The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Pages: 571
Method: Kindle
Rating: 3.75

I went into this book completely blind. I had seen it on an instagram reel and put it right on to my TBR. Something about having the word “book” in a title will always reel me in. I had to put it on hold at the library and the amount of time that I had to wait for it meant that when it became available, I had no choice but to finish it within the 2 week limit, or I would miss my chance.

All that to say, it was worth the wait. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyably confused as I got into the story because I hadn’t even read the synopsis. In a dystopian world, it often takes my brain a moment to find its equilibrium when it comes to how much of the world is based on our current reality and how much of it is truly fiction. I find myself caught in the middle. This leaned more toward the fantasy elements, as the whole story was based off of two characters from different times finding each other through an enormous magical library. 

Something that I enjoyed, particularly in the beginning of the book, was how the author used the character’s perspective to describe things. They were things that she had never seen before, so she describes it in detail and you as the reader create a picture of what it is in your head. Only to realize that it’s something that you’ve actually seen before, like an umbrella. But you are so immersed in her point of view that you gain a new appreciation for something that you usually consider mundane.

And mundane is not how I would describe this book. This book felt like poetry. The narrative style, the flow of the story, and the thought-provoking lines created a depth and sensitivity that I often feel in poetry. It is something that I rarely find in books because it is difficult to do well. And this author did it well throughout the entirety of this book. It wasn’t just a nice poetic line, here or there. The whole thing felt like a poem.

Lastly, I felt a strong theme of dichotomy through this story which lends itself to self-reflection. Confusion and clarity. Good and evil. Light and dark. Weak and strong. You find these opposites, and more, throughout this story. And there are some questions that come along with that. Which one do you see yourself in? Does it always have to be one or the other? Is it a cycle that is bound to repeat itself or can one maintain control? 

I will leave you with this warning: this book ends in a cliffhanger. If you are prepared for that, then I highly recommend it. And maybe you’ll like it enough to read the next book like I plan on doing!