A few years ago I read an entire book before realizing I had already read it. I looked back at my Goodreads read list and realized I had no memory of about half of the books on there. So I built a new habit – (almost) every time I finish a book, I word-vomit my thoughts and emotions into a note on my phone. Sometimes they’re brief, sometimes they’re long-longwinded, sometimes they just ramble…and now I’m putting them here. Please enjoy the madness.
SPOILERS AHEAD…
I don’t know if I fully understand this book (which mostly just means it was unusual). But it was incredible. And incredibly “readable” – I finished it in two days, which is rare for me. It had just the right amount of suspense and I didn’t see the twist coming. The imagery was beautiful and overall the book itself is bursting with creativity. I enjoyed the imaginative ways that Red and Blue exchanged letters. It was as if the messages themselves were not fully the point – the ways they found to deliver them were just as important, creating the entire experience of their exchanges with each other, showing their personalities and shared humors. The dynamic between Red and Blue was beautifully done and I really enjoyed the way the two writers pulled it off. Very unique.
Overall I would have liked a bit more world building but mostly because I am so curious about the questions it leaves unanswered. Then again, was that the point? And would lengthy explanation have dragged down the pace? I can definitely see how it would have detracted from the structure that put most of the focus on the actual letters between Red and Blue, in which any overt explanations about the world around them could have easily felt forced.
It felt almost like a short story even at nearly 200 pages. The reference to Romeo and Juliet was a little on the nose but I also liked it because of the implication that it ends differently in different realities – I feel like anytime you read R&J (or watch it play out on screen) there is some small part of you that wants it to change – and this kind of delivered satisfaction for that.
The references made throughout are so well-placed and clever and funny – “The Prophets” and their words of wisdom, the inevitability of Atlantis. I ended up loaning the book out to a friend who I knew would enjoy it but with the explicit intention that we have a conversation about it. That has me wanting to reread it too.