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A review by vivaldi
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
3.5
I'm a junkie for books that focus on storytelling and books with layered narratives tend to provide plenty of opportunities to allow the storytelling aspect to shine. Having enjoyed several novels with layered subplots, A.J. Hackwith's The Library of the Unwritten is definitely one of the titles that I wanted to pick up reading.
I think The Library of the Unwritten is an adventurous & intricate story about storytelling and musings. Bestowed with detailed worldbuilding that intrigued me and poetic prose that managed to convey the hard to express processes of how stories form, I overall had quite an immersive experience reading this! It feels like the mythical creatures and the different storylines come into life while I was reading it. And thanks to the eloquent prose, the writing certainly gave me plenty of food for thoughts.
One thing that I've noticed in books focusing on storytelling is that it tend to enhance character arcs. The storytelling aspect in The Library of the Unwritten is no exception. Through this journey of musings, supernatural adventures, and self-discovery I quite enjoyed Claire's character development as she interacted with the characters from the Unwritten Wing. Similarly, I also liked Claire's relationship with Brevity: on how they perceived each other and have slightly different thoughts on how stories form.
While I really enjoyed the writing itself, I personally wasn't completely sold into the execution of the multiple perspectives. While I think Claire, Brevity, and Leto's POV's connect quite well I felt a small degree of disconnect with Ramiel's and how his POV fits to the rest of the story. So while I have a lot of good things to say about the prose alone, Ramiel's POV mildly derailed my experience (hence the 3.5 stars).
Another big disclaimer about The Library of the Unwritten is that the writing is very dense, containing layered storytellling. It took me quite a few days to crunch through the entire novel & I tend to block out a good few hours each session to fully immerse in the story. This is by no means an easy read that one could easily skim through in a matter of an hour or 2. So this is something to be aware of if you're looking for a quick read or if layered narratives isn't your cup of tea.
A few shortcomings aside, A.J. Hackwith's The Library of the Unwritten is an intricate novel about storytelling that takes you through an adventurous and supernatural journey of self-discovery and how stories are created. It has the storytelling that reminds me of some of my fave books (e.g. The Starless Sea, Piranesi, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January) but it also has its own unique plot driven streak that stands out from the rest of the pack. If you enjoy layered narratives and books that excel at storytelling, definitely check out this book!
N.B. This book contains following content warnings: violence, blood mention, weapons, corpse, and death
(3.5 stars out of 5)
I think The Library of the Unwritten is an adventurous & intricate story about storytelling and musings. Bestowed with detailed worldbuilding that intrigued me and poetic prose that managed to convey the hard to express processes of how stories form, I overall had quite an immersive experience reading this! It feels like the mythical creatures and the different storylines come into life while I was reading it. And thanks to the eloquent prose, the writing certainly gave me plenty of food for thoughts.
One thing that I've noticed in books focusing on storytelling is that it tend to enhance character arcs. The storytelling aspect in The Library of the Unwritten is no exception. Through this journey of musings, supernatural adventures, and self-discovery I quite enjoyed Claire's character development as she interacted with the characters from the Unwritten Wing. Similarly, I also liked Claire's relationship with Brevity: on how they perceived each other and have slightly different thoughts on how stories form.
While I really enjoyed the writing itself, I personally wasn't completely sold into the execution of the multiple perspectives. While I think Claire, Brevity, and Leto's POV's connect quite well I felt a small degree of disconnect with Ramiel's and how his POV fits to the rest of the story. So while I have a lot of good things to say about the prose alone, Ramiel's POV mildly derailed my experience (hence the 3.5 stars).
Another big disclaimer about The Library of the Unwritten is that the writing is very dense, containing layered storytellling. It took me quite a few days to crunch through the entire novel & I tend to block out a good few hours each session to fully immerse in the story. This is by no means an easy read that one could easily skim through in a matter of an hour or 2. So this is something to be aware of if you're looking for a quick read or if layered narratives isn't your cup of tea.
A few shortcomings aside, A.J. Hackwith's The Library of the Unwritten is an intricate novel about storytelling that takes you through an adventurous and supernatural journey of self-discovery and how stories are created. It has the storytelling that reminds me of some of my fave books (e.g. The Starless Sea, Piranesi, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January) but it also has its own unique plot driven streak that stands out from the rest of the pack. If you enjoy layered narratives and books that excel at storytelling, definitely check out this book!
N.B. This book contains following content warnings: violence, blood mention, weapons, corpse, and death
(3.5 stars out of 5)