Liene's Reviews > The Book of Elsewhere

Much like Perdido Street Station, this book will not be everyone’s cup of tea - the extremes of adoration and disdain on display in the reviews would seem to support this assertion.
This book is scattered, disjointed, narratively “choppy” not unlike American Gods - another book that rubs many the wrong way. But, unlike other books that attempt this sort of choppy and contemplative exploration of ideas through strange and speculative stories, and ultimately end up feeling shallow and poorly conceived (looking at you, Library at Mount Char), Book of Elsewhere offers the reader a great deal to chew on, and does, in fact, seem to “have a point”.
One of my favorite moments in this book is a moment that is fairly unremarkable and certainly not pivotal or attention-grabbing, but it was the moment that my brain went “oh, these guys get it” - B is using a record player, and another character makes a snarky comment about not taking him for a hipster, but B does not defend vinyl as being a superior listening experience. He explains that what appeals to him is the ritual of it. He acknowledges that newer technology is certainly more convenient and would save time, but why would he, an immortal being, be concerned with saving time? To him, the fact that it takes longer, takes up more of his inexhaustible supply of time, is exactly why he prefers it.
THIS is how you write immortal and inhuman characters.
I finished it and immediately wanted to start from the beginning again so I could take in all the details I missed the first time through, because I was just trying to piece together what this whole thing was about.
I understand why many do not seem to be enjoying this but, for me, this is exactly why I read speculative fiction, this is what I know it can do, but so rarely find it does.