The Starless Sea

This was not one I planned on reading due to the mixed reviews, but I found it for cheap at a secondhand shop and it was nice having a chance to read in paperback again. The Starless Sea is a novel that really delights in dragging the reader into the unknown; nothing is conventional about it, let alone structure or the genre. It isn’t exactly a straight fantasy, but there are definitely speculative elements and parts that seem like they would fit with fantasy—and yet, worldbuilding is not a terribly huge concern. This book reminded me of those fancy fondant cakes: they look incredible from afar, but cut it open and you’ve got yourself a fairly mediocre cake with terrible plastic-like junk on top. This book excelled at creating the right ambiance and atmosphere, and it was fun to go through the mystery of the Starless Sea, but it ultimately fell short of my expectations.

There isn’t really a plot to this. Sure, there is a loosely structured series of events that could technically be construed as a ‘plot’ but it really is not the mainstay of the novel. Events happen in various times and definitely not always in chronological order. I did find that aspect interesting, since the book gives you ‘snippets’ of various things that happen, perhaps in the past or the future, so it’s a bit like having puzzle pieces of a story and having to figure it out as you fit them together. However, by the end of ‘finishing’ the puzzle, so to speak, one finds that the picture isn’t that much more cohesive than the individual pieces themselves. There was also a complete lack of tension; there didn’t feel like there were any stakes involved, and even when there was a concrete ending to the story, it felt abrupt and unlike any other typical book ending. I do get that Morgenstern’s point is exactly to subvert our traditional expectations of the fantasy genre and play with the structure of what storytelling is and can be, but the effect was underwhelming from a reader’s perspective. The narrative also picks up the pace intensely with a lot of infodumping in the third act, which was unfortunate—it felt like it was the rushed ending to the first novel in a drawn out duology, rather than approaching the end of a single standalone book.

The characters are also somewhat static, though I did appreciate that the novel was transparent about the characters’ flaws—even calling some out openly. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the characters had those annoying flaws to begin with. For instance, our protagonist Zachary (who for some reason must be called by full name at the start of all of his chapters—why? That isn’t quirky, it’s just grating) is kind of a limp noodle. He flows with the tide and is generally lost in his life, a 25-year old graduate student uncertain about anything and everything. Somewhat relatable, but beyond that, I didn’t care that much for him. There is also a romance with a character he meets along his adventures, and it was just unconvincing for them to develop the attachments they did in such a short amount of time (and might I add, one person was unconscious for half that time). Like the plot, the characters play somewhat fluid roles, and everything comes around full circle, but at the same time, a lot of characters feel pointless.

Certainly the book’s themes are ambitious and lofty—chief among these, the nature of storytelling and what it means to tell a story. The use of symbolism, and the book is pretty meta about this too, is almost overwhelming—bees, hearts, and whatever else quickly lost their sense of individuality. By the end I wasn’t even sure what each meant, or if it even mattered. That might also speak to the author’s intent, though. It felt like the book had a lot to say on books, video games, stories, libraries, preserving old things, fate/determinism, regrets, but it sort of dipped into each of these like a sampler tray without really wading into the depths and asking the tough questions or probing why we should care. Again, I got the impression of a mysterious and cozy and book-nerd-paradise aesthetic, but there was little substance there to actually maintain the facade. Why do the acolytes dedicate their lives to this space? Who really has time to sit there and read all the dusty books? How does the Sea actually work? Nothing is really explained, no matter how ridiculous or confusing.

Although it wasn’t everything I was hoping for, it was still a somewhat entertaining book to read, and I applaud Morgenstern for being experimental with storytelling. Whether her experiment is a success or not probably depends heavily on the reader. I much more prefer some structure and a more well-defined world when it comes to fantasy/myth. This book is kind of like a myth, actually—the plot and characters may be irrelevant or merely loosely thought out, but it’s really the sentiment it leaves you with that matters. I will have to check out The Night Circus again, which I started once years ago but never quite finished. If you approach this book expecting a whimsical atmosphere, cozy bookish nooks to crawl into (with cats and candles and hot tea and knit sweaters), and little else, this will be just right.

I wasn't the biggest fan of The Night Circus, but I liked the sound of a secret underground book cult enough to give Erin Morgenstern another chance and I'm glad I did! Now don't expect to be sucked in immediately, it takes a while for the seemingly unconnected stories to come together.

The Starless Sea is metafiction, several books within a book. The opening chapters are from a book Zachary finds, and it alternates between his story and "Sweet Sorrows". The fictional book is not all that linear either, but at some point it just clicks. There are other fictional books used in the same way, giving up new bits of the story. It is a story about stories, whether written, oral or in a game...

I'd heard that this book was a kind of ode to video games, and at first I thought that it was just her character's choice of study that was the tribute, but then the game tropes start appearing. A character must get something for another character in order to continue with their quest, found objects reveal a little bit of story, the visual symbolism, putting things in conveniently shaped holes reveals a hidden stairway... Those kind of things. Knowing the game connection made me much more accepting of these plot devices, it's just like a game! There was one point when I thought they might actually be in a game.

I quite liked the stories from "Sweet Sorrows", "Fortunes and Fables" and "The Ballad of Simon and Eleanor" by themselves. They are myths and fairytales, almost standalone short stories until you piece together the players. I totally understand why some people went back and re-read it straight away. There are some things I don't quite have connected, and I had to do a bit of flicking back and forth at points near the end. To be honest, the things I'm not clear about don't really matter.

Morgenstern's writing is beautiful and there are plenty of quotable lines. I thought the characters and plot were much stronger in this than The Night Circus, and her prose had more purpose.

The ending was a teensy bit unsatisfying. I suppose the point was that whilst stories have endings, there's always more story possible. I just don't see Fate accepting it considering what they were trying to achieve.

This was everything I hoped it would be and more. I absolutely adored The Night Circus, so I was both eagerly anticipating The Starless Sea and waiting with some nervousness, because what if it didn't live up to my expectations? But it so, so did.

Morgenstern's second novel again has a lot of fantastical elements that border on magic, but this time it's all focused around a giant underground labyrinthine library of sorts, where stories are collected and created and lovingly cared for. Not just anyone is granted access to the Harbor, and those who stay are carefully vetted. Zachary Ezra Rawlins, the son of a fortune teller, is one of the few allowed—and it turns out, they had been expecting him.

What follows is a blend of fantasy and thriller (and a little romance), laced through with messages of the power of stories in our world and in our lives.

I wasn't the biggest fan of The Night Circus, but I liked the sound of a secret underground book cult enough to give Erin Morgenstern another chance and I'm glad I did! Now don't expect to be sucked in immediately, it takes a while for the seemingly unconnected stories to come together.

The Starless Sea is metafiction, several books within a book. The opening chapters are from a book Zachary finds, and it alternates between his story and "Sweet Sorrows". The fictional book is not all that linear either, but at some point it just clicks. There are other fictional books used in the same way, giving up new bits of the story. It is a story about stories, whether written, oral or in a game...

I'd heard that this book was a kind of ode to video games, and at first I thought that it was just her character's choice of study that was the tribute, but then the game tropes start appearing. A character must get something for another character in order to continue with their quest, found objects reveal a little bit of story, the visual symbolism, putting things in conveniently shaped holes reveals a hidden stairway... Those kind of things. Knowing the game connection made me much more accepting of these plot devices, it's just like a game! There was one point when I thought they might actually be in a game.

I quite liked the stories from "Sweet Sorrows", "Fortunes and Fables" and "The Ballad of Simon and Eleanor" by themselves. They are myths and fairytales, almost standalone short stories until you piece together the players. I totally understand why some people went back and re-read it straight away. There are some things I don't quite have connected, and I had to do a bit of flicking back and forth at points near the end. To be honest, the things I'm not clear about don't really matter.

Morgenstern's writing is beautiful and there are plenty of quotable lines. I thought the characters and plot were much stronger in this than The Night Circus, and her prose had more purpose.

The ending was a teensy bit unsatisfying. I suppose the point was that whilst stories have endings, there's always more story possible. I just don't see Fate accepting it considering what they were trying to achieve.