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A review by sunrays118
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley
4.0
This was quite the book.
I have a lot of thoughts on this book because there was a lot to this book.
To begin, the writing itself was beautiful. There are few books that are as poetically written as this one. The language creates a sense of place and a feeling that completely surrounds you. You fall in love with the words. Time slows down, the pace is deliberately slow and keeps you in this other world.
The story was original and gorgeous. Told through a fictional narrator translating/retelling a story from a crow. The story travels forever, through incredible worlds. It is hard to not feel a part of the worlds being described. It is so clear and so vivid.
I hate to even write the few troubles I felt were contained in the book because it was such a gorgeous read but there were a few. The characters themselves are quite weak. There are only two characters that hold any weight. The story line, which began so strong, weakens with every single chapter. Part One is by far the success of the book. With each subsequent section, the book loses itself and the reader a bit more. Something about the magic trickles out as the book goes on which does mirror some of the story line but not as much as to keep the reader. At parts, particularly in section three, the book began to feel like a writing prompt that simply never ended. I wanted more, I wanted to feel that magic again, to have the language rush over me, but I felt a bit pushed away by certain sections.
In the end, I would highly recommend the book and think it is quite special.
I have a lot of thoughts on this book because there was a lot to this book.
To begin, the writing itself was beautiful. There are few books that are as poetically written as this one. The language creates a sense of place and a feeling that completely surrounds you. You fall in love with the words. Time slows down, the pace is deliberately slow and keeps you in this other world.
The story was original and gorgeous. Told through a fictional narrator translating/retelling a story from a crow. The story travels forever, through incredible worlds. It is hard to not feel a part of the worlds being described. It is so clear and so vivid.
I hate to even write the few troubles I felt were contained in the book because it was such a gorgeous read but there were a few. The characters themselves are quite weak. There are only two characters that hold any weight. The story line, which began so strong, weakens with every single chapter. Part One is by far the success of the book. With each subsequent section, the book loses itself and the reader a bit more. Something about the magic trickles out as the book goes on which does mirror some of the story line but not as much as to keep the reader. At parts, particularly in section three, the book began to feel like a writing prompt that simply never ended. I wanted more, I wanted to feel that magic again, to have the language rush over me, but I felt a bit pushed away by certain sections.
In the end, I would highly recommend the book and think it is quite special.