What happens when a story has a heartbeat?
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a young man who is constantly gazing into other worlds, whether this is by the books he picks up or the games that he plays. Then one day he finds himself on the edge of his own grand adventure. A grand adventure that looks similar to the book that he is currently reading. A book that has his name in it as one of the characters.
When I heard that Erin Morgenstern was coming out with a new book I was overjoyed. And of course, as all of my intentions go, it took several years before I was able to pick up “The Starless Sea”. I was ready for a world of magical, realism, mixed with whimsy, and crushing emotions and this book absolutely delivered on it.
Some readers may find this book a bit challenging to read because each chapter switches between the protagonist, the stories thatat the protagonist is reading, and almost everyone else in between. At times it feels as if the story is taking too long to go anywhere because you’re in the middle of the action and then you’re torn away by a fairytale. I will admit a first this was frustrating as it took me a while to get into the story, but then when I opened my mind up to thinking that I was the main character, and that I am reading the story that the character is reading, it became the more exciting.
This book is stacked full of allegory, metaphors, and analogies, and yet at the same time, it feels all meaningless, because this book is painfully aware that it is just a story. I think that is the main thing that I took away from this book. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with telling a good story.
I recommend this book to people who are fans of magical, realism, people who read the night, Circus, people who love the feeling of falling in love, those who love a happy ending, and those who may not want the story to end.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A version of this review was originally posted on Goodreads.
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