The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: A Review

This book felt like a magician revealing his tricks.  Interesting for sure, but also, afterward, the magic is gone.  It was like Morgenstern had an idea for a story and then rather than write it, she turned it inside out and cut it into pieces.  And even though the pieces still fit together, there are chasms where it was cut.  I could see, even feel the lines in it, constantly reminding me that I was listening to a story.  I couldn’t be a part of it. I couldn’t get lost in it. And worse I could see the strings, the muscle of it, and that made it kind of a drag.  I did enjoy the narration and was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of Bahni Turpin. Her chapters were the most interesting as Katrina Hawkins was my favorite character. Not just because of the narration, I love the epistolary format.  It was in those chapters I was the most connected to the novel.   I can see why this book was so heavily recommended, but it wasn’t for me.  I have a weird hang-up for books/movies/TV Shows where the framing device takes over the story and becomes its own character, if you like that sort of thing, you might love this.

I listened to the audio version read by Dominic Hoffman, Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, Fiona Hardingham, Allan Corduner, and Jorjeana Marie and published by Books on Tape. Imprint by Random House Audio.