Reviews

En ce lieu enchanté by Rene Denfeld

hilikus_00's review against another edition

3.0

Will possibly bump this up to a 3.5.

Review to come...Hopefully

I think I had a different experience of this book than most others because of my profession. I thought it tried a little too hard at parts and I don't think I connected to any of the characters at all.

Spoiler

Though I knew that Arden was narrating the story, it felt floaty to me and disconnected from a real person. I had to keep reminding myself that the narrator was another prisoner and not just an omniscient narrator.
Also...
- Was all of this taking place in Arden's head? I mean, how could he possibly know all of the things that were going on?
-What was the symbolism of the golden horses? Freedom?
-I have mixed feelings about the naming. The prisoners have names but most others don't. Is this to subvert prison culture and how socially we don't think of prisoners as having names, but only numbers?

moni_78's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

5.0

boattree's review against another edition

3.0

I almost wish I had this book in my hands instead of listening to it via audiobook. I feel like I lost some of its magic. The narrator did a fine job, but part of the sad beauty of this story is the pieces of quiet and surreal magic we find in the world. If you're looking for a calm and somber read that touches your heart in all the right places, you've found it.

jules0707's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

lollscoloredglasses's review against another edition

3.0

This book was beautifully written. To be able to take such a dark place and yet still find magic is a true gift. It was both hauntingly sad and wondrously peaceful. Definitely unlike any novel I have ever read.

And this....just incredible:

"It is meaning that drives most people forward into time, and it is meaning that reminds them of the past, so they know where they are in the universe."

salisbury_hare's review against another edition

5.0

The most harrowingly beautiful book I have read in a long time. Sucks the breath right out of you and then breathes it back in. Stunningly vivid writing and an intriguing and wonderfully dark plot.

worththecandle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.75

bbkate's review against another edition

4.5

This is the most interesting thing I have ever read, the writing was so enthralling. Wonderful commentary on how growing up in similar circumstances can have different paths & endings. I don’t know what else to say, I’m not really sure how to discuss this book. But I enjoyed it. 

novabird's review against another edition

4.0

Luminescent and powerful writing that unveils the chain of connection between dark deeds and the doers, lives in incarceration, and the condemned to die. Denfeld gracefully illumines ugliness without one iota of over-emphasis.

“Like the names in the books of the dead that lift from their pages at night to float into the sky, turning the stars into letters anyone can read.”

Denfeld made me think of the correlation between the ‘death penalty,’ and ‘the right to die.’ This was very thought provoking.

Yet, the ending is too omnipotent coming from the perspective that it did and hovered in the realm of the fantastical a little too long. 4.5

eli_haskett's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25