The Starless Sea
By: Erin Morgenstern
Is time a construct of mankind or has it always been there--before the invention of clocks, sundials or telling time by the shadows of trees?
What about stories? Are they an invention of mankind or have they always been buzzing around the stars, galaxies and on alternate and parallel planes?
Eight years accumulated between debut and second novel, but after reading The Starless Sea, it’s clear to see why it took so long to write. And yes, it was definitely worth the wait.
Her first novel, The Night Circus, was written during two NANO’s, and because that book was so fantastic, she is absolved from writing it in two vs one NANOWRIMO. (IMHO) ;)
The Starless Sea encompasses something so vital to humankind--stories and time--and weaves them in a deftly unique way, that is ultimately so Erin Morgenstern, it’s hard to find anyone else who’s voice is, at times wandering like a tiny stream, or forceful as a tsunami.
Honestly, I am really struggling to write a review of this book because it would be a disservice to give any spoilers away. I will tell you that I decimated several packs of highlighters reading this book. Highlighting rare and exceptional character traits, clues or potential clues that might lead to something later on in the story (because some of the story is part mystery without even realizing it) or wonderfully written lines. And of course, pages and pages of passages of emotions that I resonated with. The one spoiler I will give though, is that if you have read the Night Circus, there are a few Easter Eggs planted throughout the book, but The Starless Sea is a stand alone novel.
One of my favorite things about this story is that time is not just a humankind thing. It’s always been here.
Present. No beginning, no end. It just IS. And as much as I love ambiguity, sometimes, that’s a hard concept to wrap my brain around. But she weaves time and tale together so well, you feel like you can just grasp the meaning. But it keeps you reaching, or so I feel, not necessarily on purpose to be mean, and it’s not necessarily confusing, just a way to keep you stretching, and going and growing. Ultimately, it’s not that time is complicated (though at times it can be) it’s more that time is elusive, something hidden around the next corner. Something we can glimpse, but likes to play tag with us.
Fate is also a main player in this adventure. This book will have you questioning whether fate is also something created by humans or, like time, has it always been there? And do Fate and Time ever cross paths?
Are Time and Fate immortal?
In this book, there are definitely a couple of things that make this story relevant to the theme of time in the physical being. On Page 198, one of the characters has a handkerchief with clocks printed on it. On the same page, we learn the same character has a single bullet, antique one and done gun. And to me, antique is definitely a word pointing to time, because it’s in the past. (At least on this plane, in this dimension.)
What I also find interesting about this novel is that the author gives literary shout outs to a ton of other books, classic and modern. Some of the references I picked up on, besides her previous book The Night Circus were Harry Potter, The Alchemist, The Picture of Dorian Gray and the ever famous idea of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet star crossed lovers.
There is a wonderful interview with her on GoodReads,(https://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/1470.Erin_Morgenstern) but I didn’t read it until after I read the book as I felt some of the questions would give away spoilers as I skimmed through the questions. The interview was published in October 2019, a month before the release of The Starless Sea in November 2019.
Despite the fact that I feel the story could have ended one page sooner than it did, Erin Morgenstern has not only written a beautiful tale about Time and Fate, but about stories, and how those stories are not only held in our hearts, but lived as well. She definitely has me looking at my own writing in a different light with this story, which ultimately boils down to two of the most important lessons I learned while reading this book where we always have a choice in living/making our own stories. We can open a door or not. We can drink a cup of tea in front of us or not. We can be curious enough to follow a lead or just choose to pass it over and move on to the next book to read--to stay where we are comfortable. Secondly, on page 471 of the book, the basic question, What happens now actually is turned on its side with the idea of What happens next?
What would you do if you stumbled upon a strange door or a key?
And what happens next?
Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars.
PS: I just adore the cover of this book.
By: Erin Morgenstern
Is time a construct of mankind or has it always been there--before the invention of clocks, sundials or telling time by the shadows of trees?
What about stories? Are they an invention of mankind or have they always been buzzing around the stars, galaxies and on alternate and parallel planes?
Eight years accumulated between debut and second novel, but after reading The Starless Sea, it’s clear to see why it took so long to write. And yes, it was definitely worth the wait.
Her first novel, The Night Circus, was written during two NANO’s, and because that book was so fantastic, she is absolved from writing it in two vs one NANOWRIMO. (IMHO) ;)
The Starless Sea encompasses something so vital to humankind--stories and time--and weaves them in a deftly unique way, that is ultimately so Erin Morgenstern, it’s hard to find anyone else who’s voice is, at times wandering like a tiny stream, or forceful as a tsunami.
Honestly, I am really struggling to write a review of this book because it would be a disservice to give any spoilers away. I will tell you that I decimated several packs of highlighters reading this book. Highlighting rare and exceptional character traits, clues or potential clues that might lead to something later on in the story (because some of the story is part mystery without even realizing it) or wonderfully written lines. And of course, pages and pages of passages of emotions that I resonated with. The one spoiler I will give though, is that if you have read the Night Circus, there are a few Easter Eggs planted throughout the book, but The Starless Sea is a stand alone novel.
One of my favorite things about this story is that time is not just a humankind thing. It’s always been here.
Present. No beginning, no end. It just IS. And as much as I love ambiguity, sometimes, that’s a hard concept to wrap my brain around. But she weaves time and tale together so well, you feel like you can just grasp the meaning. But it keeps you reaching, or so I feel, not necessarily on purpose to be mean, and it’s not necessarily confusing, just a way to keep you stretching, and going and growing. Ultimately, it’s not that time is complicated (though at times it can be) it’s more that time is elusive, something hidden around the next corner. Something we can glimpse, but likes to play tag with us.
Fate is also a main player in this adventure. This book will have you questioning whether fate is also something created by humans or, like time, has it always been there? And do Fate and Time ever cross paths?
Are Time and Fate immortal?
In this book, there are definitely a couple of things that make this story relevant to the theme of time in the physical being. On Page 198, one of the characters has a handkerchief with clocks printed on it. On the same page, we learn the same character has a single bullet, antique one and done gun. And to me, antique is definitely a word pointing to time, because it’s in the past. (At least on this plane, in this dimension.)
What I also find interesting about this novel is that the author gives literary shout outs to a ton of other books, classic and modern. Some of the references I picked up on, besides her previous book The Night Circus were Harry Potter, The Alchemist, The Picture of Dorian Gray and the ever famous idea of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet star crossed lovers.
There is a wonderful interview with her on GoodReads,(https://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/1470.Erin_Morgenstern) but I didn’t read it until after I read the book as I felt some of the questions would give away spoilers as I skimmed through the questions. The interview was published in October 2019, a month before the release of The Starless Sea in November 2019.
Despite the fact that I feel the story could have ended one page sooner than it did, Erin Morgenstern has not only written a beautiful tale about Time and Fate, but about stories, and how those stories are not only held in our hearts, but lived as well. She definitely has me looking at my own writing in a different light with this story, which ultimately boils down to two of the most important lessons I learned while reading this book where we always have a choice in living/making our own stories. We can open a door or not. We can drink a cup of tea in front of us or not. We can be curious enough to follow a lead or just choose to pass it over and move on to the next book to read--to stay where we are comfortable. Secondly, on page 471 of the book, the basic question, What happens now actually is turned on its side with the idea of What happens next?
What would you do if you stumbled upon a strange door or a key?
And what happens next?
Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars.
PS: I just adore the cover of this book.
Hi all! Before I get into today's book review, I know it's been awhile since I've posted one, but I wanted to let you know that sometimes, I may not always get the right method of citing a book or page numbers. I may Italicize when it should be in quotation marks, or bold or underlined. Please don't lynch me, but help me or guide me to the right places I can learn proper citing techniques that aren't overwhelming. Citing was always the worst part of any term paper for me in High School or College. Thank you for your understanding.
The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho
My own words may have been lacking lately, but I have certainly been reading some marvelous ones by others. And for that, I am grateful.
Our book club theme for February was leaders/leadership. I have to admit, I really hated this theme and it took me forever to pick a book...and stick with it!
At first I started reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad as it came as highly recommended months and months ago and I hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet, and it came to be recommended by the same person as dealing with the aforementioned theme.
First of all, I have yet to finish that book, and I want to, but my copy of the book had 34 freaking pages of introduction. 34! Is it really necessary to have that many pages of introduction? By the time I got through all that, I could only read five to seven pages every time I tried to read and I felt like I was going nowhere fast.
I hate when I feel like I’m spinning my wheels on books. So, one day, when I was taking some me time and found myself at the bookstore (surprise, surprise) I figured I would see if I could find anything on Mother Teresa as she is, for the lack of better wording, my hero, and the person I strive to be like. Though, I’m a long way off from that.
I actually didn’t want to spend any money (Hahaha!) but I had a book find me that day. And I love when that happens because I know it’s meant to be. The book that jumped to me was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Right from the beginning, the narrator, talking about The Boy (we never get his real name) shows us just how much of a leader the boy is.
The boy is a shepherd.
And before I go any further, yes, there are a lot of Biblical parallels and references, in the book, but it also references Allah, and the Universe, so that just about every religion is covered in the story, and later on in the story, we find the boy crosses a desert and the leader of the caravan tells them to pray to whichever God they worship as they head into the dangerous desert. I really liked that part.
But what is a shepherd other than a leader? On page five, the second paragraph, “He decided to spend the night there. He saw to it that all the sheep entered through the ruined gate, (the boy was staying in an abandoned church) (parenthesis added by me) and then laid some planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering away during the night. There were no wolves in the region, but once an animal had strayed during the night, and the boy had had to spend the entire next day searching for it.”
The boy often talks about all his flock ever needing/wanting is food and water, but yet he takes the time to search for them if one goes missing or wanders away. This shows me that he is a good leader. A leader tends to their flock--whether it be actual sheep, employees of a company, or a body of people being governed by someone like a mayor or higher--they lead and help their people instead of just telling them what to do and how it’s done. There are a lot of people/places out there that demand things be done in only such a way, and leave no room for other ideas or caring to take the time to listen to what the people need/want. On page seven, we even learn from the boy that he learns more from his sheep than he ever has from reading the books he reads.
This story is more than just about leading sheep/people though. It’s about leading oneself to their true destiny/true treasure. It tells a tale of how so many people give up and stop listening to their heart before they realize, as the narrator calls it, their Personal Legend.
This book is actually very difficult to put into words for even a half decent review because there is so much packed into such a few short pages. For me, this book is so much about leadership and listening to people and yourself, that it’s hard to pick just one passage to point out that gives it such a definitive, yes this is a book about leadership. I think this book has so much to offer, that everyone is going to find their own special meaning of leadership in this tale.
Wholeheartedly, I give this book five stars.
The Rabbit Princess: The Path
By R. Chen
Hands down, I just finished reading the most beautiful book I have ever read. And that’s a tall order as I’ve read a great many beautiful and beautifully written books. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. But just like life, we add things and rearrange things...and instead of saying things, I’d much rather say add and rearrange experiences.
The Rabbit Princess is exactly that. It’s an experience. I was right there with Annie, Pika and Osani, the three characters the whole time, battling my wits and ways out of the trouble that didn’t necessarily follow them around, but trouble that they caused.
Annie and Pika, (sister and brother) are so stubborn, pretentious and often downright mean, they don’t seem to recognize their own cruelty and selfishness. They are nothing but a disappointment to everyone, but themselves.
How can anyone live with themselves being so narcissistic? So oblivious? Yet, they do.
Until…
The Sister and Brother unknowingly put into motion a rebellion against their father, and as such as a kingdom. Though their father and a guardsman try to save them, Annie is so hell bent on the fact that it’s just a farce, that no one would dare hurt them, or she’ll kill them all if her father doesn’t, get captured and instead of being killed, they have a curse put on them.
At this point, it might sound like the ordinary, run of the mill story or a skit from a Monty Python movie. (50 bonus points to the person who gets the reference: hint: the points are useless and mean nothing!) Sorry, had to have a bit of fun there.
I truly did fall in love with this book from the beginning. The writing has this cadence about it that truly dances. Small movements, long movements. There is a good balance between being told and letting the reader see the story unfold in their heads. We stick with one narrator, but occasionally, we’ll get an omniscient perspective, even though we only have one narrator, but we just have to have faith that the narrator knows what they are talking about, because they can see it. And, at least, in this book, we don’t have long-winded pages and chapters of random narrators dropping down for exposition.
What I really enjoyed about this book, isn’t just the fact that the author follows the three main characters and their opinions. To them, their opinions are facts. But as the characters, in their selfish nature, try to break the curse, learn that there is more than one side to the coin. There aren't even two sides. There is that third little rim along the outside of the coin. And the author achieves a great balance to show that in everyone’s mind, their cause is the right cause and the best cause.
But, which way is the right way? Which one is the best cause?
I don’t want to give too many spoilers away, because what fun would it be then? But every character in every book/story has a turning point event that changes them or best reveals their character. Some characters, that happens early on. Some, take a little longer to come into their full potential. But, I will say, I really liked watching Annie bloom at a time when after all the hope she carried, she believed that she too would lose hope. What then?
Like every good story, there is not only a protagonist, but an antagonist. In this story, I think what motivates the antagonist is power, power and more power. And I personally, think it’s safe to say that Annie meets her match in the antagonist. Both physically, emotionally, and metaphorically.
I could rave about this book for hours, and I could go into so much detail about metaphors and symbols, but I really don’t want to give too much away. I just want to give you enough of a tease to pique your curiosity about this book. Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and read it in four days. This will be one of those books I recommend for a long time. That being said, I would rate this book a 4.5 stars out of 5.
By R. Chen
Hands down, I just finished reading the most beautiful book I have ever read. And that’s a tall order as I’ve read a great many beautiful and beautifully written books. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. But just like life, we add things and rearrange things...and instead of saying things, I’d much rather say add and rearrange experiences.
The Rabbit Princess is exactly that. It’s an experience. I was right there with Annie, Pika and Osani, the three characters the whole time, battling my wits and ways out of the trouble that didn’t necessarily follow them around, but trouble that they caused.
Annie and Pika, (sister and brother) are so stubborn, pretentious and often downright mean, they don’t seem to recognize their own cruelty and selfishness. They are nothing but a disappointment to everyone, but themselves.
How can anyone live with themselves being so narcissistic? So oblivious? Yet, they do.
Until…
The Sister and Brother unknowingly put into motion a rebellion against their father, and as such as a kingdom. Though their father and a guardsman try to save them, Annie is so hell bent on the fact that it’s just a farce, that no one would dare hurt them, or she’ll kill them all if her father doesn’t, get captured and instead of being killed, they have a curse put on them.
At this point, it might sound like the ordinary, run of the mill story or a skit from a Monty Python movie. (50 bonus points to the person who gets the reference: hint: the points are useless and mean nothing!) Sorry, had to have a bit of fun there.
I truly did fall in love with this book from the beginning. The writing has this cadence about it that truly dances. Small movements, long movements. There is a good balance between being told and letting the reader see the story unfold in their heads. We stick with one narrator, but occasionally, we’ll get an omniscient perspective, even though we only have one narrator, but we just have to have faith that the narrator knows what they are talking about, because they can see it. And, at least, in this book, we don’t have long-winded pages and chapters of random narrators dropping down for exposition.
What I really enjoyed about this book, isn’t just the fact that the author follows the three main characters and their opinions. To them, their opinions are facts. But as the characters, in their selfish nature, try to break the curse, learn that there is more than one side to the coin. There aren't even two sides. There is that third little rim along the outside of the coin. And the author achieves a great balance to show that in everyone’s mind, their cause is the right cause and the best cause.
But, which way is the right way? Which one is the best cause?
I don’t want to give too many spoilers away, because what fun would it be then? But every character in every book/story has a turning point event that changes them or best reveals their character. Some characters, that happens early on. Some, take a little longer to come into their full potential. But, I will say, I really liked watching Annie bloom at a time when after all the hope she carried, she believed that she too would lose hope. What then?
Like every good story, there is not only a protagonist, but an antagonist. In this story, I think what motivates the antagonist is power, power and more power. And I personally, think it’s safe to say that Annie meets her match in the antagonist. Both physically, emotionally, and metaphorically.
I could rave about this book for hours, and I could go into so much detail about metaphors and symbols, but I really don’t want to give too much away. I just want to give you enough of a tease to pique your curiosity about this book. Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and read it in four days. This will be one of those books I recommend for a long time. That being said, I would rate this book a 4.5 stars out of 5.
Watership Down
By Richard Adams (1920-2016)
Review by Tarren Young
Where to begin with this book? I hated this book. I mean, I really detested this book. But something had called me to it for several months, before buying it in December 2019. Everywhere I went in the first several weeks of December, I would have strangers come up to me and say how much they loved this book as a kid.
Okay, great.
But...not great! After about sixty pages, I was beginning to think I wouldn’t make it through the book. The pacing, for me, began to dwindle, and I’m a naturally slow reader to begin with.
Holidays came and went. I received several books for Christmas and really wanted to read them, but I wanted to have actually read and finished a book for book club, finally coming out of a depression, a sinus infection and thyroid flare up.
So I kept plugging away. Until about 280 pages in and desperately wanted to throw the damn book across the room. I was so done with it.
Overall, I understand the book was published in the early 1970’s and the writing style was/is different, but, for me, I almost don’t know where to place the writing style. There are literary qualities about it, epic fantasy qualities,mystery qualities, and history and biology throughout. However, the way the author goes about this, is not something I particularly cared for.
Let’s take a look at the cons:
~No pun intended as the story is told from the perspective of rabbits, but I wanted to throw this book across the room several times due to the fact that the story often head hops between characters. Sometimes, there is no clear cut character that is talking or thinking. I am used to using italics for someone thinking, unless written in first person, and this uses quotation marks, often causing confusion to determine if one was thinking or talking.
~Large chunks of exposition. Sometimes, two to three pages of explanations either by the rabbit characters or the narrator just dropping down out of nowhere.
~This took me 380 some pages out of 474 pages to really get into it, and even then, I think I became more attached to the characters than the story. Nothing really came together for me until the last quarter of the book, part IV.
Some neutral qualities about the book:
~The rabbits speak a language called Lapine. There is a Lapine glossary at the end of the book. I found this both a nuisance to flip to the back until I learned most of the words, but at times helpful. Especially the times I was reading at night on my last leg before falling asleep and forgetting the words all together.
~One thing my writer’s group and book club have learned about me is that I never rate anything as perfect, as I always feel there is room for growth. Very rarely have I ever said anything was five stars or perfect. Yet, the ending of this book, the very last sentence, just drove home the whole book, the whole story for me. It filled me with so much hope after so much brutality and anger and wanting to rip the book apart and feed it through the shredder. At this point, I had become so attached to some of the characters that I couldn’t believe an ending could be so perfect.
~And then...an epilogue. I almost didn’t read the epilogue. I didn’t want the perfect ending to be ruined. As a general rule that I’ve read somewhere along my writing endeavors, writers like writing prologues, readers hate reading them. The same is generally true of epilogues. However, the epilogue truly became a perfect ending for this story, and I bawled.
Personally, I am not a one for reading on anything war related. I don’t understand war politics, battle tactics, etc. This book, without giving too many spoilers away, laid on some thick, heavy battle tactics that took me what felt forever to get through. Perhaps that is why I felt the story was slow, or didn’t jive with me well.
But I have answered a few questions to dig deeper into this book and hopefully help understand where and why I connected where I didn’t.
Overall, I would rate this book at a solid 3 stars. For me, as I said before, the redeeming quality of the book/story were the few characters I did connect with in the last 100 pages or so of the book.
By Richard Adams (1920-2016)
Review by Tarren Young
Where to begin with this book? I hated this book. I mean, I really detested this book. But something had called me to it for several months, before buying it in December 2019. Everywhere I went in the first several weeks of December, I would have strangers come up to me and say how much they loved this book as a kid.
Okay, great.
But...not great! After about sixty pages, I was beginning to think I wouldn’t make it through the book. The pacing, for me, began to dwindle, and I’m a naturally slow reader to begin with.
Holidays came and went. I received several books for Christmas and really wanted to read them, but I wanted to have actually read and finished a book for book club, finally coming out of a depression, a sinus infection and thyroid flare up.
So I kept plugging away. Until about 280 pages in and desperately wanted to throw the damn book across the room. I was so done with it.
Overall, I understand the book was published in the early 1970’s and the writing style was/is different, but, for me, I almost don’t know where to place the writing style. There are literary qualities about it, epic fantasy qualities,mystery qualities, and history and biology throughout. However, the way the author goes about this, is not something I particularly cared for.
Let’s take a look at the cons:
~No pun intended as the story is told from the perspective of rabbits, but I wanted to throw this book across the room several times due to the fact that the story often head hops between characters. Sometimes, there is no clear cut character that is talking or thinking. I am used to using italics for someone thinking, unless written in first person, and this uses quotation marks, often causing confusion to determine if one was thinking or talking.
~Large chunks of exposition. Sometimes, two to three pages of explanations either by the rabbit characters or the narrator just dropping down out of nowhere.
~This took me 380 some pages out of 474 pages to really get into it, and even then, I think I became more attached to the characters than the story. Nothing really came together for me until the last quarter of the book, part IV.
Some neutral qualities about the book:
~The rabbits speak a language called Lapine. There is a Lapine glossary at the end of the book. I found this both a nuisance to flip to the back until I learned most of the words, but at times helpful. Especially the times I was reading at night on my last leg before falling asleep and forgetting the words all together.
~One thing my writer’s group and book club have learned about me is that I never rate anything as perfect, as I always feel there is room for growth. Very rarely have I ever said anything was five stars or perfect. Yet, the ending of this book, the very last sentence, just drove home the whole book, the whole story for me. It filled me with so much hope after so much brutality and anger and wanting to rip the book apart and feed it through the shredder. At this point, I had become so attached to some of the characters that I couldn’t believe an ending could be so perfect.
~And then...an epilogue. I almost didn’t read the epilogue. I didn’t want the perfect ending to be ruined. As a general rule that I’ve read somewhere along my writing endeavors, writers like writing prologues, readers hate reading them. The same is generally true of epilogues. However, the epilogue truly became a perfect ending for this story, and I bawled.
Personally, I am not a one for reading on anything war related. I don’t understand war politics, battle tactics, etc. This book, without giving too many spoilers away, laid on some thick, heavy battle tactics that took me what felt forever to get through. Perhaps that is why I felt the story was slow, or didn’t jive with me well.
But I have answered a few questions to dig deeper into this book and hopefully help understand where and why I connected where I didn’t.
- What gives the main character their strength? Overall, there is not just one main character, which also leads to a ton of confusion on my part. But, I think what gives many of the main characters strength is admitting their fears, knowing things can go wrong, and nothing is perfect. It takes a great deal of strength and bravery to admit when you are scared.
- Did the book ask whether it’s right to follow your passions? Wow. This book touches on so many things...this book is a conglomeration of many things wrong in this world. Sometimes our passions have to be put aside to push forward to do what is right. Sometimes, doing what is right is the passion of a lot of people’s (or rabbits) hearts. Overall, I think the book does show that as long as it’s not for power or the abuse of power, and it doesn’t hurt anyone, but could help someone along the way, then following your passions is definitely a plus. But, the book also touches on how and what can go wrong if your passions take a wrong turn.
- As someone who adores symbolism, metaphors and foreshadowing, I would like to say in my humble opinion that the author does use metaphors and symbols. One of my favorite (spoiler alert) is the falling of yellow leaves, or dead leaves swirling in water. It’s elusive to the fact that everything changes in time, but also, how much do things really change, and how fast do they change? And just because a leaf falls and you don’t see it anymore, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist somewhere else…
- As both a writer and a reader, the question about the story being driven more by the plot or by the characters comes up frequently in discussions. This is a tough question. I would say at times, this book is both story and plot driven. But to go and pick out what parts in the book--I personally don’t know if it would be worth it again, as even though I did highlight, I didn’t Sticky Note every page. Sometimes, chapters within the parts of the book were plot driven, while others were character driven. But I would say that the last quarter of the book was definitely character driven. Personally, I feel that if the author had focused more on characters rather than large chunks of exposition, the book could have been condensed a bit more.
- Do you think you will ever re-read this book? 90% of that being a no.
Overall, I would rate this book at a solid 3 stars. For me, as I said before, the redeeming quality of the book/story were the few characters I did connect with in the last 100 pages or so of the book.