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A review by dandelionfluff
The Book on Fire by Keith Miller
3.0
I have such mixed feelings! After reading [b:The Book of Flying|126348|The Book of Flying|Keith Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309284941s/126348.jpg|1246371], I was happy to learn of this novel. Miller has a beautiful, brutal writing style that isn't afraid to wax poetic. Books are, once more, the heart of character motivation and plot. It is a genuine celebration of reading: the act, the form, the function. I will raise the same caution as with The Book of Flying in that you may grow tired of the lyrical, bleeding-heart descriptions of books, perhaps even growing tired of the word itself by the end. Now, to address specifics:
Miller definitely goes in a more carnal direction in this one, describing the scent of Alexandria by many visceral terms, but I was done with "wet cunt." Many elements are described in this fashion, with body fluids and sexual language that I couldn't decide the purpose of. I mean, really, truly, why that? And why so much the female body more so than male? Fully understanding the feminization of cities, this became a bit perverse. I started feeling uncomfortable, wondering if this was meant to be Balthazar's thoughts or the author's.
There was also the moment when Balthazar encounters the library for the first time. He has an erection and then messes his pants, which is described down to how his fluids dried. Did we need that? Did we need to have that experience, Miller? 'cause it didn't enhance the story, and I'm about sex-positivity here.
Zeinab's treatment brought this discomfort to the surface even more. She was painted as beautiful in her mystery, her blatant disregard for that which Balthazar loved more than anything and which the city revered, her thievery, and... violence? The part where she just randomly takes his wrist and presses her blade to it just to see the color of his blood was such a manic pixie dream girl moment that I actually rolled my eyes. It served no purpose other than demonstrating how ~dangerous~ she is with her wicked little blade. Alright, Balthazar. You slept with her, she burned your book, she'll draw blood, you're afraid of her, and you don't know her but in a way you love her. Those are all just actions without known motivation, and that's not a personality.
Zeinab didn't become three-dimensional until the end of the book when it's confirmed that she's a spirit seeking her death through the release of the books of the library which... is done by burning them. I honestly wasn't sure if this was a literal release à la magical realism, where the books would appear somewhere else in the world, or if this was a metaphorical release. Either way, I completely understood why she had such a vendetta against the city's preoccupation with books, and why she wanted to burn the library. Took 260 pages to get there, but I understood.
Shireen was also... not that deep for me. Yes, she was interesting, but we never got the answers behind her existence that might have made her more three-dimensional. She's a recluse, discovers the world but isn't suited to its reality, claims the reflections of the reflections are more real... and it was truly interesting when she said how Aslan would be forever changed by the real, worn, suffering lions she had seen. That the roughness of the world only enhanced the images she grew with. A rose is just a rose, the sea is far more untidy than she thought... That was all very interesting to me.
But, I wanted to know more. More about her sisters, more about her training, more about what she truly wanted for herself. What was her vision of the future? What mysteries did she wish to uncover for herself?
Balthazar's burning of the library must have been utterly devastating to her, separating her from the very beings that gave her life, and a pseudo-family that raised her. Sure, she felt separate and different from them, but surely she must have at least cared about their safety? Could we have gotten away from the "I'm not like other girls, I feel so disconnected, I really don't have anyone" thing and actually give a leading female character, I dunno, strong preexisting relationships that could withstand her romance?
But they abandon their friends and family to take the special tram to sexy town, so. I guess it's more about art than... people making sense.
Looking at all other characters, Miller did spend time illustrating the other thieves and gave us conversations that really let us in to their lives and motivations. I just didn't feel that way with Shireen and Zeinab until the very end, which might be a purposeful storytelling choice, or... just another way to romanticize female characters into archetypes. Eh.
By all means, call that a philistine's review, but I'm torn between Miller's absolutely beautiful language, his heartfelt homage to books and reading, and everything else I got into. Would I recommend this? Yes, if only to rattle someone's cage and give them something different.
Spoiler
Miller definitely goes in a more carnal direction in this one, describing the scent of Alexandria by many visceral terms, but I was done with "wet cunt." Many elements are described in this fashion, with body fluids and sexual language that I couldn't decide the purpose of. I mean, really, truly, why that? And why so much the female body more so than male? Fully understanding the feminization of cities, this became a bit perverse. I started feeling uncomfortable, wondering if this was meant to be Balthazar's thoughts or the author's.
There was also the moment when Balthazar encounters the library for the first time. He has an erection and then messes his pants, which is described down to how his fluids dried. Did we need that? Did we need to have that experience, Miller? 'cause it didn't enhance the story, and I'm about sex-positivity here.
Zeinab's treatment brought this discomfort to the surface even more. She was painted as beautiful in her mystery, her blatant disregard for that which Balthazar loved more than anything and which the city revered, her thievery, and... violence? The part where she just randomly takes his wrist and presses her blade to it just to see the color of his blood was such a manic pixie dream girl moment that I actually rolled my eyes. It served no purpose other than demonstrating how ~dangerous~ she is with her wicked little blade. Alright, Balthazar. You slept with her, she burned your book, she'll draw blood, you're afraid of her, and you don't know her but in a way you love her. Those are all just actions without known motivation, and that's not a personality.
Zeinab didn't become three-dimensional until the end of the book when it's confirmed that she's a spirit seeking her death through the release of the books of the library which... is done by burning them. I honestly wasn't sure if this was a literal release à la magical realism, where the books would appear somewhere else in the world, or if this was a metaphorical release. Either way, I completely understood why she had such a vendetta against the city's preoccupation with books, and why she wanted to burn the library. Took 260 pages to get there, but I understood.
Shireen was also... not that deep for me. Yes, she was interesting, but we never got the answers behind her existence that might have made her more three-dimensional. She's a recluse, discovers the world but isn't suited to its reality, claims the reflections of the reflections are more real... and it was truly interesting when she said how Aslan would be forever changed by the real, worn, suffering lions she had seen. That the roughness of the world only enhanced the images she grew with. A rose is just a rose, the sea is far more untidy than she thought... That was all very interesting to me.
But, I wanted to know more. More about her sisters, more about her training, more about what she truly wanted for herself. What was her vision of the future? What mysteries did she wish to uncover for herself?
Balthazar's burning of the library must have been utterly devastating to her, separating her from the very beings that gave her life, and a pseudo-family that raised her. Sure, she felt separate and different from them, but surely she must have at least cared about their safety? Could we have gotten away from the "I'm not like other girls, I feel so disconnected, I really don't have anyone" thing and actually give a leading female character, I dunno, strong preexisting relationships that could withstand her romance?
But they abandon their friends and family to take the special tram to sexy town, so. I guess it's more about art than... people making sense.
Looking at all other characters, Miller did spend time illustrating the other thieves and gave us conversations that really let us in to their lives and motivations. I just didn't feel that way with Shireen and Zeinab until the very end, which might be a purposeful storytelling choice, or... just another way to romanticize female characters into archetypes. Eh.
By all means, call that a philistine's review, but I'm torn between Miller's absolutely beautiful language, his heartfelt homage to books and reading, and everything else I got into. Would I recommend this? Yes, if only to rattle someone's cage and give them something different.