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3.05 AVERAGE
3.05 AVERAGE
This book was terrible, it was definitely not the page turner I was expecting from the other reviews. It was very disjointed with it's multiple view points that didn't connect really well.
As this did take place in times past, some of the terms used could have used a little explanation in the narration. A lot of authors I read do this with anything that is not current or general knowledge, and they do it in a way that it adds to story and you get way more from it.
This book took me so long to read because it kept putting me to sleep and then I had to take breaks to read books that moved along nicely.
I only finished it because I can't not finish a book, and I rarely write reviews but I felt I had to warn others not to be deceived by the rave reviews that this book somehow got.
As this did take place in times past, some of the terms used could have used a little explanation in the narration. A lot of authors I read do this with anything that is not current or general knowledge, and they do it in a way that it adds to story and you get way more from it.
This book took me so long to read because it kept putting me to sleep and then I had to take breaks to read books that moved along nicely.
I only finished it because I can't not finish a book, and I rarely write reviews but I felt I had to warn others not to be deceived by the rave reviews that this book somehow got.
Throwing in the towel: I just cannot get interested in this book, and 588 pages is a lot to read when you're not interested.
The description doesn't at all capture the ugliness of its characters and story. Perhaps if it had started in Venice, Italy, it might have been more interesting. Las Vegas leads the way and sets the tone with unlikable characters and an unappealing mystery.
The reviews I read were swooning over this book - a mind boggling masterpiece, a DaVinci Code on intellectual steroids, cleverly nested stories filled with philosophy, alchemy, the supernatural, exquisite writing, etc. etc.
I can’t join that throng, but I can say that this book has three terrific, immersive stories with fully rounded main characters, a great supporting cast and strong sense of place. The connective tissue between the stories that drew the critical raves – the philosophical and supernatural elements – seemed patchy and underdeveloped to me. Or maybe they just went over my head. The writing was often beautiful, but sometimes overdone - metaphors on top of metaphors (no matter how good) got in the way of the narrative. Narrative momentum also got bogged down a bit by overly granular descriptions of the territories the characters wandered around in (and they wear out lots of shoe leather.) It felt like the author went to each place and literally paced it all out with a map, and then gave us every detail, street by street, over and over again. But overall, the pluses far outweighed the negatives for me.
I can’t join that throng, but I can say that this book has three terrific, immersive stories with fully rounded main characters, a great supporting cast and strong sense of place. The connective tissue between the stories that drew the critical raves – the philosophical and supernatural elements – seemed patchy and underdeveloped to me. Or maybe they just went over my head. The writing was often beautiful, but sometimes overdone - metaphors on top of metaphors (no matter how good) got in the way of the narrative. Narrative momentum also got bogged down a bit by overly granular descriptions of the territories the characters wandered around in (and they wear out lots of shoe leather.) It felt like the author went to each place and literally paced it all out with a map, and then gave us every detail, street by street, over and over again. But overall, the pluses far outweighed the negatives for me.
Two and a half stars. I picked up this novel because I heard it compared to David Mitchell, in that it crosses ages and continents while weaving together one overarching narrative, but that comparison really didn't do this novel any favors as The Bone Clocks or Cloud Atlas it is not. And it was probably too much to try to hold it to such a standard. It's too long by half, and I enjoyed each sequence of time less and less than the prior one. I just kept waiting for that magical moment to tie everything together and it never came.
Really rich and interesting - a book that feels like it is making use of a layered multinarrator structure instead of just doing a magic trick. Looking forward to revisiting this someday when we’re not in the middle of the 2020 hellscape and I can read it more diligently.
This book would have been 4 stars for me if the author had more neatly tied together the three storylines at the end. There was so much opportunity to actually connect the stories, and instead I was left feeling like they were loosely connected at best. I was also never entirely sure what was going on with the mirrors, which is a pretty big deal when the book is called The Mirror Thief. And what the heck was going on with Cynthia? Was she somehow conjured from the mirror or was it a more pedestrian type of hostage-taking?
Engrossing read but ultimately very unsatisfying.
Engrossing read but ultimately very unsatisfying.
The novel starts in Las Vegas, Venice in 2003, then jumps to Venice, California in the 1950s, then makes its way to Venice, Italy 1592 to bring three stories together all correlating around the invention of the mirror, and an author who has written a novel called the Mirror Thief. This novel was complex and was definitely full of adventure. There were hints of philosophical musings and those were rather compelling to read, but for the most part the plot was alright. There was a lot of jumping around, different time periods, different characters who ultimately came together in the end, but the three plots going on at the same time felt like there was too much going on at once. The writing was also quite dense and full of words and purple prose that the reader felt they really needed to swim through to get to the meaning of it all. It made it hard to keep focused on the story too with all the different backstories. This novel felt longer than it needed to be, but that’s not to say this novel didn’t have merit because there were moments where the story got super interesting and the reader was quite invested in finding out what the heck was going on, which left intrigue, it just didn’t leave the reader intrigued the whole time. This left lulls in the plot for the reader to drift off into. As well, the characters were also quite interesting, but the reader never felt connected to them and just didn’t really grasp who they were. As a whole, this novel was definitely different, and interesting, but may not peek everyone’s interest.
I feel like there's a good book in here somewhere, I'm just not sure where it is. It could use with some more editing. There are sentences, paragraphs, and even chapters that are very good, but the whole thing doesn't pull off its grand ambitions. This book is very like Icarus, it has attempted too much and fallen short.
I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. Parts felt as if the author was too obviously showing-off knowledge on a subject rather than fitting-in with the flow of the book.
I also feel I might have appreciated it more if I’d read it at a less stressful time because it is a book where your brain needs to be fully engaged.
I also feel I might have appreciated it more if I’d read it at a less stressful time because it is a book where your brain needs to be fully engaged.