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A review by thecmcaplan
Through Dreams So Dark by Angela Boord
5.0
THROUGH DREAMS SO DARK is one of the best books you will ever read. Full stop. Do yourself a favor and check it out immediately, because you need this in your life.
At 1300 pages, I know some people might, wrongheadedly, be intimidated by the length. But there is NOTHING here that falls short of absolutely brilliant, and everything in this book functions to push forwards through one of the most breathtaking worlds, and absolutely stunning character work I've ever read. And the book clips along at a fantastic pace. You're going to get to the end and want more, even after all those pages. That's just how good it is. So don't be intimidated.
The relationships are at the core of this book, and I've never seen an author who is better at character work and and building relationships than Angela Boord. Even Robin Hobb has got nothing on this masterpiece. It's insane.
It is the story of Sergei Preobrazhensky, a Russian immigrant whose mother was killed when he was a child, when he and his family fled the country during the Cold War. The year is 1988, and tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union fuel this portal fantasy, as the espionage between the two countries fuels the backdrop that pushes Sergei and his friends through something called The Lake into a world whose own political tensions serve as a dark mirror to our own.
Throughout the novel, there is a central theme of unconditional love, and how far people are willing to go for each other, and the strength of the relationships built in this book is really a testament to the success of that theme. I've never really seen before a character's relationships to other people have a sense of atmosphere in and of itself, but somehow, stunningly, Boord has managed this. It's insanely good, because despite the fact that every character in this book is the hottest, messiest bitch who's ever lived, their relationships have survived some of the most fucked up stuff imaginable. And the fact that people are still showing up even after the most monumental fuckups can make even the kindness of unconditional love at times inspiring, and absolutely heartbreaking. It's such a rollercoaster of a novel, and it was an absolute treasure to read.
I'm not even sure if I'm making sense at this point. It's just so insanely good I don't even know if I have the right language to fully encapsulate it, in all honesty. You owe it to yourself to check this out. Please thank me later, because you won't regret it.
At 1300 pages, I know some people might, wrongheadedly, be intimidated by the length. But there is NOTHING here that falls short of absolutely brilliant, and everything in this book functions to push forwards through one of the most breathtaking worlds, and absolutely stunning character work I've ever read. And the book clips along at a fantastic pace. You're going to get to the end and want more, even after all those pages. That's just how good it is. So don't be intimidated.
The relationships are at the core of this book, and I've never seen an author who is better at character work and and building relationships than Angela Boord. Even Robin Hobb has got nothing on this masterpiece. It's insane.
It is the story of Sergei Preobrazhensky, a Russian immigrant whose mother was killed when he was a child, when he and his family fled the country during the Cold War. The year is 1988, and tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union fuel this portal fantasy, as the espionage between the two countries fuels the backdrop that pushes Sergei and his friends through something called The Lake into a world whose own political tensions serve as a dark mirror to our own.
Throughout the novel, there is a central theme of unconditional love, and how far people are willing to go for each other, and the strength of the relationships built in this book is really a testament to the success of that theme. I've never really seen before a character's relationships to other people have a sense of atmosphere in and of itself, but somehow, stunningly, Boord has managed this. It's insanely good, because despite the fact that every character in this book is the hottest, messiest bitch who's ever lived, their relationships have survived some of the most fucked up stuff imaginable. And the fact that people are still showing up even after the most monumental fuckups can make even the kindness of unconditional love at times inspiring, and absolutely heartbreaking. It's such a rollercoaster of a novel, and it was an absolute treasure to read.
I'm not even sure if I'm making sense at this point. It's just so insanely good I don't even know if I have the right language to fully encapsulate it, in all honesty. You owe it to yourself to check this out. Please thank me later, because you won't regret it.