Let me start this off by saying that this book was so
freaking good!
The main plot is about a boy who finds a book and tries to
find the author and anything else that he has written, but turns out that
someone has been destroying all of his books and they are impossible to find. What
I find amusing is that it’s essentially a story about a book and where it’s
been (for more information on how I feel about this, see my other post about
secondhand books). It’s got love, mystery, adventure, reading, it’s basically a
book for enthusiastic readers.
The writing is gorgeous and very descriptive. Reminds me of
Umberto Eco in a way. The characters are also hilarious and very original (see:
Fermin).
Of course a recurring theme is books and the power that the
written word has. Here they are shown as different worlds that readers can be
transported through, particularly to the past.
Another theme is the connection between the main character,
Daniel, and the author he is tracking down, Julian. This includes the pen that
they both loved, their love lives are remarkably similar, and comments from
characters in general comparing the two. There’s also lots of circle imagery to
show how time always repeats itself, for wars, economic situation, or people in
general.
Books are shown to be a constant force though, despite
everything else, either as a source of knowledge or entertainment.
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