A review by jfaberrit
Codex 1962: A Trilogy by Sjón

2.0

If only this novel was in any way what the front leaf suggested, it might have been fantastic; as it is, it is one very good story followed by meandering followed by a page count. The initial story, a central European holocaust-era love story, really does work, containing some fantastic Kafkaesque flourishes mingled in with the more post-modern. It's a very compelling start to a book that goes nowhere slowly after that. The second part is like the worst kind of fever dream, full of plot but making very little sense and runing all of the momentum. It's not even close to a detective story, more of a farce that's not ridiculous enough, a comedy that isn't funny, a social commentary with very little to say. The last part made me glad that I had a paper copy, since it would make for the most annoying audiobook of all time. It's not a story, it's a conceit, and a poorly executed one at that. In the end, I appreciate the fact that storytelling is an art and that books about storytelling need some space and freedom in which to work, but this one rapidly degrades into all telling without the underlying stories.