The Spear Cuts Through Water
Ratings117
Average rating4.3
NOMINATED FOR THE 2023 URSULA K. LE GUIN PRIZE FOR FICTION
A brilliantly lyrical, mythopoeic tale filled with interesting ideas and exemplifying the spirit of Ursula K. Le Guin. Loved the narrative style, the prose, the characters, and sheer imagination.
3.5
A unique fantasy book that makes use of intergenerational oral traditions, an interesting framed narrative, and mythology. There were times I wanted different things out of the tale, and the resolution was a bit clunky. That being said the authorial voice of this story is very unique, how different local POV's are woven throughout. I have not read anything quite like it.
This is a remarkable book.
It's not often that I start a book and think, “I've never read anything like this before.” I love that feeling. It's not so much that the story is crazy original - don't get me wrong, it's excellent - but it's HOW it's written that stunned me.
This book switches constantly between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person perspectives. It jumps from one time to another, to another, and back. It wraps a story inside a story inside one or three other stories, and bounces freely between them all.
That sounds confusing, yeah? I'll admit it does take some getting used to, but once you do, it flows smooth as silk, and you begin to realise that Jiminez is juggling 20 very sharp knives, he never once cuts himself, and it's pure joy to watch him do it. I'm floored that this is only his 2nd book.
If you're looking for a comfy, typical fantasy story structure, keep looking. But if you're keen on a unique storytelling experience, look no further. I'll be surprised if this doesn't end up as my Book of the Year for 2023.
Yeah, as expected:
https://youtu.be/cwfEYt0egKw
Fucking incredible.
This book took me on such an emotional rollercoaster I don't think I'll ever recover from.
It will forever be a book that I'll constantly be thinking about.
Not told in the typical way, with 1st 2nd and 3rd POV on the same page leaping back and forth so smoothly— this book won't be for everyone. It was dense. I found listening to the audio and reading at the same time helped.
One of those books that will stick with me. I'm baffled at the writing ability of Jimenez. Incredible. Amazing. Has to be one of my top favourites of this year.
I cried. I cringed. I laughed. It was everything I didn't expect and more.
Never have I ever wanted to reread a book immediately upon completion. That changed with this book. I'd give it six stars if I could. This is a book meant for savoring. It's not your fast paced, page-turning, knock it out in a day kind of read. It's the difference between that bite you grab in a cafeteria and the six course meal you have prepared by an incredible chef you had to wait years to experience. This is a book for lovers of mythology, epic battles, slow burns, fully fleshed out characters, representation, worlds you just want to fall into. Get the hardback if you can because the cover and end paper artwork are a perfect match to the stunner Jimenez creates on the page. Gorgeous.
“Blame is an endless circle.”
I waited fervently for this ARC to be available, because I loved The Vanished Birds so damn much I couldn't stop talking about it to all my book friends. When I started reading this book, though, it struck me immediately how different it felt from my first love. I believe in honesty, and will say that I almost bounced off this one from the beginning because of how different it is. I've never been a very literary reader despite reading literary fiction, so when confronted with a clearly very literary book I immediately get discouraged and think most of it will go over my head and I'll never understand what's going on. I stuck with it, though, because it's an ARC and I felt obligated to finish what I start, and noticed that after I let the book begin and got used to the different way it tells its story, I was completely sucked in. It's a bit of a dense book, but if you just give it space to tell its story (and the beginning was a bit slow), it's not a hard read. I loved this book.
I'm going to be brief with the summary because it's a hard book to summarize. A country is led by a tyrannical family, and a quest to rescue a dying god out from under these rulers brings two warriors together to bring an end to their rule. There's lots of magical twists and turns along the way, but your lola wasn't kidding when she said that this was a love story at its core.
The story's told using basically all points of view at one point or another. As the story with the main characters is being told, you're also being given little snippets of what people around the main characters are thinking at the same time in a weirdly non-disruptive way. It's also told as if you're in a theater watching the story unfold as a play at times too, the Inverted Theater your lola told you stories about. It can be disorienting in the beginning, but it really grew on me. Things get incredibly wild towards the end, so if you're looking for a straight fantasy tale, this probably won't be for you. It's fantasy, but surreal fantasy. It's also an incredibly dark story, so if gore bothers you, maybe pass on this.
I never thought literary fantasy would be a thing I'd enjoy so much, but here we are. This was a gorgeous, compelling read that I highly recommend.
What. A. Novel. Simon Jimenez is operating on another level with The Spear Cuts Through Water. This is an evocative tale that beautifully blends fantasy, reality, and fable into a perfect package. To summarize the plot here would deprive you of the wonderful journey that awaits you once you crack open the first page. Jimenez simultaneously (and effectively) tells multiple nested stories, while exploring the nature of identity, love, and intergenerational trauma. The book is unwavering in its commitment to its characters, its story, and its structure. And it's told with such fierce confidence and love that I was totally mesmerized from start to finish.If [b:The Vanished Birds 45422268 The Vanished Birds Simon Jimenez https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562699959l/45422268.SY75.jpg 70173100] (also excellent) didn't put Jimenez on the map, The Spear Cuts Through Water definitely will. This is a special book.See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.