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erintowner's review
2.0
I loved the story idea and how the author wrote about long-distance friendships (how it's worth it to put effort into alleviating each other's loneliness). She knows a lot about languages and to a lesser extent, anthropology, which I enjoyed. The dialogue was just very confusing, though, not for a stylistic reason but because I think the author assumed we would be able to infer what was happening in the characters' minds. I, at least, couldn't. I usually hate books that have too much detailed world-building but this story could have benefited from filling in some of the gaps. Magical things seemed to pop up in the middle of the book to explain away plot holes without an explanation for how those magical things got there. It felt like lazy storytelling. Also, I didn't believe the voice of Merrick Tremayne. He was supposed to be a tough ex-Navy smuggler and he seemed incredibly mild-mannered and not used to dealing with criminals at all. The danger of the journey in Peru is highlighted in the beginning of the book and the worst thing that ends up happening to Tremayne is literally getting slapped. Overall, the plot of this book wasn't well thought out.
is1aas's review
4.25
That silly moment when you have to get your friend hit by shrapmetal so you can make fireflies THAT YOU DON'T EVEN END UP USING. Mori I love you Mori.
1001cranes's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
its a great book and then you hit 94% complete and have to sob for six hours, 12/10
nat008's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
After enjoying The Watchmaker of Filigree Street so much, I had to check out the next book in the series, The Bedlam Stacks. Pulley was able to string together a magical tale of moving statues, exploding plants, and mystical folklore, set in the 19th century in Peru. The weaving of historical details and magical elements was perfectly done, creating a nostalgic, but also adventurous story about smuggling out cuttings of a specific tree, only found deep in the Peruvian rainforest. The tentative, but beautiful relationship between the two main characters was a love story, even without the kiss, done so well I could feel it pull on my heartstrings.
All in all a magical book, and I also really enjoyed the facts about Incan culture and that of the Indigenous people of Peru.
All in all a magical book, and I also really enjoyed the facts about Incan culture and that of the Indigenous people of Peru.
catson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
deardreamer's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
stellarian's review
5.0
I liked the book very much and was relieved the ending was not as sad as it felt it might be as I neared the end. Come to think of it, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street was very similar in that way. The main character falls in love without quite acknowledging it as it happens, but the love is so deep and strong that he will do anything to keep it. In this book, it requires a lot of waiting and a great deal of travelling.
I was happy to see a guest appearance of Mr Mori in this book, and a shared thread of the nature of memory. This story takes place years earlier than Filigree Street, but it has much of the same feeling to it, even though most of the book has a very different setting. The title, The Bedlam Stacks, meant something very different than I thought it would. Peru is described in an interesting and vivid way, and the people are captivating and believable.
My only complaint is that Merrick's friend and travelling companion was rendered unconscious and out of the picture a bit too often and easily. It helped the story a lot, but it felt a bit hand-wavey. Still, I stand by my five stars.
I was happy to see a guest appearance of Mr Mori in this book, and a shared thread of the nature of memory. This story takes place years earlier than Filigree Street, but it has much of the same feeling to it, even though most of the book has a very different setting. The title, The Bedlam Stacks, meant something very different than I thought it would. Peru is described in an interesting and vivid way, and the people are captivating and believable.
My only complaint is that Merrick's friend and travelling companion was rendered unconscious and out of the picture a bit too often and easily. It helped the story a lot, but it felt a bit hand-wavey. Still, I stand by my five stars.
vaporization's review against another edition
5.0
I think this might be Natasha Pulley's best book. Of all her works this one was like the most perfect. It was solid all the way through. There are a lot of things in her other books that make me kinda stop a bit to think about and a lot of times there are lines or things mentioned that just make you go "oh! well why was that necessary?" because I guess it's historical fiction and in history people just said things that they didn't think were wrong but it's still weird for a modern writer to write and a modern reader to read.
Like all of her books the twist is not that surprising but it doesn't matter because the writing is gorgeous and you're not there for the plot that much you're just there to drown in the words. Natasha Pulley's writing was like MADE for me to enjoy it just hits all the right bits with me. It's exactly the kind of writing I like, in that it doesn't feel that real and a lot of the sentences are kinda disjointed which gives everything a sort of off-kilter, unreal and dreamy feeling. And I love that.
You are straight-up told everything so any shock from the twist depends on your suspension of disbelief. The only thing that shocked me was the violence. This happens in all her books: there's brutal violence and death but it's over in like two lines and the characters don't think about it that much. Like it just happens. And then you're like wait wtf.
I liked Merrick. I loved Merrick actually, more than all of Pulley's other protagonists even though they're all kind of the same. Merrick is one of the more unique ones I think. His relationship with his brother was interesting. Raphael was also interesting but mostly in relation to Merrick.
Also this book is not explicitly a romance nor is it explicitly queer and if this book were in isolation I don't know if I would accept that it is both. It is both. This book is really just a love story. Yeah there's coffee and trees and moving statues but like it's about Merrick and Raphael. That's what the book is about. Even though it's basically like a slow burn that never ends. I am not hugely in favor of praising books for covert queerness because it's, like, "inoffensive" or "half-hearted" a lot of the time. Because like can we at least be allowed to be open in literature. But Natasha Pulley writes this kind of romance and the only thing different about this book compared to her other ones in terms of the romance is that they don't kiss. Also Merrick so he kinda does more than her other protagonists do.
You don't get punched with sadness and emotion like some other books do, but there is a sort of pervasive melancholy to Natasha Pulley's writing and I did get emotional a bit at the end, honestly more at the idea of what happens than how it's written down.
Like all of her books the twist is not that surprising but it doesn't matter because the writing is gorgeous and you're not there for the plot that much you're just there to drown in the words. Natasha Pulley's writing was like MADE for me to enjoy it just hits all the right bits with me. It's exactly the kind of writing I like, in that it doesn't feel that real and a lot of the sentences are kinda disjointed which gives everything a sort of off-kilter, unreal and dreamy feeling. And I love that.
You are straight-up told everything so any shock from the twist depends on your suspension of disbelief. The only thing that shocked me was the violence. This happens in all her books: there's brutal violence and death but it's over in like two lines and the characters don't think about it that much. Like it just happens. And then you're like wait wtf.
I liked Merrick. I loved Merrick actually, more than all of Pulley's other protagonists even though they're all kind of the same. Merrick is one of the more unique ones I think. His relationship with his brother was interesting. Raphael was also interesting but mostly in relation to Merrick.
Also this book is not explicitly a romance nor is it explicitly queer and if this book were in isolation I don't know if I would accept that it is both. It is both. This book is really just a love story. Yeah there's coffee and trees and moving statues but like it's about Merrick and Raphael. That's what the book is about. Even though it's basically like a slow burn that never ends. I am not hugely in favor of praising books for covert queerness because it's, like, "inoffensive" or "half-hearted" a lot of the time. Because like can we at least be allowed to be open in literature. But Natasha Pulley writes this kind of romance and the only thing different about this book compared to her other ones in terms of the romance is that they don't kiss. Also Merrick
Spoiler
waits twenty years for this manYou don't get punched with sadness and emotion like some other books do, but there is a sort of pervasive melancholy to Natasha Pulley's writing and I did get emotional a bit at the end, honestly more at the idea of what happens than how it's written down.
cynnn's review
4.0
Rounding up on 3.75 rating.
It’s a slow book. I thought slow start, but it’s fairly slow the whole way through. Some might find this perfect; it took me two months to finish.
Being part indigenous and Latiné myself, it might’ve not been my culture being represented but it still felt like it resonated. And it felt respected, above all else. I found myself quietly smiling a lot and the banter, but feeling melancholy as well.
I’ve read Pulley’s other works and you can see she likes her patterns (and intertwining stories and characters).
I appreciate the work she’s done in this book.
It’s a slow book. I thought slow start, but it’s fairly slow the whole way through. Some might find this perfect; it took me two months to finish.
Being part indigenous and Latiné myself, it might’ve not been my culture being represented but it still felt like it resonated. And it felt respected, above all else. I found myself quietly smiling a lot and the banter, but feeling melancholy as well.
I’ve read Pulley’s other works and you can see she likes her patterns (and intertwining stories and characters).
I appreciate the work she’s done in this book.