Nine Muses

I went into this book knowing that others had said it was a somewhat dark combination of Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia.  I had no idea what I was in for.

When I finished the book last night, I set it down, walked out to my husband and said that I hated it.  I then went on to explain that I didn’t really mean that, that it was an excellent book, and that I loved it, but that it was also very dark and sometimes difficult.

If you’re looking for typical heroic fantasy, where the protagonist rises above his faults to win the day and save the world… this is not that book.  Yes, there are elements of that, and if I felt like playing devil’s advocate, I could probably make a convincing argument for it based on some few bits, but that isn’t what the book is about.

(Minor spoilers below.)

The book is about one very human, very fallible, sometimes selfish and stupid teen’s journey.  I hesitate to even say it’s a journey to adulthood, because I don’t think, even at the end, that he really gets it.  He may be the type of person who never will understand that searching for happiness outside yourself rarely works.  His girlfriend certainly accused him of that, and I think she was spot on.  Instead, he just sort of shuts everything out, then goes along with the flow, never really growing past a certain selfish (and very human) point.

You’d think that would make for a terrible book, but it doesn’t.  Quentin is so real and it it so easy to empathize with him.  What would happen to you if you learned that magic was real?  That other worlds were real — especially the worlds you read about and loved as a child?  I think that Grossman’s take on this what-if is particularly realistic.  I love that it feels as if he got it so very right, while part of me is also lamenting that fact and wishing for the light and hope that’s usually prevalent in fantasy.

Regarding the more concrete elements of writing style, I felt like the book moved slow at times, almost dwelling in elements of character development more than events.  It felt as if there wasn’t really a goal to strive for or a climax that was being built toward until the last quarter of the book.  Where this might usually irritate me, it seemed to work well for these characters and this story.  It may sound like a criticism, but it is more a compliment.  Grossman took a pacing that I usually don’t care for and not only made it work, but made it work excellently.  I felt more in the characters’ skins than I have with many books, and I’d guess this choice in pacing and focus has much to do with it.

I also felt like there were threads that were inadequately explored (or mentioned too much, lending them an importance early on they shouldn’t have truly had.)  Quentin’s relationship with his high school friends seemed a strong focus early on, but it sort of just fades away early on in the book, and is only picked up briefly (and not to a satisfactory resolution, though to an adequate one) later on.  That may be the point, really.  After all, that is often what happens when teens go off to different colleges.  Explaining it may not be necessary.

Overall, the writing is excellent.  It carried me along, if not exactly happily, and I had a difficult time putting it down until I was finished.

The book is often dark and depressing.  I’ve heard others call it “gritty” and I imagine that’s accurate too.  It is also excellent and beautiful and real, and I adored it when it wasn’t making me cry.  I would easily recommend it to anyone well-versed in the variants of fantasy literature as I think those will be the people who get it most, and on who it has the biggest impact.