Reviews

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Only show reviews with written explanations

zanswanepoel's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

hfrancesh's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

booklovingcatmom's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It much can be said about this book without giving too much away. While the synopsis is one thing that really drew me in, it’s a bit misleading… in a good way. I had no idea what I was getting into.

I will ALWAYS gravitate towards books set in my home state of Maine, so the setting was a huge note for me. Also, I love books within books, so this is right up my alley. Add in this speculative supernatural thriller element that Catriona Ward always does so freaking well and I knew that I was going to love this.

Set in a coastal town, with this fantastically eerie atmosphere, a teenage Wilder meets two people who will alter the fabric of his world, knitting them all together. Later, when his story of his time in Maine is stolen and published by a close confidant, Wilder begins to plot. Not only a book, but how to get back at this boy who took his story. But that is kind of just the beginning, though by the time you, as the reader, reach this point, you start to see that nothing is as it seems. As you peel back layer after layer, page after page, you’re fully immersed in this strange story within a story.

I chose to listen to the audio along with reading the physical copy and I found it narrated to perfection.

gmalboeuf's review

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5.0

The first time I took acid I stared into a campfire, surrounded by dark woods and promptly, but quietly, freaked out. I felt like I was watching a hundred lives grow and melt before my eyes and that I was experiencing those lives as well.

That’s how reading Looking Glass Sound made me feel. Ward is a powerful writer. The imagery she conjures of deep water, true crime and the many lives of our characters is so visceral. I could not put it down. I was too completely engrossed in the siren song she crafted.
So massively successful in its bizarre, meta story that it will unfortunately not appeal to everyone. But for the lucky few like myself, who are happy to take the journey, they will become obsessed.