This week I want to try out a slightly different format. I’m going to be reviewing a book in two parts. The first part, today’s blog, will be about my reading experience so far. I’m around 30% of the way done, and the next blog will finish off the review after I’m finished reading. I think it’s so interesting to see the progression of someone’s thoughts and feelings towards a book change as they read it. I know I’ve had experiences where I love a book and then the ending ruins it for me, or I hate a book in the beginning but love it by the end.

            The book I’ll be discussing today is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I actually talked about this book in the first semester, but it was for a blog all about books I want to read (if you want to read that post just click here). This is Morgenstern’s second book, and it was published in 2019. Her first book, The Night Circus, is a fantasy/magical realism book about a fantastical circus (if you like fantasy, I’d definitely recommend you read it).

             The Starless Sea is about Zachary, a graduate student who discovers an old book in his school’s library. The book has no information about it, but he decides to check it out anyway. When he begins reading, he discovers that a story inside is from his childhood, a story that he had forgotten about and told no one, yet it somehow is in this book that appears to be years older than him. He then sets out to discover what exactly the story means, and he’s opened up to the world of the Starless Sea, a hidden, magical, ancient library.

             Here’s what I like about the book so far:

1. A story within a story
   1. Each chapter is either from Zachary’s perspective or a chapter from different books from the library, so when you’re reading, you get to read from the books he finds. I know that sounds slightly complicated, but it’s easy to follow along since the stories are so distinct. You also can just take notice of the chapter titles since that distinguishes between them. A story within a story is something that I’ve never really read before.
2. The world
   1. I read a lot of different genres, but one of the main ones I read is fantasy. I love fantasy because going into the different worlds and magic systems is always so interesting, and this book is no different. The Starless Sea is this mysterious library of stories, but it’s also more than that. Some people give their entire lives to the Starless Sea to act in three different roles (I won’t spoil these because the chapters on the three roles have been some of my favorites so far), and it’s almost like Hogwarts where it constantly changes and has secret rooms. Right now, I’m at the beginning phases of world building, so I just know the most basic aspects of the Starless Sea. However, I’m excited to see where the story will go as Zachary gets enveloped in it.
3. The writing
   1. The writing is very beautiful, descriptive language. I especially like the chapters that Zachary narrates. The ones that come from the book are more hit or miss for me. They can be a little over the top, but overall, I’m liking the writing style so far.

Currently, I’d say my reading experience is going well. I like the main character, the story is interesting to me, and I want to keep reading to find out what happens. The world is also entirely unique, which I also appreciate. Hopefully, in my next blog, I’ll be just as excited!

Images: https://vintagebooksdesign.tumblr.com/post/188832704681/the-starless-sea

https://ew.com/author-interviews/2019/10/16/erin-morgenstern-celebrates-literary-magic-the-starless-sea/