Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Les Oiseaux du temps

This is a frustrating review to write. Mostly because it’s a frustrating book. On the one hand, I have some issues with the world building and writing style. At first those issues clouded my feelings about this story. But then there’s the fact that I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it.

My issue is that the writing is borderline pretentious. It’s hard to follow. Maybe I’m just not into sci-fi enough to follow some of the aspects of this book, but who knows? I just wish there were better world building. It’s as though the authors specifically left out the world building on purpose so that the reader could form their own idea in their heads, but in my experience, that kind of hindered my understanding of the story.

It feels like we were dropped into a futuristic world in which time and space does not operate in the ways that we are accustomed to. Which would be great. What we are told about this world is fascinating. The problem is that Red and Blue talk to each other in their letters from their own point of view having grown up in this new world. They understand how time and space works in this world. We don’t.

All of that is frustrating. Very much so. But the thing is, it’s also romantic as hell. Like, wow. There are lines in this book that will ruin you. I love Red and Blue so much that after finishing the book, I don’t even care that it’s confusing and hard to follow. Because their chemistry is not. It’s abundant and it’s romantic and the ending is truly spectacular.

So basically, this is one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever read, and also one of my favorites. I don’t know.

Content Warnings

wardenred's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tell me something true, or tell me nothing at all.

This is one of those books that everyone had read long before I finally bought it. (Do you sometimes feel bad that you're physically unable to stay on top of all the awesome bookish releases, to always manage to read the next big hotness right as it's becoming hot? Or is it just me?). I heard it was great. I had a basic idea of the plot. I expected this to be a pretty fast and enjoyable read. I expected the time-traveling aspect to boggle my mind the way it always does.

I was right on most accounts, and wrong on some. This wasn't a fast read for me at all, even though this is quite a short book, being a novella. Oh, it did pull me in from the first few pages and kept me completely engrossed throughout. But it was the kind of story I wanted to savour rather than devour. A big part of it was the writing: incredibly lyrical and poetical, at times carefully crossing the line into purple prose for a few lines before dancing away from it. An even bigger part was the setting and the plot—I confess I still have so little idea what was going on, beyond the general "two grand mysterious powers are locked in an endless battle for control over time and space, sending agents to create butterfly effects throughout history, splitting time into strands and weaving them into braids." What are these powers? How have they come to be? What are their end goals, and how are they in conflict? For each of these questions, I have such a vague notion instead of an answer, and it's all right, because this isn't really the story of those two powers. It's the story of two rival agents, the snapshots of their various engagements, and the endless coded correspondence between them that grows into something bigger than life.

When I look back at this book, I know that most of all I'm going to recall it as a beautiful enemies-to-lovers story—perhaps one of the best renditions of the trope I've ever encountered. It has it all: the thrill of having a worthy foe of the beginning, the quiet progression into mutual understanding, the dawning realization that this is something you want to meet in every place you ever loved, the painful (really painful) separation in the face of adversary, the hope. But also, I will recall those snapshots of moments across history, lonely and filled with people—the longer, more detailed ones in the beginning, and the smaller ones later on, and the one visible only through emotional blueprints in the letters between Red and Blue. I will recall the wonderful prose—I've written down so many quotes. I will recall all the paradoxes and moebius strips this story is composed of, and they will keep boggling my mind.

I loved this. May I have some more?

Content Warnings

wanderonwards's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

WOW. I loved the concept of this novella, especially the thought of two sides of a war deliberately targeting sections of different time strands to help their side (or hinder their enemy). At times it’s a bit confusing (the plot is focused on Blue and Red, after all, not the war), so I imagine this is a story I will enjoy more the more times I read it. There are some truly beautiful sections of prose throughout this novella. One of my favorite sections was:

“She climbs upthread and down; she braids and unbraids history’s hair. Red rarely sleeps, but when she does, she lies still, eyes closed in the dark, and lets herself see lapis, taste iris petals and ice, hear a blue jay’s shriek. She collects blues and keeps them.” (Page 91 of 213 on my ebook app)

I did feel like there was something missing between the transitions of the letters and the narrative, but I did enjoy both for different reasons.

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