Linh L L itibaren Бечеј, Сербія itibaren Бечеј, Сербія

An arduous read but thoroughly worthwhile. Delightfully dense and beautifully written. A stellar second novel but not nearly as great as her debut novel The Secret History.

I balked and hesitated about reading this. I walked around it, poked it a bit, after my copy arrived, scoffing at all I had read about it. I knew if I didn't read it now, it would sit on my shoulder and I would continue to scoff and doubt. I am scoffing no more. I am instead taken aback by how amazing this book is. How Towles evokes the time and feel of Modernist writers (in undergrad and grad years this was my main time period that I loved and was most drawn too) and in a strange way adds to the Canon of Literature from that time. Well used allusions and references to Fitzgerald, James, Hemingway, Wharton, and Melville (I argue that he was a Modernist writer prior to the definition and time, but an argument for another place) are found in the text. Some are subtle, some are upfront. It's a book rich in the literary, love this when it's done well, and it's done well here. There are a few places where the text slips and I felt reminded it is a book written recently. When these instances occur they do not linger and I'm again drawn back in to that time. A dynamic book that is: strongly written, intelligent, thought provoking, challenging, and rich complex characters. It's a 4 1/2 star book, but easy to round up to Five on.