Palimpsest
Oct. 31st, 2010 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vr_trakowskiI recently finished Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest, having seen it recced around the Internet and finding the concept pretty intriguing. And I have to admit, it's the kind of book I wish I could write--parts of it, anyway. The language is amazing; it reminds me a bit of Moonwise, though not in the same style at all.
It is rich and strange, the kind of fantasy that one would love to stumble into--but only under certain circumstances. The map idea is fantastic (I don't want to give it away) and the method of getting there clever. It's a dream world in more ways than one, and holds out the tantalizing promise of making it real, in the way we wish we could after the best dreams but that never happens. If you've ever felt the object of your desire melt from your grip as you woke, you will understand.
I want to be more enthusiastic about this book, and I'm not sure why I'm so ambivalent. Perhaps it would have worked better if I'd read it in one or two sessions instead of in bits and pieces on the bus. It seemed a bit too secretive to me, too drawn out before the reveals. And a little too harsh to its characters, though that may be just my personal preference.
Not a book for everyone, but worth a look if you like a good fantasy.
It is rich and strange, the kind of fantasy that one would love to stumble into--but only under certain circumstances. The map idea is fantastic (I don't want to give it away) and the method of getting there clever. It's a dream world in more ways than one, and holds out the tantalizing promise of making it real, in the way we wish we could after the best dreams but that never happens. If you've ever felt the object of your desire melt from your grip as you woke, you will understand.
I want to be more enthusiastic about this book, and I'm not sure why I'm so ambivalent. Perhaps it would have worked better if I'd read it in one or two sessions instead of in bits and pieces on the bus. It seemed a bit too secretive to me, too drawn out before the reveals. And a little too harsh to its characters, though that may be just my personal preference.
Not a book for everyone, but worth a look if you like a good fantasy.