Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

145 reviews

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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: No

 "This is the rabbit hole. Do you want to know the secret to surviving once you've gone down the rabbit hole?"
Zachary nods and Mirabel leans forward. Her eyes are ringed with gold.
"Be a rabbit," she whispers. 

GOD. god i loved this. i think i found my new favourite book.

I'm never going to be able to put all my feelings about this incredible story down, at least not in any meaningful way, all I can do is encourage you to read it.

The prose was breathtaking. I don't think I've ever written down that many quotes (yes I take notes when I'm reading! It's fun) The world that Morgenstern so artfully constructed was beautiful and it hurts my soul that I can't live in it. I have very, very few complaints about this book. As in two. And one of those complaints is just that I think some bits could have used a comma or two to make things clearer, but I;m very overzealous with commas in my own writing so that might just be me. And the other one is that the middle is endless but frankly I don't really care because I loved every minute of it.

Man, I'm always going on to my friends about how much I hate feedback thats just "I loved it" but. Oh my god. I truly cannot think of anything else to say. I've seen this book described as a love letter to stories and the art of storytelling and I wholeheartedly agree. On that note, I do feel I have to say that this is not a casual read. I don't mean that in a derisive way! If you would identify yourself as a casual reader, that is completely fine. All I mean is that this book, in addition to being a love letter to the art of storytelling, is a nonlinear narrative with a lot of moving parts. A lot of different stories are told at once, and not all of them seem especially related to one another until the end. You have to be patient. If nonlinear narratives are a no-go for you, or if you prefer to shut your brain off a little and read to relax, this might not be your cup of tea. Personally, if I was making a list of books you should at least try to read before you die, this would be number one. That's very specific. Anyway, what I'm saying is that while I do suggest giving this a shot, know that it's not a casual fantasy romp. Not that casual fantasy romps are bad, I love them, just that this isn't that. I saw some people saying that they were confused or thrown off by the nature of the narrative, which I found odd at first. I suspect that the people who were confused were unaware of the nonlinear narrative/overlapping stories and so got confused when the story jumped around so much in time, location, and character, which is understandable! Just a heads-up there: 'tis complicated.

I have no idea if any of that made any sense. I feel a little high right now.

A book is made of paper but a story is a tree.

rep; main character of colour (presumably afro-latino, as his mother is described as Haitan), gay main character, various other characters of colour ranging in narrative importance from "very" to "not at all", fairly important character who "hates labels" and is attracted (at least) to men and women, mlm major character

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adventurous dark mysterious 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: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous mysterious medium-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: No

I am in awe of this book. The way Morgenstern wove layer upon layer of story and world building was truly impressive. I felt fully immersed in the world she created. And I loved how everything came together in the end yet still left an air of mystery / open endedness. 

I can't wait to reread this book in a few years. It is certainly a story I will return to over and over again.

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i_llumi's profile picture

i_llumi's review

3.5
adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

considering that I read most of this during two 6h long flights, with one of them having the fantastic background noise of: baby crying a lot, I think this book was…. confusing, but very big brain. it felt like one big metaphor that if I thought about too much it wouldn’t make sense anymore
i quite enjoyed the scattered stories and books, but sometimes they felt a bit too random or irrelevant to the main plotline imo.
im writing this block of text at 4am after said two long flights + excessively long  airport lines so needless to say my brain is fried atm
in sum tho
this books is pog + dorian best boy dorian ily 

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes

Loved the message of this. 

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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: No

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adventurous hopeful mysterious relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is my first foray into Erin Morgenstern, I understand why people say its all vibes and no substance but I was enjoying my time with it. The only thing I hated and felt dragged it for me were the Harry Potter references, it felt very unnecessary.

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adventurous emotional 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: No

I loved The Night Circus. I didn’t think I’d find a tale that surpassed that in terms of its elegance and magical power. But here I am, drowning in honey and wine as my mind works to accept the close of The Starless Sea.

I love this book. There’s so much to ponder and consider, so many beautiful little details, so quiet and lovely. I feel like I did, like I do, when I walk through a quiet art museum, only leaving because I’ve been dragged out by closing time. I feel as though I’ve lost my breath. I was so gripped by this book, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

I love this book. I already know I’m going to reread this many times. Ms. Morgenstern, should you ever read this, thank you.

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-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: No

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