This review is from another user but sums up my experience to a tee."I simply couldn't finish this book. I tried, I really did. I wanted to like it so much. I loved Domingue's first book, The Mercy of Thin Air, but this one did nothing for me. First of all, the writing style really put me off. The book is written in second person stream-of-consciousness point of view. It drove me absolutely mad. It was as though the narrator is telling the story to herself. "You did this, you did that". It was exhausting to read. Also, there are no quotation marks used for dialogue and the sentence and punctuation structure was often odd. It make the book difficult to follow. I only made it about 80 pages in, so maybe the story would've gotten better, but in what I read, very little happened. At the beginning of the book, I though there would be a love story between Aoife and Wyl but then she very quickly loses interest in him. She gets pregnant with his babies and seems to become repulsed by him and the idea of childbirth and marriage. At first, I was all for her wanting to stay unmarried and free and her fear of being tied down. I understood her desire to be rid of the babies she never wanted because she felt trapt. Then it just went on too long. After the twins are born she never seems to name them or have any interest in their well-being. The longer it went on, the more unlikeable Aiofe became. It's hard to care for a narrator that is more concerned with a village of people she has visited once than her own offspring. I finally decided to just give up. This may be the story for someone who will get past all those issues and love it, but it was not the books for me."From Haley It took a while to get used to the point of view. Although at the end you can kind of see how it's possible. This book was pretty good, although I felt that the language made it seem like the author was trying too hard to make it sound really prophetic. I thought it was sort of odd. It tracked this woman's life really from start to finish and it explores the entire journey as Aoife reflects on how she's lived her life. It also asks a lot of questions about violence and peace and responsibility and corruption and grief. An love.
Do You like book The Mapmaker's War (2013)?
First novel I read on a Kindle. Can't decide how I feel about writing in the second person.
—Beth
A moving tale Beautifully written, both utopian and dystopian at once.
—xubeeaa
Powerful work. A stunning narrative of loss, hope, and perseverance.
—TayTay411
Magical. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy.
—dadi
Very slow at some parts but overall a very enjoyable read
—xakie
