Ethan Poole
Such an interesting novel. The stream-of-consciousness writing style was hard to read at times (it required immense focus), but it was also really well done. It felt like reading people's *actual* thoughts—in the disjoint, uncontrolled manner in which they actually occur. I definitely want to reread this book; I know that I'll get more out of it.
A fantastic conclusion to an incredible series: First, phenomenal world building; the world felt more real than anything I've read in fantasy in some time. Second, interesting characters and compelling plot. Third, a touch of the literary; some of the themes that resonated with me: the roles of bureaucracy and the intelligentsia, cultural identity, the power of stories, power vs. morality vs. pride ("the grace of kings"), and the joys of food.
I was hesitant at first to pick up this series: it's very long, and I've grown kinda bored with epic fantasy. So, I'm very glad that I did take the plunge—worth it!
Given all the hype, I expected a 5-star read, but I got a great 4-star read. Having recently read David Copperfield in preparation, this book was an interesting reading experience in that I knew what was going to happen, but not how. The story was moving, but I think the messaging would have been more impactful if it were more subtle.
Great epic fantasy. Better than the first book—in part, I think, because the characters are better. I really like that there are real stakes, no one is a superhero (à la SA), and problems are won through ingenuity (cool tech, tactic, gambits, etc.) more often than through violence or magic. The world-building is just incredible.
I've been meaning to read BK for a very long time. It was one of the few Russian classics that I hadn't read. Overall, I liked it—I guess for the big ideas. The prosecutor's speech and “après moi, le déluge” in particular really resonated with me. However, BK is not very good fiction: bad pacing, turgid dialogue, horribly unrealistic women characters, and not much plot given the absurd length. There is also a lot of religious dribble, especially in the first half, which I really struggled through. In the end, I'm glad I read BK, and I would generally recommend that people read it at some point, but I doubt I'll ever pick it up again.
Re the translation: I read the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation. I appreciate that they're going for a more literal translation of the Russian. However, I found it annoying that this often resulted in English sentences that are simply ungrammatical (in the formal linguistic sense; e.g. illicit argument structure for the given predicate, violations of the anti-that-trace constraint). Why?
Solid epic fantasy with phenomenal world-building. The characters are somewhat lackluster; it's very much a “warring of ideas”-style book, where the characters are (in essence) representatives of ideals. Overall, it felt like a lot of other epic fantasy—thus, not special per se, but nonetheless very well done.
I picked this up as “homework” for Demon Copperhead. Having finished, I can appreciate the book for what it is: a coming-of-age story. It's very touching and has great characters. I can see why it resonates with certain people. It is a bit of a slog, and I put it down several times to read other stuff.
(Also, my 100th book for 2023!)
Just a beautiful, insightful story. I listened to the audiobook, and Meryl Streep's performance was (of course) above and beyond. For me, the book itself is 4-stars, but bumped up because of the narration. I'm so glad that I finally picked up a book by Ann Patchett, whose Friday book recommendations on TikTok I always look forward to!
