The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.  Let’s get into it. Not literally.  Literally would not be possible as it’s fantasy, but what a fantasy it is. Before I continue with this review, please check out the podcast version of this review.

When I started The Starless Sea, I felt entranced and enchanted.  I looked forward to the most magical quest and it was being presented through mystery and intrigue and I couldn’t help being swept into the story.  How can you not help getting sucked in when adventure beckons you.

Just when you get into one story, there’s another story. A substory, and another.  And while you swim through these stories, there is symbolism. There was charm and wit.  How can one not drown in a story with several stories? Well, one cannot help themselves and while that’s a great element, it’s also what took me away from the book after about 60%.

I was drowning in too much.  I was confused.  Or was I? I cannot tell you.  At some point, I felt like I was not smart enough for this book as I didn’t truly get it.  What just happened?  Wait. Where are they now?  I don’t get it.  My mind raced through questions, while another story and another layer gets added to the gossamer latticework on this world.

The start of the story that had the  lines, “A boy at the beginning of a story has no way of knowing that the story has begun!” and then you are on an adventure like nothing else. But somewhere the adventure got too much and I just wanted to go home.

The creativity of this book to me was quite mind blowing.  Wow.  The graphic descriptions of an alternative world.  What started off as a pirate in prison and a boy at a door, and exquisite story telling veered into too much fantasy.  Is there such as thing as too much fantasy?  Well, when you add the coefficient of time, you’ll have to place the book in your mind to process.  And so I will.  Without truly understanding and yet understanding.  With the confusions and all, I did enjoy the book and I give it 4 stars.  So, there you have it.

Check out my review of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. The book was just released on Jan 21st, 2020. Excellent read!