This review is for the book for "Palimpest" by Catherynne M. Valente. Audio Book version.
I gave it 1 star.
I found the premise of this book intriguing. Stripped down to the basic, it's the story of four people who end up having spontaneous sex with a stranger and enter Palimpsest. The experience will change their lives forever.... And that's it. There is no other scrap of plot in the whole story.
The only thumbs up I can give echos the other reviewers, Catherynne Valente has a truly musical quality to her writing. She can definitely turn a phrase. And it is a pleasure to read her construction. But it's not enough....
That being said though, that's all she does. Palimpsest is more like a drug trip hallucination than actual story. I'm not really sure she has a plot in mind at all. The problem is that while you at first enjoy listening to the musical quality of the story, you eventually become frustrated when you realize it's not going anywhere.
When I first started listening to it I tried to compare it to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I figured I would appreciate it for the artistic quality even if I wasn't wowed by the story. But no, it's no Dark Side of the Moon either.
So overall I have to say I am really disappointed in the work. I would love to give it more than a 1 star, but a book has to have a plot that makes it worthy of reading. If not ultimately it ends up being a pretty little piece of garbage. And this is what Palimpsest is.
RATING 1 of 5
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