Review by weirdTangent
May 30, 2021I fully intend to finish (edit: I just now have and boosted my final opinion from 3 to 4 stars), but I'm learning that magical realism is not for me. One reason I so enjoyed _The Expanse_ series or _The Martian_ was that everything was explained, to a point, and believable, at least on the surface. In fact, something like Harry Potter or the Marvel comics at least have rules and explanations for the "magic" (and the physics) in their worlds. Magical realism, however, gives magical abilities away with zero explanation or rule or even (to me) reason. I imagine that most often, a magical event or ability is symbolic of something important and I simply lack the knowledge to piece it all together. I won't get into any spoilers providing any examples from this book, but just say that this isn't for me. It's probably my logical, programmer's brain that is causing me all the trouble.
Halfway through the book, it reminds me of _1,001 Arabian Nights_, with the numerous stories, sometimes veering off into side stories, each one including a little magic thrown in here and there. It also reminds me of the book _Big Fish_ by Daniel Wallace (or, the movie, at least) with each story as unbelievable as the last. However something about those books kept me entertained, while this one just leaves me wondering how much I'm not understanding. Again, that's my own fault and no fault of the book or author. It's clearly loved by many and remains quite readable, even if I stay a little lost the entire time.
I fully intend to finish (edit: I just now have and boosted my final opinion from 3 to 4 stars), but I'm learning that magical realism is not for me. One reason I so enjoyed _The Expanse_ series or _The Martian_ was that everything was explained, to a point, and believable, at least on the surface. In fact, something like Harry Potter or the Marvel comics at least have rules and explanations for the "magic" (and the physics) in their worlds. Magical realism, however, gives magical abilities away with zero explanation or rule or even (to me) reason. I imagine that most often, a magical event or ability is symbolic of something important and I simply lack the knowledge to piece it all together. I won't get into any spoilers providing any examples from this book, but just say that this isn't for me. It's probably my logical, programmer's brain that is causing me all the trouble.
Halfway through the book, it reminds me of _1,001 Arabian Nights_, with the numerous stories, sometimes veering off into side stories, each one including a little magic thrown in here and there. It also reminds me of the book _Big Fish_ by Daniel Wallace (or, the movie, at least) with each story as unbelievable as the last. However something about those books kept me entertained, while this one just leaves me wondering how much I'm not understanding. Again, that's my own fault and no fault of the book or author. It's clearly loved by many and remains quite readable, even if I stay a little lost the entire time.
