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A review by lisamchuk
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
2.0
I wanted to love this book. I’d heard good things. As a librarian I don’t mind books about books. But that was the problem.
What bothered me most happens at the beginning. The author writes two fallacies. First, they mention the Dewey Decimal System as part of the university library. Probably wrong. Most universities libraries use the Library Congress call number system to organize their vast and specific collections - which would be the case of this university since it has a grad school and thus probably has an expansive research collection. Second, the author states the librarians are just reading because the library is not busy. Wrong. I was a librarian at a university for almost a decade and was far too busy actually earning my wage to just sit at the desk and read. Thus the author has introduced two stereotypical notions of libraries and librarians that are so very wrong yet will continue to be used to perpetrate these false stereotypes within popular culture that will continue to make a mockery of my profession. Sure sure, the other hundred librarians that read this book probably chuckled and moved on but for some reason I just couldn’t get past the fact the author didn’t bother to do their research and it plagued me for the rest of the book.
Which wasn’t horrible. I mean, yeah, it was a bit slow. And jarring to jump perspectives constantly (but aren’t we used to that trope by now). The writing was fine, but not lyrical or beautiful, and probably it could’ve lost a hundred pages and at least one romance (guess which one). It was clever at times and who doesn’t love cats and bees and keys and books.
I have no idea what just happened. At points I thought I was following and knew what was going on and then something would happen and I’d lose the plot. This book requires a reread, but I won’t be doing that. I’m not saying I hated it. I just couldn’t love it. I finished it though, so that’s saying something. Not a waste of time. But a confusing time. I feel a bit stupid I have no idea what it’s about. Perhaps I don’t read enough to be literary enough to get it.
Update: I just finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January - how did these two books, published so close together, end up so shockingly similar?? I liked the other one better though...
What bothered me most happens at the beginning. The author writes two fallacies. First, they mention the Dewey Decimal System as part of the university library. Probably wrong. Most universities libraries use the Library Congress call number system to organize their vast and specific collections - which would be the case of this university since it has a grad school and thus probably has an expansive research collection. Second, the author states the librarians are just reading because the library is not busy. Wrong. I was a librarian at a university for almost a decade and was far too busy actually earning my wage to just sit at the desk and read. Thus the author has introduced two stereotypical notions of libraries and librarians that are so very wrong yet will continue to be used to perpetrate these false stereotypes within popular culture that will continue to make a mockery of my profession. Sure sure, the other hundred librarians that read this book probably chuckled and moved on but for some reason I just couldn’t get past the fact the author didn’t bother to do their research and it plagued me for the rest of the book.
Which wasn’t horrible. I mean, yeah, it was a bit slow. And jarring to jump perspectives constantly (but aren’t we used to that trope by now). The writing was fine, but not lyrical or beautiful, and probably it could’ve lost a hundred pages and at least one romance (guess which one). It was clever at times and who doesn’t love cats and bees and keys and books.
I have no idea what just happened. At points I thought I was following and knew what was going on and then something would happen and I’d lose the plot. This book requires a reread, but I won’t be doing that. I’m not saying I hated it. I just couldn’t love it. I finished it though, so that’s saying something. Not a waste of time. But a confusing time. I feel a bit stupid I have no idea what it’s about. Perhaps I don’t read enough to be literary enough to get it.
Update: I just finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January - how did these two books, published so close together, end up so shockingly similar?? I liked the other one better though...