Reviews

This was a great read! I liked the use of the classic novels and have added many of them to my to-read list. Just a heads up: the author does spoil the plot for many of the novels so that this story can play out, however, because they are classics, many of them have been produced in some kind of video form, and they are iconic stories, so I think the author justifies these reveals as "everyone already knows what happened anyway". For example, I have seen the movie "Strangers on a Train", but I have never read it, so I know what happens, but I still want to read it. There is just something about all the author nuance that goes into a book that still makes it new and exciting.

Before I get into the deeper themes, I just want to say that I liked Malcolm's musical taste and his love of poetry. It made him relatable. Also, this is my favorite quote from the book: “Books are time travel. True readers all know this. But books don’t just take you back to the time in which they were written; they can take you back to different versions of yourself.”

Aside from the mystery plot element of this book (there are lots of reviews already on plot that you can read), I want to address something different that stood out to me, and that is the use of the Butterfly Effect by the author. It was something that I didn't expect, but it is the driving force behind everything that happens. One tragic choice made by one person many years in the past affects this other person, and that other person's behavior affects another person, and then someone dies as a consequence, which begins the progression of a serial killer and so many innocent people are affected. It just really got me thinking about how we are all linked, and how our choices and behaviors affect so much, good and bad, whether or not we realize it.

There is also a theme of "did they deserve to die"? The serial killer picks victims who do not have very stellar moral compasses, in fact, they are kinda crummy people integrity-wise. The killer says having these people dead is doing the world a favor. This is a heavy theme to ponder. This type of judgment: is it true? Have some people given up their right to exist because they are "bad" people? Who is qualified to even make that decision?

There is also a theme of love, or actually, the misinterpretations of it. What some of these characters define as love, and what they do for love is questionable. I would like to discuss this book in a book club actually.... I think at least seven people on my friends list should read this book so we can discuss it! Get back to me when you do!