Reviews

The Familiar, Volume 3: Honeysuckle & Pain by Mark Z. Danielewski

Only show reviews with written explanations

skyla_shae's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Brilliant. My initial doubts about the series are gone. Now that I'm familiar with all the characters, the narrative just flows wonderfully. Lots of the weird, unexplained bits from previous books are starting to make sense, and it's given me faith that the author knows what he's doing. It's not just weird for weird's sake. It's weird because it's the first few books in a 27-part series. The nine characters' stories are starting to come together, the book is beautiful, the plot is great, I'm so excited for book 4.

fresh_guy's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lucasgarner's review

Go to review page

5.0

This series starting out weird, yet intriguing, and has been consistently gaining my attention. Now with the third volume, I can officially say the series is amazing. This book perfectly captured the bizarre and experimental nature of the series but while also giving us some moments to really latch on to. The imagery between the descriptions and the typography is unparalleled. I cannot recommend this series enough, and while the first two may be tedious, confusing, and seemingly unrewarding at times, trust me that by the time you get to the third it will all be worth it. I cannot wait for the future volumes to be released, and to see what else Danielewski has in store for us.

fernfuentes's review

Go to review page

5.0

By the time we begin Honeysuckle and Pain, a reasonable amount of time has passed since that One Rainy Day in May. If you've yet to pick this series up, then in your head, you must be thinking, "Well, by now the hype must be winding down. At 880 pages per volume, it must be losing plenty of steam."

You'd be dead wrong.

Honeysuckle and Pain is the most action packed volume yet. Like the youngest of three siblings coming into its own, Volume three shines where the first two hid in shadows. Where we spent the first two volumes learning about the lives of these characters, now we see what makes them tick. I've grown to love all nine of the main characters in my own way, but it seems volume three is begging us to look closely at the smaller characters which seem to bear no importance, when in reality they may have a hand in guiding many of the mysterious forces in the Familiar.

This series is not to be missed. There has never been, and likely never will be another one like it. MZD is pushing the boundaries of the page further than he ever has, and it's resulting in one of the most beautiful works of art I've ever seen.

good_creon's review

Go to review page

5.0

The slow convergence of plots continues, but the main thread of Xanther and her family continues to stand out, as the changes being caused by "The Little One" become more apparent. Bit by bit, the world being built by Danielewski is coming into focus, and sticking with his unique way of telling this story continues to payoff

pbobrit's review

Go to review page

3.0

Part 3 of 32 (or 36), and I'm not sure the reward is worth wading through 800+ pages each volume. I love how Mark Danielewski (a) is brave enough to attempt something like this and (b) plays with the text in the way it is displayed BUT to me this series needs to start moving at a quicker pace to keep me hooked. Each volume does develop the story but, with each volume being so long, I would hope to see more forward motion at the end of each. Both with volumes 2 and 3 I haven't felt that. I am not finishing it with the sense that I can't wait till the next volume. Maybe I'll give volume 4 a try when it comes out, but I hope it moves things forward significantly.