Have you ever had a crush on someone that fell apart when chance came, and you were able to get to know them better? The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern was a bit like that, and it is heartbreaking.
A quarter of my way through this book I was enthralled. “This, this was the book I needed right now,” I thought. Morgenstern is a powerful wordsmith, a force of nature when it comes to imagery. However, I think she swept herself away with this one. The plot is meandering. It seems to lose itself in the author’s descriptions along with the reader. And then there are the characters…
There is nothing wrong with diversity. There is nothing wrong with having gay romances. Neither the former or the latter should feel forced. Rule number one of making any character, is to be able to believe they could exist.I want to think I could run into Zachary, or Dorian. None of those in the main, or supporting cast seemed “real.” They were all hipsters. Usually alcoholic. Worse, we never really dig beyond the surface. I think if the author spent less time trying to stuff this full of representation, and just focused on a few characters and fleshed them out, my rating would have went up another star.
In the end, I spent about an hour just trying to figure out where I was with this review. I was afraid it would be a random, meandering mess – and I suppose that is fitting. Beyond this, I can say the book is an experience. This is a novel that tries to be the modern day version of Narnia, but ultimately it never leaves the closet.
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