I was first introduced to Erin Morgenstern through her debut The Night Circus which is easily one of my favourite books of all time, and I honestly thought that she wouldn’t be able to top it. But, I have to say, The Starless Sea now holds a very special place in my heart. Think a journey of self-discovery, fables of time and fate, high stakes with many stories intwining together to create the epic tale of The Starless Sea.
While I adore this book, the system that it uses to tell its story is quite complex – so let me break it down for you. The book itself has been split in to six separate stories: Sweet Sorrows, Fortunes And Fables, The Ballad Of Simon And Eleanor, Written In The Stars, The Owl King, The Secret Diary Of Katrina Hawkins. Considering the size of The Starless Sea it is quite handy to have these as little stopping points to reflect on everything you’ve read so far. I cannot stress enough, you have to be in the right space to read this book – if your not prepared to read into every detail Morgenstern gives you then you will not be able to fully appreciate the wonders of this book. As you progress through each story within the book, the point-of-view changes between following our lead Zachary Rawlins and the actually reading that sections story.
While of course I adore each of the stories in The Starless Sea, we are here for the tale of Zachary Rawlins. For the university student, his overall character arc is one of self-discovery. We meet Zachary as a rather introverted student with not many friends and he’s really struggling with understanding where his life is going. As an avid library goer and comes across The Starless Sea, he becomes somewhat infatuated with the book when he recognises one of its tales as being an anecdote from his own childhood. Alas the book is stolen from Zachary’s possession and he endeavours to retrieve it. While I enjoy the character of Zachary I wouldn’t say he isn’t particularly fleshed out (an issue seen throughout the book) and I wouldn’t say he is my favourite character either.
Throughout the story we also meet the mysterious Dorian and whimsical Mirabel. I rather enjoy the character of Dorian, his personal feelings towards books is quite similar to my own and he does receive somewhat a character arc that is resolved by the end of book, my only issue is that the potential for an epic love story between Dorian and Zachary is somewhat missed for me. Where Dorian’s character is rather dark and broody throughout the book, Mirabel provides a bit of lightness to the affair. She’s rather fantastical and flits between scenes – always appearing in the right place at the right time, she is definitely a character you cannot help but love throughout the story.
Morgenstern definitely sacrifices character development in The Starless Sea to spend more time on developing strong symbolism and clever plot lines through the system she developed throughout the book. While Zachary may be our lead character, the fantastical world of The Starless Sea is what truly takes centre stage. Think Alice in Wonderland but instead of going to crazy and colourful world of Wonderland you are heading to a book worms dream. Thinks endless piles of books everywhere you turn, ancient buildings and a sickly-sweet honey sea – a world with no end. I could never do The Starless Sea justice but to be believed it must be read.
I could discuss with you for hours, the individual meanings and messages you receive throughout the book, but we would simply be here forever. Plus, I believe there is an affirming quality about reading something yourself for the first time, it feels like the words are for you and you alone. In order to delve into the messages and hidden meanings that struck me the most, I believe using the books main character - Mister Zachary Ezra Rawlins - would be the perfect place to start. As I said, when we first meet Zachary, he is very much stuck in a rut. He is holding on to past regrets and cannot let go of missed opportunities. This puts Zachary into a mind set that things must happen to him, and he lacks control of the decisions being made around him. As the book progress, Zachary learns that while fate provides many pathways in life, it is he (who whether consciously or subconsciously) that must make these decisions.
Now, what lengths would you go to in order to save something you believe was at risk of being taken away from you forever?
This message in The Starless Sea definitely has had the most personal impact on me. I always thought my biggest fear in life was death but through reading this book I have learnt (as I identify with particular characters on this subject) that my biggest fear is actually ‘the unknown’. The concept of ‘the end’ is a scary thing to me and it’s probably one of the most important subjects within this book – through reading The Starless Sea I have learnt that perhaps ‘the unknown’ or ‘the end’ isn’t a bad thing but perhaps rather necessary.
All I can do is thank Erin Morgenstern for bringing this incredible masterpiece into my life. While it isn’t a perfect book, it is a book that will always mean the world to me. It is truly a love note to those that are enthralled by storytelling.
Thanks for reading,
Rhi.
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