"They have similar elements, though. All stories do, no matter what form they take. Something was, and then something changed. Change is what story is, after all."
I think the digital and traditional narratives are woven together so well in this book — a perfect balance between the value of tradition and the importance of innovation that blossoms alongside the fables that Morgenstern tells throughout the novel. In doing so, she emphasizes that there is value in all stories, because each one reminds us that we matter. With Zachary, I fell deep into the depths of a secret literary society and took part in a dance between fate and freewill that reminded me of the importance and impact of our own choices.
Morgenstern's writing is lush and whimsical. Under her pen, even the mundane becomes fantastical. Each fable in The Starless Sea reads like a different genre, but somehow also bleeds seamlessly into the next section. I never felt like I was being taken out of the story, because I got the sense that there was something bigger that connected each part of the book.
The one issue I had with this book is that I wish the relationships were given a bit more time to breathe, as I often felt we had jumped over big parts of their development. In particular, I wish I had gotten to spend more time with Dorian and Mirabel, whose personalities and histories felt a bit sparse to me. Part of me thinks that we're given just enough to keep these characters as elusive and magical as they feel, but the more selfish part of me desperately needs more backstory to flesh these guys out.
As much as I'd like to resist comparisons between this book and Morgenstern's last, Zachary's journey reminded me so much of Bailey's in The Night Circus. Without spoiling either plot, both Zachary and Bailey seem to have a similar relationship with fate and choice (yes, I know, I'm mentioning choice again just let me have this). Zachary wants so much for life to have a discernible plot, a direction to travel towards some important conclusion. They are both characters whose choices matter, written so that we remember that our own choices matter. They remind me that fate gives us opportunities, but we have to make the decision to take them. I feel like that's a reminder I need all the time.
“You want a place to be like it was in the book but it’s not a place in a book it’s just words. The place in your imagination is where you want to go and that place is imaginary.”
The Starless Sea is another stunning novel from Erin Morgenstern — well plotted, well paced, and with intriguing and real characters who felt completely brought to life through gorgeous prose. You really get the sense that the writing lives beyond the pages in your hand, that the story lives on without you, spiralling into something more.
RATING
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