The Starless Sea book review

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Published by Doubleday Books on November 5, 2019
Pages: 498
Goodreads

Far beneath the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there is a labyrinthine collection of tunnels and rooms filled with stories. The entryways that lead to this sanctuary are often hidden, sometimes on forest floors, sometimes in private homes, sometimes in plain sight. But those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place. When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is.
A bee, a key, and a sword emblazoned on the book lead Zachary to two people who will change the course of his life: Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired painter, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances. These strangers guide Zachary through masquerade party dances and whispered back room stories to the headquarters of a secret society where doorknobs hang from ribbons, and finally through a door conjured from paint to the place he has always yearned for. Amid twisting tunnels filled with books, gilded ballrooms, and wine-dark shores Zachary falls into an intoxicating world soaked in romance and mystery. But a battle is raging over the fate of this place and though there are those who would willingly sacrifice everything to protect it, there are just as many intent on its destruction. As Zachary, Mirabel, and Dorian venture deeper into the space and its histories and myths, searching for answers and each other, a timeless love story unspools, casting a spell of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a Starless Sea.

I don’t think I have managed to get my feelings for The Starless Sea in order yet, I think this might be my least favourite but also a favourite read of the year. Don’t ask me what happened in this book, because boy did it get complicated and I’m still not sure what the ending was and what the heck happened. But this book felt like a warm blanket, the story drew me in and I fell in love with the world and the magic, I wanted to know more. I wanted to live in the world with Zachary and Dorian, I loved the different elements of the story and how they were all entwining events.

I think there is such a diverse range of characters in The Starless Sea that trying to collate my thoughts about each of them into coherent thought is proving to be a lot harder than I originally thought it would be. There is the obvious, Zachary and Dorian, and they were the pillars of the story. I will say I thought their friendship was a little underdeveloped and stunted in places. I really wanted there to be more of a connection other than the obvious. I think that’s my problem with the majority of books because these people become friends for life but have literally nothing in common other than circumstance. I’m also just not sure about the other relationships in this story, they all just seemed a little out of place and I’m not sure whether it was my understanding of the book or whatnot that was out of whack but I just felt like they were a secondary line and it annoyed me a little. So the characters weren’t my favourite thing about this book.

The best bit of The Starless Sea was definitely how immersive this book really was. I cannot believe how involved I felt within the world and how vivid the imagery was throughout this book was. The writing and the world-building although a little sporadic at times was absolutely phenomenal and beautifully done. I have now added the Harbour to one of the places I would love to visit. I cannot begin to explain how this book made me feel, it was like a cup of tea and I just sigh thinking about the world and the people. I think this would be a book that would benefit from a reread because there is just too much going on for just the one read. Definitely a new favourite.

Apart from the characters being a little off I think the other worst bit of The Starless Sea for me would definitely be how disjointed some of the story feels and how out there some of the bits are. I love the world but I feel like sometimes it felt as though there were moments where Morgenstern realised she hadn’t explained something and there was a cursory but lacking description. I also think that this was an issue with some of the story elements, but I think that might be resolved with a reread.

I would definitely recommend The Starless Sea, it is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I will be very surprised if I haven’t reread it by the end of the year. So keep an eye out for an updated review. I still can’t believe how this book made me feel in parts, I can feel it now just thinking about it. Weird sensation.

This is definitely a firm favourite and I think that Erin Morgenstern will be an auto-buy author from now on. What are your thoughts about this book? Let me know in the comments.