City on Fire

I feel bad giving this only 3 stars because Hallberg is a hell of a writer (I very rarely feel envious of other people's talents but man, he makes it look so effortless and new). The first 500-600 pages alone were worth all the hype. Unfortunately, it kinda falls apart after that.

I get it, it's hard to maintain perfect control over a 900+ page monster that includes a panoramic cast of characters, multiple timelines and painstakingly researched historical background. But Hallberg's characters at some point lose all definition. They also become boring :/ The plot drags on and on and on in the end (which in this case is roughly 300 pages long) and the only big reveal – whose voice it was that opened the story – is just not worth the carpal tunnel. The old adage that every sentence in a story should move the plot forward applies to at least 30% of this.

Disappointed, but will give Hallberg all the chances anyway because he's a super talented dude.