Book Review: The Starless Sea
- Author: Erin Morgenstern
- Format: 498 pages, Hardcover
- Published: November 5, 2019 by Doubleday
- ISBN: 9780385541213 (ISBN10: 038554121X)
- ASIN: 038554121X
- Language: English
“Because I feel more alive down here than up there.”
How do you write a review of a book you can only understand by reading it? I’m not convinced I fully understood it. The book feels like an unsolvable riddle. Each word and image leads to a new clue and discovery, making you feel one step closer to solving the mystery. Prepare yourself, as the next few lines might not make complete sense, and the book’s enigma may remain just that—a mystery.
The Starless Sea
“There are more mysteries down here and more riddles than you could ever hope to solve.”
Deep underground lies a hidden realm where a secret society preserves stories. It is here, in the harbor of the Starless Sea, that the narrative unfolds. Entry to this fantastical world is only for those chosen and deemed worthy. The book’s symbolic doors represent choices in our life’s journey, unveiling alternate futures, pasts that never were, and presents that could have been. One door can change everything.
Stories
Many short stories are interwoven within the main book. These narratives give the feeling of being fragments of a grander story, perpetually leaving the reader with, “What happened next?” It’s as if these stories continue in a place where all tales reside. The embedded stories are written in a captivating and fairy-tale-like manner. I particularly enjoyed the story of Luna finding love in the face of the mysterious cabin owner or Fate’s romance with Time, only for the stars to separate them. This storytelling style adds unique pieces to the puzzle of the plot.
The author uses these stories to play with the reader’s expectations. Secretly, we all seek an ending—every story must have one. However, there exists a society that strives to prevent The Last Port‘s tale from disappearing, preserving it instead.
“But the story wanted to have an ending.”
This story is on its own quest to conclude, or at least that’s how I interpreted it. Perhaps I’m wrong, and you’ll find your own meaning to Erin Morgenstern’s intricate puzzle. This psychological element broadens the book’s appeal to various readers.
Time Travel and Parallel Reality
I’m not typically fond of time travel and parallel reality themes. Maybe I’m not at the right intellectual level to appreciate this genre fully, so I’ll refrain from harsh criticism. However, the plot was complex, and I struggled to keep track of who was who until the very end. In fact, I misunderstood many characters for most of the book. It felt like being in a relentless whirlwind, spinning and confusing my thoughts until the very end. The story’s 360-degree twist, where everyone finds a happy ending, somewhat lessened my final rating.
My Conclusion
If this review left you confused, that aligns with the reading experience of The Starless Sea. While my review may seem like a tangled response to Morgenstern’s whimsical narrative, the book may still captivate those who enjoy layered and enigmatic storytelling.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
