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A review by iina
The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
2.0
I don't quite know what I expected from this book; but whatever it was, after finishing I felt my expectations hadn't quite been met. Birkegaard's book has an intriguing setting, but somehow it feels as though the book never quite reaches the level of greatness it perhaps could have potential for.
The prose felt a bit clumsy to me, but as I read a translated work I can never judge if it's the author's or the translator's gawky language I detected. The plot, as good as it seems during the first few pages, falls a bit flat towards the end - don't get me wrong, the book has it's moments, but it never quite gets me as excited as I'd wish a literary thriller would. While I enjoyed some of the characters (mainly Katherina), some felt quite one-sided, which was a bit of a shame. Overall, if I ignore the plotholes and the other oddities, this book was a decent read; would love to read it in the original language if I just could, though.
The prose felt a bit clumsy to me, but as I read a translated work I can never judge if it's the author's or the translator's gawky language I detected. The plot, as good as it seems during the first few pages, falls a bit flat towards the end - don't get me wrong, the book has it's moments, but it never quite gets me as excited as I'd wish a literary thriller would. While I enjoyed some of the characters (mainly Katherina), some felt quite one-sided, which was a bit of a shame. Overall, if I ignore the plotholes and the other oddities, this book was a decent read; would love to read it in the original language if I just could, though.