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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A young man working in his father's antiquarian bookshop attempts to track down other works written by a mysterious author. The premise hooked me, it's not a stretch to say my life's dream would be to work in an antiquarian bookshop solving book-related mysteries. Perhaps that's why I was so disappointed by how melodramatic this tale turned out to be.
Zafon is an energetic writer, and my opinion is clearly in the minority here, as the book boasts a 4.3 rating from a staggering 670k reviews. Nonetheless, there were too many distractions, plot holes, and eye-roll-inducing lines for me to be able to recommend this one.
Zafon is an energetic writer, and my opinion is clearly in the minority here, as the book boasts a 4.3 rating from a staggering 670k reviews. Nonetheless, there were too many distractions, plot holes, and eye-roll-inducing lines for me to be able to recommend this one.
truly at a loss for words— one of the most captivating, unique and immersive stories I’ve come across in a long time; books usually don’t elicit physical reactions for me and parts of this had my heart POUNDING. I personally felt like meandered too much toward the end and had a lot of details that didn’t necessarily add to the story, but if you’re someone who enjoys lots of twists & turns & mystery would definitely recommend!
I really enjoyed this book in translation. The mystery didn't feel as heavy as I expected and the plot a bit more predictable than I would have expected for a true mystery. But as a story about Daniel and his coming of age while looking into the life of an author was interesting. And of course, a book about books is always fun!
I'm a bit conflicted on this one. I loved the first half of this book. I think it lost its way after that and then found it again at the end. But as much as I loved the writing and the story I don't really want to continue with the series. I feel like I got everything I want/need out of this series. Well worth the read, but not an easy one to recommend.
This was on 1001 Books to Read before You Die. A novel in the noir style, it is dark and mysterious with shady characters and beautiful women and more beautiful prose even in translation. It hooked me from the first since the whole story revolves around a book that the young protagonist passionately loves and his quest to find more books by the author which leads him places he would have never imagined.
Wonderful engaging story. It is a fabulous tale and interesting one that starts about a book. Characters are rich and three dimensional.
I started reading this book 2 years ago on my honeymoon and was so bored because the pacing was truly terrible for the first 300 pages. Put it down for 2 years and finally, by page 300, it became enticing. The main mystery of Lain Courbet’s identity was not difficult to deduce, I guessed it upon the first introduction, but the revelation shared by Julian’s mother threw me for a loop. Once that plot twist was shared it was all uphill. The prose of this book is stunning, and I genuinely liked the plot and the moody gloomy atmosphere, but the pace was just so inconsistent that I couldn’t love it.
I loved this. The characters were interesting and thoughtfully written. The storyline is suspenseful and intriguing. There is love, drama, mystery, murder, grief, bad guys, and personal demons, all combined well into a story that makes you want to keep reading. Highly recommend.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated