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lines__lines's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
The city of Palimpsest is breathtaking in its imaginative scope - truly a world made of some of the weirder parts of dreams, while still working as a functional place. Reading this book feels like dreaming at times, and it is slow to gather its threads of plot together between the four main characters, but there is weight and substance within the dreamy strides of the narrative. It ends up giving a lot of thought to borders and how we patrol them, both personal and national. For a book about a sexually transmitted city, this is a relatively un-sexy book, since the sex becomes a means to an end, and there's certainly some questionable choices about pairings and a lot of unhealthy behaviors overall. This is the kind of book that might benefit from a re-read to pick up on what I suspect are some more symbolic choices in settings and such. I'm not sure it was quite compelling enough, for me, though to want to read it again, and I'm not sure that it quite figures out exactly what its own theme is, though it plays with many ideas from addiction to immigration. I will certainly seek out some more of Valente's work, though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1c0l2wy/fif_book_club_palimpsest_midway_discussion/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1cbzmkg/fif_book_club_palimpsest_final_discussion/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
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aceinit's review against another edition
3.0
I am still undecided in my overall thoughts regarding this one. So, instead of trying to formulate my own review, I shall link to Ben Babcock's review, which says pretty much everything I've though regarding this book, and says it much more articulately than I can manage.
ametakinetos's review against another edition
2.0
This is a book that I feel would have fared far better as a collection of prose, its best quotes pulled out onto their own pages with delicate line art to illustrate their finer points. Palimpsest has no loyalty to the traditional trappings of a novel - plot, character development, and cohesive worldbuilding cannot be found. While I appreciate the creativity, the fascinations of this book's concept and the occasional profound observation cannot save what was overall a lackluster execution.
vairse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fulare's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a hard book to rate. It certainly isn't bad but I didn't enjoy reading it. I don't like books with a focus on vibes and confusion which is the whole book here. I would have marked it DNF if it wasn't a book club read.
The prose is beautiful here. What plot exists though is fairly confusing. I only semi-understood and enjoyed the last 25%. Good book for some but not me.
The prose is beautiful here. What plot exists though is fairly confusing. I only semi-understood and enjoyed the last 25%. Good book for some but not me.
blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is a fever dream of a novel that I'm not sure how to attach a number to.
The way Japanese and Chinese characters are depicted made my soul cringe out of my body. (Japan's greatest export is women in school girl uniforms? Really?!) There's a late-game reveal that made me gasp in delight. The book really mirrors the way dreams unfold in their strange logic, and the opacity of the prose and all-vibes feels are no accidents. I don't know if I enjoyed this novel but I appreciated it.
The way Japanese and Chinese characters are depicted made my soul cringe out of my body. (Japan's greatest export is women in school girl uniforms? Really?!) There's a late-game reveal that made me gasp in delight. The book really mirrors the way dreams unfold in their strange logic, and the opacity of the prose and all-vibes feels are no accidents. I don't know if I enjoyed this novel but I appreciated it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Incest, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Racism
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Self harm, and Grief
Minor: Eating disorder, War, and Abortion
natrosette's review against another edition
soft dnf at 15%
i like the concept but every time i pick it up it just about puts me to sleep. i have the feeling that it's just gonna be vibey all the way through and not explore anything in a concrete/satisfying way to me. i could stand to read a bit further to see but for right now i'm not super interested
i like the concept but every time i pick it up it just about puts me to sleep. i have the feeling that it's just gonna be vibey all the way through and not explore anything in a concrete/satisfying way to me. i could stand to read a bit further to see but for right now i'm not super interested
songwind's review against another edition
5.0
This book is almost a prose poem, which I am sure is the author's intent.
The titular city, Palimpsest, is an alternate world of alchemy and beauty that people from our world can enter only by sex with another person that has been there. Visitors to Palimpsest always come in fours, called a Quarto. The story follows the adventures (in Palimpsest and the real world) of a Quarto of immigrants as they learn their way around the city and the new world into which they have been thrust.
In addition to the beautiful language, the story follows many themes. Madness, death, loneliness, faith and war are all touched upon in the course of the story.
The only complaint I have is that the decorous language of the first handful of chapters is so intricate that it seems overdone. In addition, once more standard storytelling and dialogue become important, it can't really continue, so it feels as though the book has shifted a bit in viewpoint.
The titular city, Palimpsest, is an alternate world of alchemy and beauty that people from our world can enter only by sex with another person that has been there. Visitors to Palimpsest always come in fours, called a Quarto. The story follows the adventures (in Palimpsest and the real world) of a Quarto of immigrants as they learn their way around the city and the new world into which they have been thrust.
In addition to the beautiful language, the story follows many themes. Madness, death, loneliness, faith and war are all touched upon in the course of the story.
The only complaint I have is that the decorous language of the first handful of chapters is so intricate that it seems overdone. In addition, once more standard storytelling and dialogue become important, it can't really continue, so it feels as though the book has shifted a bit in viewpoint.
mollywetta's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely! Incredibly original and literary fantasy. Full review at wrapped up in books.