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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The pacing was hard for me to get behind at first and I got a bit lost at times. I did up a family tree while reading and it helped keep things straight for me. Not an easy read but definitely worth sticking with.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this because it was shortlisted for the 2024 US/Canada Republic of Consciousness Small Press Prize. Given that the prize intends to highlight and support small presses, this title introduced me to Biblioasis (https://www.biblioasis.com/).
"Details, big picture? The former we live, the latter we create."
It felt like it took me 6 months to read this instead of just over 2. That was mainly a result of having to set it aside for reading group discussion books to which I had previously committed. I kind of liked returning to this world periodically as the novel has a very deliberate, ruminative nature and pace to it. This is a tough one to summarize--it essentially chronicles several generations living in rural Iceland told through a narrator who has amnesia (he is both part of the story and semi-omnipotent/mythic as he is driven around by a driver who might be Satan). A key theme is following one's heart even if that means a single binary choice might bring heartache or pain. Where is the line between living and security, love and loyalty? But there's humor and philosophy and a very tangible sense of place. The jumping back and forth across timelines and characters' lives give the book an almost dreamlike quality. A very satisfying, slow-burn kind of read.
"Rationality and love have rarely got on. It would be strange if they did. Then we would really have cause for concern about people. And the young don’t necessarily need to be rational. Leave it to us old folk to try to pretend to be rational. Life would simply die of boredom if you young people never did anything irrational."
Très joli, poétique, philosophique, contemplatif. Beaucoup de réflexions autour de l’existence, de la mort et de l’amour. Parfois autour de l’absurdité de la vie aussi.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I think I would have appreciated this more with the book in my hand, but the audio narration was tender and enjoyable. The narrative traces the lineage of a rural Icelandic community—one family in particular—a hundred years or so, meandering on its way. There is much talk of life and death, music, poetry, philosophy. There is much love and much pain, and, surprisingly, countless penises running around the fjords! Your Absence Is Darkness invites readers to take a melancholy stroll through feeling, possibility, and inheritance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Trafficking, Medical trauma