The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I read this book in one day. It was via audiobook on 2x speed, so that’s a little over 9 hours of listening straight through. I couldn’t put it down.

synopsis

When Zachary was 11 years old, he found a painted door. He didn’t go through it. Years later while he is pursuing his Masters degree, he comes across a book that contains a passage about him and the painted door. This leads him to try and discover more information about the book, its author, and the painted door. Along the way, he also learns about the starless sea.

structure

Zachary discovers that whoever donated the first book also donated more books to the library. The Starless Sea is interspersed with passages from these books. (I mean this next part in a good way.) It’s as though we’ve walked in on an almost finished jigsaw puzzle: The major parts are all there, but they aren’t connected or laid out in any sort of order. It creates a really interesting reading experience, where we get a more linear plot with Zachary mixed with the jigsaw pieces of the other books.

thoughts

Honestly, it’s hard for me to do anything but gush about this book. The prose is simply gorgeous. It keeps up the mystical atmosphere without weighing it down or being overly complicated. In a way, the book itself feels like a book for readers. Zachary reads about these mysterious happenings while himself experiencing mysterious happenings. It’s a book of second chances and patience. A girl leaves a note that a boy finds nearly 8 years later. Another boy finds a painted door, only to get another chance at going through it in his future.

We explore an underground where The Kitchen can make nearly anything you desire and where linear time has taken a cruise. We meet a strange woman dressed as Max from Where the Wild Things Are and a man called Dorian. Perhaps the woman simply wants to have adventures. Perhaps the man hides dark secrets. This book is full of symbolism, so I wouldn’t be surprised if these names were purposefully chosen.

Some people might find the book slow-paced, but I was so intrigued the whole way through because the story kept moving and beckoning me to follow. What helps make the story so compelling are its aforementioned prose and its characters. Zachary is a young gay man, and we get to read about him falling in love. We read about Max and Dorian as they go through their own personal journeys while also mentoring Zachary. We read about a group of people who want to get the donated books away from Zachary.

There are so many layers and complexities stitched together to create a marvelous story. And yet, it’s so readable. Nothing about this book felt overly complicated. It was the perfect Goldilocks effect.

basically

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is a book for readers, and it has been lovingly crafted. I loved practically everything about it.