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haleandwellmet 's review for:
The Library at Mount Char
by Scott Hawkins
this book was crazy and weird. Regardless of my final rating, it will probably be a book I think about a lot. It’s fast paced, dark thriller with cultish behavior, cosmic alchemy, and universal stakes. The descriptions of dialogue and mannerism were very dynamic and energetic, like I could almost see actors playing it out on a movie screen. It’s super violent and contains just about every content warning, and for that reason I was glad it wasn’t on a screen.
It’s super weird from the very first page, and the scope slowly expands and knits together over the course of the whole book. It’s very like, “I’m sorry, it just had to be this way,” and “What, like it’s hard to manipulate the fabric of space-time?” I saw a quote from another reviewer about what it feels like to read this book, and I want to remember: “[it’s] like you, the reader, are a ~mere mortal~ reading a story about gods and there isn’t time to explain it all.”
Idk if I liked how big it grew by the end, just because I think I tend to prefer stories that zoom in rather than zoom out. Plus, at the end I was picking up on some weird subtext of like.. abusive grooming being justified because it made someone great, and now the victim is thanking and forgiving—even empathizing with—the abuser….no one else can relate to them better than each other, I guess. Thus the cycle of abuse continues.
I do think Carolyn was interesting. This book also makes a strong case for why bookish librarian types should not be underestimated—they’re always smarter than you. I also love a character who SCHEMES. The pacing and tone of her plan being slowly revealed reminds me of the movie Parasite—that sense of snowballing dread, and things are somehow still getting worse. She’s basically like, “At the end of the day, I’m just doin what I gotta do to solve my own problems—it just so happens that my problems are a little different than yours.”
Steve kinda made me sad by the end. He was a good guy, but was always just a pawn in someone else’s game. Unfortunate for him thatbeing nice to Carolyn as a 12-year-old got him turned into the literal sun.
Erwin gave me weird military worship vibes from the author, but what can you expect from a book written by a middle aged white man? Also he felt all over the place, and his place and ending felt the most ???. Like, what are his goals? Why is he still here? Why did he just do that? He confounds me.
Update: it’s been 4 days since I finished this book, and INDEED i am still thinking about it a LOT. Seriously one of the most fast paced books I’ve read…SO MUCH stuff is always happening or insane lore is being dropped. Like it always had my full attention. I’ve also been pondering about this idea of a “heart coal” and how it influences the characters, especially Carolyn. And I’ve been thinking more about Steve… I honestly just feel bad that he got wrapped up in all this. The poor guy cannot catch a single fucking break. I even started rereading the first couple of chapters and picked up on some really early foreshadowing. Like I have my complaints, but this book would probably go so hard on a full re-read. ONE of my complaints is, if I remember correctly and bear in mind that I’m paraphrasing, is that Carolyn was like “I couldn’t have done it without Americans” I have to ask you, Scott. Are you being serious right now? I hope not, Scott. I hope you’re being sarcastic, Scott. Scott,
It’s super weird from the very first page, and the scope slowly expands and knits together over the course of the whole book. It’s very like, “I’m sorry, it just had to be this way,” and “What, like it’s hard to manipulate the fabric of space-time?” I saw a quote from another reviewer about what it feels like to read this book, and I want to remember: “[it’s] like you, the reader, are a ~mere mortal~ reading a story about gods and there isn’t time to explain it all.”
Idk if I liked how big it grew by the end, just because I think I tend to prefer stories that zoom in rather than zoom out. Plus, at the end I was picking up on some weird subtext of like.. abusive grooming being justified because it made someone great, and now the victim is thanking and forgiving—even empathizing with—the abuser….no one else can relate to them better than each other, I guess. Thus the cycle of abuse continues.
I do think Carolyn was interesting. This book also makes a strong case for why bookish librarian types should not be underestimated—they’re always smarter than you. I also love a character who SCHEMES. The pacing and tone of her plan being slowly revealed reminds me of the movie Parasite—that sense of snowballing dread, and things are somehow still getting worse. She’s basically like, “At the end of the day, I’m just doin what I gotta do to solve my own problems—it just so happens that my problems are a little different than yours.”
Steve kinda made me sad by the end. He was a good guy, but was always just a pawn in someone else’s game. Unfortunate for him that
Erwin gave me weird military worship vibes from the author, but what can you expect from a book written by a middle aged white man? Also he felt all over the place, and his place and ending felt the most ???. Like, what are his goals? Why is he still here? Why did he just do that? He confounds me.
Update: it’s been 4 days since I finished this book, and INDEED i am still thinking about it a LOT. Seriously one of the most fast paced books I’ve read…SO MUCH stuff is always happening or insane lore is being dropped. Like it always had my full attention. I’ve also been pondering about this idea of a “heart coal” and how it influences the characters, especially Carolyn. And I’ve been thinking more about Steve… I honestly just feel bad that he got wrapped up in all this. The poor guy cannot catch a single fucking break. I even started rereading the first couple of chapters and picked up on some really early foreshadowing. Like I have my complaints, but this book would probably go so hard on a full re-read. ONE of my complaints is, if I remember correctly and bear in mind that I’m paraphrasing, is that Carolyn was like “I couldn’t have done it without Americans” I have to ask you, Scott. Are you being serious right now? I hope not, Scott. I hope you’re being sarcastic, Scott. Scott,