This was the first book I read by Emily St. John Mandel and I was absolutely blown away. A beautifully written story that made me anxious to know what happened

Captivating from the start. Gripping right till the end.

Written in a almost poetic form, with timelines and different point of views changing effortlessly, it was a new experience for me.

While beautifully written, the story was slow at times, and the characters were sad and aimless. I personally didn't find that appealing.

This was kind of an odd read. I didn't like but I didn't exactly dislike it either. I think the story is good but mainly because of the prose, which is simple yet engaging. It focouses more on what other characters learn about Lilia than what she learns about her past/herself. The "secret" of what happen to her, which I found crazy and meaningless, was revealed in less than one sentence and we get almost no explanation whatsoever. I give 2 stars because even though sometimes the story seems to be going nowhere, I still wanted to know how it would end.

"She was unmoored and her memories were eroding in the sunlight, and she was rendered shy by the strangeness of this new fast life." i'm a bit in two minds about whether it would've been better to read emily st. john mandel's books in order, but i actually think i can appreciate this earlier work more having read some of the later stuff. this book is the start of the ESJMLU (emily st. john mandel literary universe) and it shows. there are so many themes and motifs here that we see her return to again in station eleven and the glass hotel. the traveling protagonists, the dipping our toes into the mystical parts of the world, the importance of cities and homes. it's really cool to recognise these things as things she is interested in exploring in her work, and it's extra fascinating to see how she's grown and developed when it comes to telling these stories. there are a number of things that are slightly underdeveloped or unresolved in this novel in a way that i think glass hotel-emily st john mandel wouldn't let them be. but i think precisely because i know where she is heading, those things don't bother me that much. i'm sad i didn't get more than a couple of glimpses of some elements, but at the same time she's already so good at setting up this open world that it isn't hard to imagine the developments yourself, if you want. i also think it's funny that it's in this first book there is a line that encapsulates her recognisable style so well: "This was a skittish, almost catastrophic life, in which nothing was certain; paradoxically, Lilia was unusually calm." i like having it so explicitly said here, knowing the way her later work will spark that feeling so naturally. "How much loss can be carried in a single human frame?" and despite it's flaws, there are so many things here already - in earlier shapes and forms, sure, but here nonetheless - that draw me to mandel's stories. the mysteries she sets up and guides you through. you never feel like you know too much or too little - even if you want to know more you trust that she knows how she will get you there. and she does. it's a very comforting feeling. 3/5 books read. i'm living a good life working my way through emily st. john mandel's bibliography.