Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Starless Sea

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

12 reviews

vireogirl's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

So many layers. One of those books you need to reread just to catch everything you missed the first time through. A beautiful mystical world. With books, libraries, and cats.

Content Warnings

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

theotheleo's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

kedalrymple's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This is definitely a modern epic! It is slow to start and picks up at the middle of the book…it took me three weeks to read 50% and then three days to finish it. It is a winding adventure that centers around the concepts of storytelling, reality, destiny, and companionship. Now that I’m done I find myself wanting to go back to read parts again. A sign of a compelling and well written novel!

Content Warnings

margaret_k30's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The overall plot had some interesting story lines and was descriptive, but there wasn't much emotional depth and the characters really didn't seem to grow or develop at all. The main character really didn't progress on his own things just seemed to happen to him after the first few chapters.

Content Warnings

the_reading_wren's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Writing a story about the power of stories is a brave thing for an author to take on, and Erin Morgenstern shows she’s a master storyteller in The Starless Sea.

I should have been prepared by reading The Night Circus, but I forgot how the author creates a world for the reader to fall in love with before breaking it apart… and resolving the story in the most beautiful and satisfying way. I enjoyed spending so much time at the beginning of the book getting to know the main character and the beginnings of the many threads that later weave into the narrative. Then the second half became an un-put-down-able roller-coater ride!

Morgenstern’s talent for world-building I think comes from the sensory descriptions - the texture of a jumper, the taste of a drink, the richness of a voice, the sense of a space and the smell of a perfume are all given importance. But things are rarely over-described, making it feel like the storytelling is working with the reader’s own imagination.

Overall I think the diversity of the cast of characters was well done, bar a few missed opportunities for trans/nonbinary and better disability representation. Something I particularly noticed was that the main character’s mother is given a significant voice in the narrative, which is unusual in stories like this, and I appreciated it.

I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook; the cast is brilliant, and having different voices read different sections helps follow the flicks between times, people, places and books within books.

Content Warnings

donatio's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

So I know people have mixed opinions on this book. On the one hand I did like her writing style and the sheer amount of stories mixed together so that it actually makes sense. On the other hand I didn't feel many emotions, I felt that the plot was more background while the prose was in the focus. And I like prose in books, but a moment when everything comes together or when I couldn't put the book down because it was so exciting never came. Some things were introduced and never talked about again although it could have been interesting

Like the fact that Dorian speaks so many languages.

I wasn't really investigated in the characters' stories as I was with other books.

e. g. When Zachary died I didn't cry, I was just wondering what was going to happen next, especially since it was already said that he and Dorian would visit his mother one day.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes long books, with many many details, and doesn't need to feel all the feels to like a book. Anyone who doesn't like lingering pieces or is interested in action should probably try something different.

Content Warnings