Looking Glass Sound
Ratings31
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings31
Average rating3.5
The author of The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward, delivers a masterful story about friendship and betrayal, dark obsessions, and the impossibility of escaping your own story. "Here's your next obsession." (Kelly Link, author of Get In Trouble)
In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write.
It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth in Whistler Bay, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. About the terrible secret he and his companions, Nat and Harper, discovered entombed in the coves off the bay. And how the pact they swore that day echoed down the decades, forever shaping their lives.
But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself and his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real – notes hidden in the cabin, from an old friend now dead; a woman with dark hair drowning in the icy waters below, calling for help; entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing, appearing overnight. Who, or what, is haunting Wilder?
No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.
“An origami puzzle of a book, the mystery so beautifully crafted you don’t see the folds, with edges sharp as a paper cut.”—Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls
Reviews with the most likes.
Muggy, dark, dreamy, cryptic, longing, tangled
Adaptations of adaptations of memoirs written in journals left in backpacks
Like all of Ward's work, it's a Lot. But what lands, lands hard. Totally worth a look if almost overly metatextual queer psychodrama is something of interest.
Rating: 4.22 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4/5 -Cover: 4/5-Story: 4.75/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller-Fantasy: 3/5-Horror: 3/5-Mystery: 5/5-Thriller: 5/5 Type: AudiobookWorth?: YESHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.Wow wow wow wow... just wow. I love Cat. I need to get that out there. This is my second book by her and the second time I am just... blown away. She has a special gift. Cat's writing is like a careful planned maze that make you think you are going the right way until you hit that dead in. The twists and turns in this book is just spot on. Why you love it and only gave it 4 stars? There were times that seemed liked they dragged a bit. It wasn't high on the fantasy and horror as well, which is okay because she was very high in the mystery and thriller aspects. As for the characters... they are like Nesting Dolls, that is all I am freaking saying. YOU NEED TO COME INTO THIS WITH AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
I just finished Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward and here are my thoughts!!
Whistler bay has its dark past and when Wilder Harlow returns to write his last book, it brings back memories of the past.
As a youth, the place where he met his two friends, Nat and Harper. The summer was the best and worst of his life. A terrible evil that they discover in the coves off the bay.
Problem is Wilder is starting to lose his mind. He is finding things in the cabin, things that shouldn't be there and a woman who keeps calling out to him for help. Who's writing the chapters he keeps finding upon waking?
Was coming back a mistake? Will it be the last thing he ever does?
This book was so weird. You know that feeling you get where you can't trust what you are reading? I had this all the way through and when it finally got to the crux, I still felt that feeling. It's one heck of a complex book and the journey was stepping into a building that is so dark you cannot see a thing and not know which way is what!
The character development was the saving grace for me. Each character story wove itself back onto each other and it was so intricate but it worked for me. I have never read such a mindF of a book before. I don't know how I feel even now and I finished it a couple of days ago. I turned to my husband and said, what just happened! I even gave him the cliffnotes and he was like OMG!
I did really love the idea of the storyline but I was a little confused in places which I know was the point but it was hard to wrap my head around. I am not going to lie, I need more books like this. The kind of books that takes all the rules and throws them out the window. I'm sure others will hate it. It is not the kind of read that you can leisurely read, this is far from a beach read but if you like those complicated storylines that are beautifully written by an author with a gift for the unusual.... Grab this book right now.
Trying to rate it was a nightmare. This book had me second guessing myself!
4 stars. I couldn't read books like this all the time but it was worth the read for me.
Thank you @netgalley and @torbooks for my gifted copy!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward is a mind-bending and cleverly crafted tale that follows Wilder Harlow, who begins writing his final book in a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast. The story revolves around his childhood summer companions and the killer that haunted their small New England town. Wilder's memoir is later stolen by his onetime best friend, Sky, who turns it into a sensational bestselling novel called Looking Glass Sound.
Wilder's memories and fiction begin to blend together, causing his grip on reality to waver. This uncertainty intensifies when he stumbles upon hidden notes in the cottage, written in Sky's distinct green ink. Catriona Ward adeptly delves into the protagonist's battle to confront the haunting memories of his past before it becomes too late.
I gotta say, Catriona Ward's writing is on another level. The pace is just right, and the entire atmosphere she creates is just so nostalgic and atmospheric. The plot is jam-packed with secrets, twists, and mysteries that'll keep you hooked. And let's not forget about the characters - they're as captivating as they come.
But let me be honest with you, book lovers. This book had me scratching my head for most of the time. It's like a book within a book within another book... or something like that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved every single minute of it, but I still have no clue what the heck actually happened. It's a real head-scratcher, you know?
