Reviews - The Guardian of Surfaces

The Guardian of Surfaces by Bothayna Al-Essa

590 reviews for:

i think those book might’ve been made in a lab for me. a perfect mixture of 1984, fahrenheit 451, and flowers for algernon ALL with the anxieties that come with thinking about the modern literacy crisis

melonbob's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious reflective medium-paced

chelsbels's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa

Is mindbending!

Adding to the great dystopian literature, like 1984, The Giver, or Fahrenheit 451, Al-Essa makes a wonderful commentary about books, rewriting history and government control over children. What makes this new and different is the magical realism.

We have lovely rabbits hopping around, little girls who know all the fairy tales even if she’s never read a single book. It also gets a little trippy, with books that bite!

We follow our unnamed book censor as he falls deep down the rabbit hole as he becomes a reader, one that questions, dreams, imagines, and most importantly sees the cracks in the beautiful new world. What is fascinating now that I think of it, no character is named except for characters from the books they read. Like Zorba the Greek, Simba, Geppetto etc. But it is no less very emotive.

This novel is for anyone who likes dystopian novels, and like books about books.

rhodess's review against another edition

4.0

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

lonnahernandez's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If you care at all about what is happening now, in particular book bans pushed by Moms for Liberty and the attack of public schools libraries (looking at you FL State Board of Education and your demands of HCPS and its Media Specialists) I strongly encourage you to read “The Book Censors Library” by Bothayna Al-Essa. The book is set in the future where books are approved by the Government and amount to drivel to discourage anyone from becoming a reader, communication is all but eliminated and imagination is forbidden, even in young children. A man hired to become a book censor, turns into a hero, part of the underground “Cancers”, and then ends up betraying many in an attempt to save his creative and imaginative young daughter.