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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Very cool connections to be found in this year's Printz winner. A little bit creepy, and haunting but it had me searching for the links in the stories the whole way through.
Summary: Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant.
Summary: Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant.
This book was very weird. As stated by others, the style is reminiscent of "Cloud Atlas" with the idea of eternal love and the story structure spinning out over short stories. I thought that part was very cool. The gothic tone of the book fit right in. Thematically, the book is very compelling. But in regards to the island itself and coalescing into the ending --- there were just some things that didn't make any sense -- vampires or eternal life? There were a lot of parts that didn't fit into the book as a whole and gave me very mixed feelings at the end.
i debated between 3 and 4 stars, but ultimately i found the the book a bit too unsettling to deserve a higher rating. that's not to say it was not well-written or interesting. it was both. i enjoyed the short-stories narrative choice and also the reverse chronological order of the book. i feel that both those elements made it a stronger, more compelling work, giving it an almost esoteric vibe - which wasn't a bad thing either. i guess what it boils down to is that the book, though textured and nuanced and engaging, was in the end also very bleak. i don't mind an unhappy ending, but this was a bit too desolate even for my taste. by lacking any redemptive element to the ending, the book failed to connect with me on a deeper level than just an interesting read.
Imagine a love that transcends time; a love that will manifest seven times. That is the story of Eric and Merle or Erik and Melle. The story starts at the end in the year 2073 on the strange island of Blessed when Eric and Merle meet. But this is not the first time they have met; this is the last. We see each previous time as we travel backwards to the beginning. Eric and Merle are always present and always on Blessed Island, but they are not always the same lovers. Sometimes they are brother and sister, sometimes mother and son, sometimes father and daughter and sometimes doomed lovers. We learn their stories in each chapter until we get to the beginning and find out how their doomed love began.
This was an amazing book. The storytelling was pretty much perfect and I really couldn't put it down. I loved Eric and Merle each time we met them and I really liked that they were not always lovers. Sedgwick explored all the types of love in their seven lives. I like the mystery of the island and its secret side with the dragon orchids which may or may not make you eternally young. I liked that some of the other characters seem to travel through time with our lovers. Their lives are intertwined and doomed to repeat over and over again. I think my favorite story might have been The Painter, but I enjoyed them all. This is a spooky, fascinating love story that will really stick with you.
This was an amazing book. The storytelling was pretty much perfect and I really couldn't put it down. I loved Eric and Merle each time we met them and I really liked that they were not always lovers. Sedgwick explored all the types of love in their seven lives. I like the mystery of the island and its secret side with the dragon orchids which may or may not make you eternally young. I liked that some of the other characters seem to travel through time with our lovers. Their lives are intertwined and doomed to repeat over and over again. I think my favorite story might have been The Painter, but I enjoyed them all. This is a spooky, fascinating love story that will really stick with you.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an intriguing read, I really liked it. Definitely different, very well written. Bit of mystery, bit of horror, one of those books that you need to go back and flip through at the end to see how it all tied together. Won the Printz award. Had really nice language, lyrical but not pretentious or forced.
Nearly ten years ago there was a morning I was feeling unwell, though I suspect it was the physical manifestation of emotional weariness and tapped energy reserves. I decided the best treatment was a bit of solitary spoiling, so I grabbed a book and went out for a relaxing brunch. The book I grabbed happened to be Marcus Sedgwick's The Dark Horse, and it cast a spell over me. Instead of an hour-long meal with a book for company, I spent four hours in that restaurant devouring the tale in one sitting. Reading it meant descending into a darkly atmospheric realm of mythical power, being enveloped in a compelling mystery of vague time and place sitting upon a deep sense of unease and impending doom. I had no desire to break the spell until it was complete, and emerged from the experience feeling much better than when I started.
I haven't read everything Sedgwick has written since--the timing must be right for getting drawn into the type of delightfully dark mood he creates--but I notice all of them and have dove into some. Most recently, I was driving my elderly father for hours and offered him the audio of Revolver. His usual fare was escapist adult espionage thrillers and suspense, so I wasn't sure if he would take to it. I needn't have worried. What I describe as "a taut survival story, horrific coming-of-age action moment, and harrowing mystery of greed and lust" in my review captivated us both. No magic or fantasy in that one, yet it was again characterized by chilling atmosphere and tension.
Even with those two experiences setting high expectations, Midwinterblood did not disappoint. The same descriptions I use for the his previous novels apply to this one--as you might guess from its title--and once I'd read the first few pages I knew I needed to find a solid block of time to read the rest in one sitting, which I satisfyingly did. The structure of this tale is a little bit Cloud Atlas, if you know that book or movie: seven connected stories set in different generations. Saying too much would spoil the connections, but patterns of names, themes, dialogue, and plot begin to emerge as the layers of stories build, each moving further backwards in time. The setting is an isolated northern island named Blessed, an apparent paradise, yet from the opening lines there are ominous vague hints and dark, strange undertones. The spiraling journey to their discovery is a compelling one, and I'm delighted at how much more meaning I find rereading the first page now that I know all of its secrets.
My only hesitation in assigning a rating to this book is that I didn't have quite as much emotional, empathetic engagement with the characters as I would have liked--I didn't feel the power of their emotions as strongly as they did--but I'm still waffling between four and five stars. It's a definite 4.5 that might go up on further reflection.
-----
The sun does not go down.
This is the first thing that Eric Seven notices about Blessed Island. There will be many other strange things that he will notice, before the forgetting takes hold of him, but that will come later.
For now, he checks his watch as he stands at the top of the island's solitary hill, gazing to where the sun should set. It is midnight, but the sun still shines, barely dipping its heavy rim into the sea on the far horizon.
The island is so far north.
He shakes his head.
He's thinking about Merle. How something seems to wait in her eyes. How he felt calm, just standing next to her.
"Well, so it is," he says, smiling with wonder.
He's tired. His journey has been a long one.
I haven't read everything Sedgwick has written since--the timing must be right for getting drawn into the type of delightfully dark mood he creates--but I notice all of them and have dove into some. Most recently, I was driving my elderly father for hours and offered him the audio of Revolver. His usual fare was escapist adult espionage thrillers and suspense, so I wasn't sure if he would take to it. I needn't have worried. What I describe as "a taut survival story, horrific coming-of-age action moment, and harrowing mystery of greed and lust" in my review captivated us both. No magic or fantasy in that one, yet it was again characterized by chilling atmosphere and tension.
Even with those two experiences setting high expectations, Midwinterblood did not disappoint. The same descriptions I use for the his previous novels apply to this one--as you might guess from its title--and once I'd read the first few pages I knew I needed to find a solid block of time to read the rest in one sitting, which I satisfyingly did. The structure of this tale is a little bit Cloud Atlas, if you know that book or movie: seven connected stories set in different generations. Saying too much would spoil the connections, but patterns of names, themes, dialogue, and plot begin to emerge as the layers of stories build, each moving further backwards in time. The setting is an isolated northern island named Blessed, an apparent paradise, yet from the opening lines there are ominous vague hints and dark, strange undertones. The spiraling journey to their discovery is a compelling one, and I'm delighted at how much more meaning I find rereading the first page now that I know all of its secrets.
My only hesitation in assigning a rating to this book is that I didn't have quite as much emotional, empathetic engagement with the characters as I would have liked--I didn't feel the power of their emotions as strongly as they did--but I'm still waffling between four and five stars. It's a definite 4.5 that might go up on further reflection.
-----
The sun does not go down.
This is the first thing that Eric Seven notices about Blessed Island. There will be many other strange things that he will notice, before the forgetting takes hold of him, but that will come later.
For now, he checks his watch as he stands at the top of the island's solitary hill, gazing to where the sun should set. It is midnight, but the sun still shines, barely dipping its heavy rim into the sea on the far horizon.
The island is so far north.
He shakes his head.
He's thinking about Merle. How something seems to wait in her eyes. How he felt calm, just standing next to her.
"Well, so it is," he says, smiling with wonder.
He's tired. His journey has been a long one.
This Books! It's just... You can't really explain it. It's amazing. I've been currently obsessed with the topic past lives, that's how I found these book, and reading these book was totally satisfying but at the same time puzzling. You just have to see all the metaphors and irony's to truly get the book, and then you can see what a truly masterpiece this book is. Also, what I like about it the most is the unique story and is written in a way that makes me feel like an excited kid who is about to hear a story on the campfire bench.
Couldn't put this one down. A quick and engaging read.