A review by purplesky02
Invisible City by Julia Dahl

2.0

There were things I liked about this book: the plot was interesting enough to keep reading, the look into the world of a sect of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn.

There were things I didn't like about this book: the main character's overuse of seemingly random vulgarities. I am not a prude and I myself have been known to use foul language, but it seemed out of place. Also, the oddly thrown in sex scenes which really add nothing to the plot and seem a bit random. The look into the world of Hasidim was not what I'd hoped for, as it seemed for the most part they were portrayed in a negative light. The author really overused the world "like" in the dialogue, which I found a bit annoying. I don't like when people use it a lot when speaking and reading a book where they all use it was grating. I felt that Rebekah got easily annoyed. She stops talking to the guy she's seeing because he Googles her and is interested in her life? What? I guess I didn't find her to be very likable. Also, she didn't follow up on things. When Miriam refers to Rivka using a Yiddish word, Rebekah notes that she should ask Saul what it means (or, you know, she could Google it?), she never does. Of course that would've led to the mystery being solved a little quicker, but she is a reporter and I thought she was supposed to be thorough.

SpoilerThe ending was so abrupt. It sort of came out of nowhere and was wrapped up so quickly. Also, I was hoping for more details about Rebeckah's mother. I can only guess with the way the book ended that there will be more books featuring these characters?


I would read more books by this author, as I am curious about the mother's back story. I found this to be a quick read and if I had the time, I could've probably finished this in a day.