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A review by rg9400
The Day Death Stopped by Rebecca Thorne
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
I picked up this book simply as a quick option while I waited for something else, but it surprised me quite a bit! It's narrated by (I think) the best audiobook narrator Moira Quirk, and she's fantastic here as usual. The book starts at the very end, and then it jumps across various periods in time as it slowly unravels the context of what happened. And I do mean various, with each chapter jumping to a different point in time, with very few events happening in sequence. People might struggle with this approach, but I was very impressed with the craft required to ensure the information was revealed at the right time. As soon as I figured out a twist, the book revealed it, never utilizing the fact that the reader is kept in the dark on events/backstories that our characters know as a way to create cheap twists. In some ways, it reminds me of the trend in literary fiction right now to hyper-focus on characters through long spans of time verus a puzzle-box style.
More importantly, it lets us get to know our main character Claire in multiple different contexts, getting to see who she becomes as well as how various events shaped her. I found Claire to be a strong character, with the exploration of her relationship to different parental figures to be very compelling. At times, I really felt her pain and anger. Reiki was also interesting, and we do get to see her side of things as well. This is a story about mistakes and how they compound, and how people can lie to themselves to assume they are doing the best they can. In that sense, though I became frustrated with some characters' actions, I also understood what led them to make those choices. The narrator also has that snarky voice that Rebecca Thorne is known for, and the humor is well-parceled throughout, adding levity to prevent it from feeling very dour, including via multiple footnotes.
I do have one criticism, and that is Ozarik. Ozarik never feels like a developed character like Reiki and certainly nowhere close to the character that Claire is. His relationship with both characters is also something I felt was not established as well, with us more or less being told about the nature of relationships without ever seeing them become fleshed out. For most of the book, this is fine because Ozarik serves more as a juxtaposition to Claire, to highlight the life that she never had the opportunity to live. However, near the end, the book focuses a lot more on his actions, and his motivations don't make nearly as much sense. Especially since the book has done such a good job establishing the humanity up until this point. I also felt like it was weird to shift the focus to death since that isn't exactly the main theme of the majority of the book I would say.
This is a uniquely structured, character-driven fantasy book with a strong focus on the failures of parents and teachers, and the resiliency of characters in the face of that adversity.
More importantly, it lets us get to know our main character Claire in multiple different contexts, getting to see who she becomes as well as how various events shaped her. I found Claire to be a strong character, with the exploration of her relationship to different parental figures to be very compelling. At times, I really felt her pain and anger. Reiki was also interesting, and we do get to see her side of things as well. This is a story about mistakes and how they compound, and how people can lie to themselves to assume they are doing the best they can. In that sense, though I became frustrated with some characters' actions, I also understood what led them to make those choices. The narrator also has that snarky voice that Rebecca Thorne is known for, and the humor is well-parceled throughout, adding levity to prevent it from feeling very dour, including via multiple footnotes.
I do have one criticism, and that is Ozarik. Ozarik never feels like a developed character like Reiki and certainly nowhere close to the character that Claire is. His relationship with both characters is also something I felt was not established as well, with us more or less being told about the nature of relationships without ever seeing them become fleshed out. For most of the book, this is fine because Ozarik serves more as a juxtaposition to Claire, to highlight the life that she never had the opportunity to live. However, near the end, the book focuses a lot more on his actions, and his motivations don't make nearly as much sense. Especially since the book has done such a good job establishing the humanity up until this point. I also felt like it was weird to shift the focus to death since that isn't exactly the main theme of the majority of the book I would say.
This is a uniquely structured, character-driven fantasy book with a strong focus on the failures of parents and teachers, and the resiliency of characters in the face of that adversity.