywhere, and all the surprising twists that pop up instead.