Erin Morgenstern's second novel is set to publish this month...

[lebateleur]

...and Lindsay Faye, reviewing it in the NYT, really did not care for it.

This puts me in an interesting quandary because I a) really like Lindsay Faye's books, and b) did not enjoy The Night Circus.

In fact, much of Faye's critique of Morgenstern's new offering describes my feelings about The Night Circus: "strangely devoid of tension," "it abandons people in favor of theme," the protagonists are "the star of the story only because they are fated to be, not because we grow to know and love them," "every relationship is unearned or uncomplicated," the book suffers from a "lack of distinct character voice" which makes it "difficult to care." "It flounders as a novel [but] as an ode to an aesthetic, however, it is marvelous."

So have the weaknesses of Morgenstern's style become more apparent without the excitement that accompanied her debut novel? Or did Faye like the elements from Night Circus that I disliked, meaning I might enjoy The Starless Sea more? It will be interesting to find out...



In other news, I have cast my lot with a limited set of Yuletide offers and requests. Now on to write my author letter.

これで以上です。

Comments

[rachelmanija]

I DNF'd The Night Circus out of boredom. I 100% agree that her critique of the new book was the exact reason why I didn't like it. Fantastic aesthetic, nice prose, incredibly boring story and characters.

[lebateleur]

Good to know I'm not the only one who felt similarly. Judging from what I've seen, I think we're in the minority on this.

[ginger_rude]

You know, I was one of few people in my book club who was less than 100% overjoyed by The Night Circus. I do love it for the world building and the sensuality. And, thin as the plot was, I think it would have been enough for me, even though you got the gist of where it was headed: there was no reason why it -couldn't- have been much more...investment-worthy.

But, yes, the characters are pretty flat. They're more like sketches of people than people. I thought.

I was looking forward to reading this one, that said.

[lebateleur]

They're more like sketches of people than people.
Yes, I think that hits the nail on the head. Sketches of people would have worked fine in a sensually atmospheric short story, but they weren't strong enough to carry the novel in which Morgenstern tried to wrap them.

I'm hoping, though, that she's improved with Starless Sea, either by fleshing out her characters or by writing a story that's less dependent on a standard narrative framework to succeed. I picked up a copy yesterday, so I'll know more in a day or so.