The Starless Sea

After reading Morgenstern's earlier work, The Night Circus, I decided to dive straight into The Starless Sea. At first it seemed The Starless Sea would be left second best, but as I approached the half way point it became clear this was my preferred pick of the two – going against the grain of many Goodreads reviews.

While The Night Circus undoubtedly has the better prose, The Starless Sea bests it when it comes down to the story. At times I felt like The Night Circus was carried by it's incredible writing; and while the story is pleasant and engaging, it's ultimately rather simple. It is a book you read if you want to enjoy good writing. The Starless Sea isn't as beautifully written (although by no means is it bad) but it is the story that keeps you turning the pages. It is a story devoted entirely to stories. As another reviewer said, “an ode to story-telling”. I found it unique, and I am a big fan of the fantastical, almost fairy-tale like manner she crafts the story. There are many overarching themes and subplots (each could go on to become their own story (which is the point) and they all tie in together nicely). Maybe I'm not experienced enough, but for me, Morgenstern has pushed the boundaries of how I thought novels could be constructed.

My only knock is that sometimes the characters say some cringe things. Not the kind of cringe no one would ever say in real life but rather exactly the kind of cringe I could imagine someone similar in real life saying. Barely noticeable though and easy to look past. Beyond those 2 “negatives” the book remains a solid 5 star rating for me since I can't think of anything worth taking a star for.