I will write more about The Illusion of Separateness after a second reading (note that I'm not even going to write a synopsis, although it's a combination of WWII and contemporary) because there are always reasons I feel like I need to reread a book by Simon Van Booy before I can write a thoughtful review about it.
My first thought, as I was going into the reading was that I had absolutely no idea where Simon was taking me but I was thrilled to be back in his world. His writing is transcendent. Even though I didn't know where the story was headed, I absolutely did not care. I was just happy to be there.
There are numerous strands in The Illusion of Separateness and it takes quite some time before you begin to see them intertwine and become not just knotted together but meshed. I loved that. On this first reading, I felt that the ending was a little abrupt, but when I looked back I realized Simon had finished tying all those bits together and I was just enjoying myself so much I didn't want the book to end.
It's possible I have become a little biased by my friendship with Simon, but I gave The Illusion of Separateness 5 stars at Goodreads because it was an experience. I was completely swept away, immersed in Simon's heavily-metaphorical, lyrical world. I will always love Simon's writing and a part of that has to do with the fact that he is such a terrific guy, but there's no escaping the fact that he is a careful craftsman. I could practically see the sweat on the pages.
The Illusion of Separateness is scheduled for release in early June. I ordered a finished copy as soon as it became available for pre-order but when it came up for review I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go ahead and read it early. I highly recommend it and believe it would make a good group read. There were things I wanted to discuss, when I closed the book. Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to talk my F2F group into reading The Illusion of Separateness (although they insist on waiting for the paperback, so I'll have quite a wait).
My first thought, as I was going into the reading was that I had absolutely no idea where Simon was taking me but I was thrilled to be back in his world. His writing is transcendent. Even though I didn't know where the story was headed, I absolutely did not care. I was just happy to be there.
There are numerous strands in The Illusion of Separateness and it takes quite some time before you begin to see them intertwine and become not just knotted together but meshed. I loved that. On this first reading, I felt that the ending was a little abrupt, but when I looked back I realized Simon had finished tying all those bits together and I was just enjoying myself so much I didn't want the book to end.
It's possible I have become a little biased by my friendship with Simon, but I gave The Illusion of Separateness 5 stars at Goodreads because it was an experience. I was completely swept away, immersed in Simon's heavily-metaphorical, lyrical world. I will always love Simon's writing and a part of that has to do with the fact that he is such a terrific guy, but there's no escaping the fact that he is a careful craftsman. I could practically see the sweat on the pages.
The Illusion of Separateness is scheduled for release in early June. I ordered a finished copy as soon as it became available for pre-order but when it came up for review I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go ahead and read it early. I highly recommend it and believe it would make a good group read. There were things I wanted to discuss, when I closed the book. Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to talk my F2F group into reading The Illusion of Separateness (although they insist on waiting for the paperback, so I'll have quite a wait).
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Yayy! I'm glad you liked it. I really need to hurry up and read the copy waiting on my shelves.
ReplyDeleteYes, you do, Andiloo!!! It's very different from what I expected. I love to just immerse myself in Simon's writing. It's so refreshing. But, you know that. :)
ReplyDeleteI recently requested a copy of this, it sounds so fantastic. It sounds like I need to dig back into his backlist a bit, too!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely do dig into that backlist, Shannon! Simon's short stories are my particular favorites, although I have already read Everything Beautiful Began After at least twice and I'm craving a reread.
DeleteI am planning to get this as soon as I can!
ReplyDeleteWahoo! I hope you love it, Marg!
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