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audreyannebeard's review
2.0
Really loved the Book of Flying, but this one didn't grab me, and I found the characters unlikeable.
lusindarko's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
menfrommarrs's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoy any story that involves books, even if overly fanciful.
So many metaphors that the reader is looking at a photograph expecting to see a landscape and instead the mind’s eye is made to focus on a lover’s body. Beautiful but dizzing.
So many metaphors that the reader is looking at a photograph expecting to see a landscape and instead the mind’s eye is made to focus on a lover’s body. Beautiful but dizzing.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
4.0
Ay, me encantó. Es súper entretenido, tiene muchos elementos que me fascinan y un estilo picaresco que involucra al lector, como una especie de guiño, que te mantiene divertido y alerta. Preciosa prosa.
dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a deep cardamom kiss. It is every daydream you've ever had of living in a library rolled into one and exploded into a vast library that could not be contained even in your thoughts.
Another reviewer complained that Miller comes from the adjective school of writing. I personally enjoy thick description* in my novels, but if you're someone who prefers the starkness of, say, John Steinbeck's writing, then this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you like authors like Francesca Lia Block, whose books are poetry to me, then this might be for you.
While the writing and description are both beautiful, there are some issues of exoticization and "man-voice". Exoticization because it's all about veils and look at these exotic women and oooo isn't it special. Miller makes it all about The Exotic East, which is pretty vomit-inducing for a sociologist like me. And then there's the problem of "man-voice". I don't have a better term for this. Put it this way: the majority of books I read are by women. This is a purposeful choice on my part (see Inga Muscio for more explanation). And it is very, very evident that this book is written by a man. For brief but unpleasant periods, the story becomes all about testicles and/or penises. I couldn't care less about male genitalia. But those parts are mostly brief and easy to skim.
The four stars are mainly because of the problem of man-voice and the exoticization. But this is a beautiful book, with descriptions so deep you can sink into them like cloud-beds. Be sure to read with a stash of almond cookies, tea, and apricots.
* Thanks Clifford Geertz! You intended that term academically, but I intend to use it whenever possible.
Another reviewer complained that Miller comes from the adjective school of writing. I personally enjoy thick description* in my novels, but if you're someone who prefers the starkness of, say, John Steinbeck's writing, then this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you like authors like Francesca Lia Block, whose books are poetry to me, then this might be for you.
While the writing and description are both beautiful, there are some issues of exoticization and "man-voice". Exoticization because it's all about veils and look at these exotic women and oooo isn't it special. Miller makes it all about The Exotic East, which is pretty vomit-inducing for a sociologist like me. And then there's the problem of "man-voice". I don't have a better term for this. Put it this way: the majority of books I read are by women. This is a purposeful choice on my part (see Inga Muscio for more explanation). And it is very, very evident that this book is written by a man. For brief but unpleasant periods, the story becomes all about testicles and/or penises. I couldn't care less about male genitalia. But those parts are mostly brief and easy to skim.
The four stars are mainly because of the problem of man-voice and the exoticization. But this is a beautiful book, with descriptions so deep you can sink into them like cloud-beds. Be sure to read with a stash of almond cookies, tea, and apricots.
* Thanks Clifford Geertz! You intended that term academically, but I intend to use it whenever possible.
stennyi's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this story. The lyricism of the prose is a treat for any reader. The story itself was enthralling and entertaining. I love that it sort of seemed to reimagine the burning of the library at Alexandria in this way. The only part that kept pulling me out of the story (and maybe that’s my issue as the reader, not critiquing the author’s choice to write this way) was the way the modern world was folded into this seemingly historically-based, fantasy world. The mentions of business suits, Audrey Hepburn and anything that seemed contemporary just pulled me out of the story. The author is extremely imaginative and I absolutely love the rest of the world- the ghosts, the book-whores, the bibliophilic world, the librarian born of books themselves. I def recommend. This book will charm you.
dandelionfluff's review against another edition
3.0
I have such mixed feelings! After reading [b:The Book of Flying|126348|The Book of Flying|Keith Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309284941s/126348.jpg|1246371], I was happy to learn of this novel. Miller has a beautiful, brutal writing style that isn't afraid to wax poetic. Books are, once more, the heart of character motivation and plot. It is a genuine celebration of reading: the act, the form, the function. I will raise the same caution as with The Book of Flying in that you may grow tired of the lyrical, bleeding-heart descriptions of books, perhaps even growing tired of the word itself by the end. Now, to address specifics:
Miller definitely goes in a more carnal direction in this one, describing the scent of Alexandria by many visceral terms, but I was done with "wet cunt." Many elements are described in this fashion, with body fluids and sexual language that I couldn't decide the purpose of. I mean, really, truly, why that? And why so much the female body more so than male? Fully understanding the feminization of cities, this became a bit perverse. I started feeling uncomfortable, wondering if this was meant to be Balthazar's thoughts or the author's.
There was also the moment when Balthazar encounters the library for the first time. He has an erection and then messes his pants, which is described down to how his fluids dried. Did we need that? Did we need to have that experience, Miller? 'cause it didn't enhance the story, and I'm about sex-positivity here.
Zeinab's treatment brought this discomfort to the surface even more. She was painted as beautiful in her mystery, her blatant disregard for that which Balthazar loved more than anything and which the city revered, her thievery, and... violence? The part where she just randomly takes his wrist and presses her blade to it just to see the color of his blood was such a manic pixie dream girl moment that I actually rolled my eyes. It served no purpose other than demonstrating how ~dangerous~ she is with her wicked little blade. Alright, Balthazar. You slept with her, she burned your book, she'll draw blood, you're afraid of her, and you don't know her but in a way you love her. Those are all just actions without known motivation, and that's not a personality.
Zeinab didn't become three-dimensional until the end of the book when it's confirmed that she's a spirit seeking her death through the release of the books of the library which... is done by burning them. I honestly wasn't sure if this was a literal release à la magical realism, where the books would appear somewhere else in the world, or if this was a metaphorical release. Either way, I completely understood why she had such a vendetta against the city's preoccupation with books, and why she wanted to burn the library. Took 260 pages to get there, but I understood.
Shireen was also... not that deep for me. Yes, she was interesting, but we never got the answers behind her existence that might have made her more three-dimensional. She's a recluse, discovers the world but isn't suited to its reality, claims the reflections of the reflections are more real... and it was truly interesting when she said how Aslan would be forever changed by the real, worn, suffering lions she had seen. That the roughness of the world only enhanced the images she grew with. A rose is just a rose, the sea is far more untidy than she thought... That was all very interesting to me.
But, I wanted to know more. More about her sisters, more about her training, more about what she truly wanted for herself. What was her vision of the future? What mysteries did she wish to uncover for herself?
Balthazar's burning of the library must have been utterly devastating to her, separating her from the very beings that gave her life, and a pseudo-family that raised her. Sure, she felt separate and different from them, but surely she must have at least cared about their safety? Could we have gotten away from the "I'm not like other girls, I feel so disconnected, I really don't have anyone" thing and actually give a leading female character, I dunno, strong preexisting relationships that could withstand her romance?
But they abandon their friends and family to take the special tram to sexy town, so. I guess it's more about art than... people making sense.
Looking at all other characters, Miller did spend time illustrating the other thieves and gave us conversations that really let us in to their lives and motivations. I just didn't feel that way with Shireen and Zeinab until the very end, which might be a purposeful storytelling choice, or... just another way to romanticize female characters into archetypes. Eh.
By all means, call that a philistine's review, but I'm torn between Miller's absolutely beautiful language, his heartfelt homage to books and reading, and everything else I got into. Would I recommend this? Yes, if only to rattle someone's cage and give them something different.
Spoiler
Miller definitely goes in a more carnal direction in this one, describing the scent of Alexandria by many visceral terms, but I was done with "wet cunt." Many elements are described in this fashion, with body fluids and sexual language that I couldn't decide the purpose of. I mean, really, truly, why that? And why so much the female body more so than male? Fully understanding the feminization of cities, this became a bit perverse. I started feeling uncomfortable, wondering if this was meant to be Balthazar's thoughts or the author's.
There was also the moment when Balthazar encounters the library for the first time. He has an erection and then messes his pants, which is described down to how his fluids dried. Did we need that? Did we need to have that experience, Miller? 'cause it didn't enhance the story, and I'm about sex-positivity here.
Zeinab's treatment brought this discomfort to the surface even more. She was painted as beautiful in her mystery, her blatant disregard for that which Balthazar loved more than anything and which the city revered, her thievery, and... violence? The part where she just randomly takes his wrist and presses her blade to it just to see the color of his blood was such a manic pixie dream girl moment that I actually rolled my eyes. It served no purpose other than demonstrating how ~dangerous~ she is with her wicked little blade. Alright, Balthazar. You slept with her, she burned your book, she'll draw blood, you're afraid of her, and you don't know her but in a way you love her. Those are all just actions without known motivation, and that's not a personality.
Zeinab didn't become three-dimensional until the end of the book when it's confirmed that she's a spirit seeking her death through the release of the books of the library which... is done by burning them. I honestly wasn't sure if this was a literal release à la magical realism, where the books would appear somewhere else in the world, or if this was a metaphorical release. Either way, I completely understood why she had such a vendetta against the city's preoccupation with books, and why she wanted to burn the library. Took 260 pages to get there, but I understood.
Shireen was also... not that deep for me. Yes, she was interesting, but we never got the answers behind her existence that might have made her more three-dimensional. She's a recluse, discovers the world but isn't suited to its reality, claims the reflections of the reflections are more real... and it was truly interesting when she said how Aslan would be forever changed by the real, worn, suffering lions she had seen. That the roughness of the world only enhanced the images she grew with. A rose is just a rose, the sea is far more untidy than she thought... That was all very interesting to me.
But, I wanted to know more. More about her sisters, more about her training, more about what she truly wanted for herself. What was her vision of the future? What mysteries did she wish to uncover for herself?
Balthazar's burning of the library must have been utterly devastating to her, separating her from the very beings that gave her life, and a pseudo-family that raised her. Sure, she felt separate and different from them, but surely she must have at least cared about their safety? Could we have gotten away from the "I'm not like other girls, I feel so disconnected, I really don't have anyone" thing and actually give a leading female character, I dunno, strong preexisting relationships that could withstand her romance?
But they abandon their friends and family to take the special tram to sexy town, so. I guess it's more about art than... people making sense.
Looking at all other characters, Miller did spend time illustrating the other thieves and gave us conversations that really let us in to their lives and motivations. I just didn't feel that way with Shireen and Zeinab until the very end, which might be a purposeful storytelling choice, or... just another way to romanticize female characters into archetypes. Eh.
By all means, call that a philistine's review, but I'm torn between Miller's absolutely beautiful language, his heartfelt homage to books and reading, and everything else I got into. Would I recommend this? Yes, if only to rattle someone's cage and give them something different.
tiltingwindward's review against another edition
4.0
Miller's second book is different from his first - it is crueler, less naive, more primal. The violence is closer to the surface, the humans are more human, the magic is tempered with more sorrow, but it retains the same mystical power over the reader as The Book of Flying. Balthazar, the morally-questionable protagonist, is less sympathetic than Pico the librarian, but no less compelling, and it can be argued that he loves books more.
This is not a book for all readers, not even all readers who loved Miller's first. It's crude in some places, rough around the edges in others, the characters aren't sympathetic, and the ending is ambiguous. But I have never seen articulated so clearly anywhere else what it means to be truly in love with books. Many books talk about booklovers, or the love of reading, but in vague, noncommittal terms. They don't explain adequately how it possesses you, how it can matter more than food or sleep or sex. It's clear that Miller is a reader in the deepest sense of the word, and no matter what other flaws this book may have, it speaks straight to like-minded hearts on that point.
This is not a book for all readers, not even all readers who loved Miller's first. It's crude in some places, rough around the edges in others, the characters aren't sympathetic, and the ending is ambiguous. But I have never seen articulated so clearly anywhere else what it means to be truly in love with books. Many books talk about booklovers, or the love of reading, but in vague, noncommittal terms. They don't explain adequately how it possesses you, how it can matter more than food or sleep or sex. It's clear that Miller is a reader in the deepest sense of the word, and no matter what other flaws this book may have, it speaks straight to like-minded hearts on that point.
abbie52923's review
5.0
This book is magical. Beautiful. Paradise. I am usually able to move from one book to the next with no problem, but after reading this book I find myself wanting to linger. The words fall perfectly in synch with one another, the descriptions so vibrant and alive. I feel like I have constructed the Library of Alexandria in my mind based off of the book. I don't think this book is for everyone, and there are times when a paragraph is just one long run on sentence of allegorical nature.
I feel like this book changed my life.
I feel like this book changed my life.
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