Wow, it feels strange to be through with this!

Early on I described this as a combination of Norwegian Wood and The Promised Neverland, and I still stand by that. Heading into this I was pleasantly surprised to find myself wrapped in a soft kind of dark academia atmosphere, and the reading experience was like watching a ball of yarn unravelling slowly but surely to give you more insight into what’s going on. The storytelling seemed impressively genuine, like there’s an actual person reliving their memories in fragments and taking certain truths for granted, and in this way telling you what was going on, but not really.

In addition to loving the narration style, I was very interested in the themes being explored, especially since I felt like I could relate some of the central principles and discussions to my background in biology. I also felt that the considerations of art and creative expression made an impression on me and will stay summing in my thoughts for a while.

I sensed some 5-star tingles at the beginning of the book, but I think what brought it down a notch was the fact that I never found myself truly feeling for the characters. I tried to, but there was always this distance which I was never able to close, although I did sympathize with the designed situation. Acknowledgning that this may have been an intentional move, I personally still prefer when a book is able to tug at my heartstrings.

Nevertheless, a solid read, and I’m happy for those who have yet to experience it for the first time:)