Book Review: The Starless Sea

There is a tradition in fantasy which used to be quite common, but we rarely see in modern books. I don’t know if there is a name for this tradition, so I propose “The Metaphor Quest”. This includes classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Gulliver’s Travels, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and even The Dark Tower series (if you squint). Although they differ widely in theme and tone, they share this in common: a series of loosely connected, powerful scenes with strong allegorical or symbolic undertones. The overarching story is less important than the common picture painted by the individual scenes.

The Starless Sea is a modern twist on the Metaphor Quest, and a masterpiece, sure to be a classic if the world is just. Let’s talk about it.

The Basics:

Title: The Starless Sea
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fantasy, contemporary, literature
Published: Doubleday, 2019

Spoiler-Free Summary:

At the most basic level, The Starless Sea is a portal fantasy. It follows grad student Zachary Ezra Rawlins (never just ‘Zach’, always the full name, or ‘the son of the fortune teller’) as he dives into the mystery of an uncatalogued book with no author, donated to his university library by a mysterious charity which smacks more of secret society than philanthropy. A book written and donated long before he was born. A book featuring a particularly shocking story, because it is about his childhood.

The book leads him to a party, where he meets mysterious strangers who draw him into a hidden world outside of time: the library which is the harbor on the starless sea.

Interspersed with Zachary’s investigation into the history of this otherworldly archive (while dodging the rival clandestine society determined to keep these secrets locked away), we read exceprts from other collections of myth and legend. To what degree are they empirically true? To what degree are they metaphors? How do they intersect with Zachary’s life, both in the ‘real world,’ and the hidden archive?

How can he escape from this other world? Does he even want to? If he stays… what is his purpose? Why was he called to this interdimensional archive of all stories? The answer to all these questions unfolds slowly, beautifully, as Zachary descends toward the starless sea.

Why You Will Love This Book:

This book is the opposite of a thriller, but it is full of twists and shocking revelations. It is like a mystery, but with the pace and tone of your English professor’s favorite epic poem. More than anything else I have read this year, The Starless Sea deserves a re-read. This multi-layered story is dense, powerful, and rife with symbolism. One listen did not do this story justice. Time and time again, I found lightbulbs flickering to life as clues laid down hundreds of pages earlier finally made sense. It was surprising in in the most delightful way. There are two ways you can engage with a story like this:

1) Turn off your brain and open your heart. Relax and enjoy the beautiful imagery.
or,
2) Bust our your handy-dandy notebook and begin organizing your thesis.

No one-hit wonder, Morgenstern proved that she can do it again after The Night Circus. She is the queen of sense of place. Each room of the hidden archive is more beautiful than the last, brought to life by her luxurious and lyrical prose. It draws you into its three-dimensional poetry. Very rarely does strong line-level writing and powerful imagery suffice as the foundation of a book… but, here we are.

Where Can You Learn More?

You know what we do here: Shout out the author’s website. Feel free to check out our own review on The Night Circus. If you like this, you’ll like that, and vice-versa, etc. etc.

Happy reading, folks.

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