"Built from fables, myths, and fairy tales, Morgenstern's long-awaited second fantastical novel (following The Night Circus) delves into a vast subterranean library, the Harbor on the Starless Sea, a giant, maze-like, subterranean library where all languages are comprehensible to everyone, and time moves differently. Its wonders include moving statues, edible stories, and a sea made of honey. Narrative-obsessed grad student Zachary Rawlins happens upon an old, authorless collection in the campus library. Among the tales of an improbable land of books and their devotees is an anecdote from Zachary's own childhood, a time when he found a magical door but chose to walk away, disbelieving. Desperate to understand and longing for a second chance at adventure, Zachary investigates and finds a literary party thrown by a secret society. He goes through a painted door in Central Park and into the Harbor itself, now long past its heyday and mostly deserted. Aboveground, the secret society is trying to close as many doors as possible, hoping to keep the Starless Sea hidden. Aided by otherworldly Mirabel, whose motives and history are obscure, and alluring Dorian, a former society member who opposes the closing of the doors, Zachary works to understand how the Harbor fell into disrepair and what he can do to protect it. He also learns what it means to be not just a reader but a part of the story, and what happens after that story ends." Summary from Publisher's Weekly because I absolutely could not figure out how to summarize this story in a way that made sense.
I have read and re-read The Night Circus several times, so I had looked forward to this book --- and absolutely was not disappointed. For the first time in a long time, I wound up reading slowly, taking in bits of the story at a time, instead of whipping my way through the story. This could have been partly because I had a pretty awful cold for a week and was sleeping more than I was reading. Beautifully written, this book reads like Morgenstern crafted it, instead of just writing it. Words are chosen with care to create beautiful, evocative descriptions and each chapter unfolds a little more of the story. So, it's reading a beautifully written book about stories, which seems tailored for those readers who love fables, fairy tales, magical realism and magic. This is a book I plan to buy so I can read it again and again.
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