The Starless Sea

Is it possible to love a book even if you don’t understand most of it? I read The Starless Sea in pretty much a daze – loving the whimsical nature of the story, loving all the elements and the setting, although I just didn’t get the story at all.

About the Book

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his childhood.

Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth.

Zachary finds in this curious place more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it’s a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and tongues to preserve this archive and those intent on its destruction.

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

~ Synopsis from GoodReads

My Review

This is one of those extraordinary books that’s hard to review. There’s so much and so little happening in it all at once. I fell in love with the beginning of the book, the mystery, and the connection between Zachary and a book he checks out of the library – Sweet Sorrows. This then leads to one of the sweetest meet-cutes between romantic leads that I have ever seen in a genre that isn’t romance.

This then turns into a mad frolic through a strange land. This section of the book has less plot and more vibes, and normally, I would have DNF’ed a book like this. But The Starless Sea is the ultimate in cozy reads. I read it knowing nothing too terrible would happen, and that let me sink into the book’s cozy librarian vibe. Yes, this book is for bookworms who are into the bookish Insta aesthetic.

I loved the various short stories that populated the book. I’d love to do a deep read with a buddy where I can arrange all the stories in the proper order and make sense of them all timeline-wise.

I will say that this book isn’t for everyone. I loved it, but if you don’t like meandering books where nothing much seems to happen for ages. If you go in expecting a standard plot and pacing, you will be disappointed. You need to let yourself drift with the images and current of events, it’s a lovely experience. This is also a book that you have to slow read. It took me three weeks to finish it, just because I had to work harder to engage with it and feel vested.

I also have mixed feelings about the ending. There’s enough closure that I shouldn’t complain about it, but at the same time, I closed the book feeling dissatisfied with the ending.

To summarize my thoughts: Its quirks wore me out occasionally but overall I loved it.