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le_lobey 's review for:

The Avian Hourglass by Lindsey Drager
1.0
emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No

This looked like a book that I should love, and I had really high hopes going in because of how much I loved Archive of Alternate Endings. Unfortunately I came away from Avian Hourglass feeling frustrated, underwhelmed, and unimpressed. 

Part of that might be that what many have described as surreal read a lot closer to unreal for me. Everyone was so consistently quirky and insightful, like a full cast of queer manic pixie dream girls. And the triplets were so creepy!

Most of the themes didn't really cohere for me either. Perhaps there were too many? I thought the Icarus play and YES-NO debate did work, but the fake girl in glass vessel story and bird thing felt contrived, and then there is the whole aspect of anti-automation. All felt overly busy.