This is my first five star book of the year. Over a year of reading I usually come across 5-6 books that really make an impression on me, and it is always those moments after completion when you stare off into space and go “wow!” I almost didn’t read this book – because I ran out of time on my library check-out and I had to return it. But luckily my Kindle was still set to airplane mode and so the book was still there as long as I didn’t reconnect to the internet. I’m so glad I didn’t push it to the back of the line.
This was another long book, and my first time reading this author. The writing is not rushed – and the story moves ever forward but taking the time to flesh things out. I can imagine some readers might get frustrated with this, but I found that once you relaxed and didn’t worry about how much time you had, you could revel in the details and enjoy the payoffs when those details come back to matter later on.
This book takes place in several timelines, and one of them is right along the same timeline as my own, so the pop culture and the way people talk and think about the world lines up with my own experience. Maybe it was because of this that I vibed so well with the book.
Since this is my first time with this author I am not sure if it is his standard style but there is a ton of research, all of it in the extensive bibliography, and this really blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction.
I’m looking forward to reading the other book by this author (called The Nix) but I’ll wait a while – maybe towards the end of the year as a sort of bookend.
Next I am reading An Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop.
