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As played out in this unexpected of a novel, a nix the thing you love the most is the thing that will hurt you the most. The concept is cleverly weaved into the story in a multitude of ways as a complex plot unfolds in multiple time periods and from multiple narrators.  It does not start out in the same place it ends up.  By that, I mean, it starts out seeming like it is going to be a tired old narrative about the burned out college professor, as odds with his students and grumpy about life.  But, it turns into not that at all and before long it is a story about a complex mother-son relationship, with secrets and heartbreaks. 
There were parts of the plot, especially in the later parts where it veers into legal drama territory, where parts of the story were unrealistic enough that it was hard to ignore some of the liberties take with basic legal process, and these were enough for me to say the book isn't on my recommendation list, but it is really close, primarily because I did really like how the title played into a multi-layered plot with unusually  complicated interpersonal dynamics. 
Overall, I have landed on a Not Not recommended.
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Another murder mystery, of which I seem to have had a lot more this year than usual, there is a lot to like in this story.  Set in a remote location at the destination of a successful tv star and a magazine editor, the story is told from multiple pointsof view, which narrators being more and less reliable, revealing all the hidden motives and guarded secrets they have in small bits as the story unfolds.  These back stories set the stage for the conflicts that arise, but the biggest secrets are held back and keep you guessing as more and more people have reason to murder others at the party and you don't know until the end who is murdered, let alone who did it. I really liked the story and thought it was cleverly written and the unusual format which could have felt gimmicky actually flowed really well. I will say that there was one too many backstories and as the last one played out, my willingness suspension of disbelief was pushed a little too far. It just felt too unlikely that the person with the least connect to the main circle of people just happened to have had motive to kill one of the other guests because of a connection that neither was aware of and that unfolds with way too much coincidence.  It did add a layer of extra cleverness and it was woven into the story early on in a way that made it all make sense when it came together, but really it just seemed so unlikely to have been possible that it distracted from an otherwise really tightly plotted story. Even with that, I am giving it a soft recommendation.
Recommend
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I understand that this nearly 1,000 page book is revered as brilliant and that the author has received the Nobel Prize for Literature for another novel.  I know that many intelligent people think the book is amazing. I, however, feel like it was pretty much lost on me.  I found it a slog, pedantic, male-centric, and frankly boring.  Yes, some of the historical pieces were mildly interesting, but I have decided that I do not find 18th century Poland particularly enthralling.  Sometimes, it felt like the descriptions would never end and that the plot was a very long ways away from the words I was reading.  Other times, some of the narrative would pull me in, particularly the portions that compared the Jewish protagonist's exploration of other communities. But, those parts were short lived and almost as soon as I realized I was engaged, the moment would be gone and I would return to feeling that this book was just too heady for me.


Do not recommend.

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This is a fabulous murder mystery that I can't stop thinking about.  It is so well written, the characters are so richly developed, and the plot is delightfully complicated that I am seriously contemplating reading it a second time.  Set across time from 1961 to 1975 as they investigate an old murder and a new disappearance, the complexity of interpersonal dynamics and histories just pulled me in, all the time being filled with red herrings and twists, as the investigation proceeds. The standout character is the young woman detective no one takes seriously and the ending just reinforced how much I loved her.  I found the portrayal of sexism and elitism to be well portrayed, ever present, without having it be the sole focus of the story--reminding me of how even during my younger years it was so pervasive we often accepted it without noticing at all. Did I mention the ending of this book was so good? So often these complex stories have predictable, unrealistic, or just stupid endings that don't hold together, but this one was right on point.
Highly recommend.

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I am so enthralled with the very concept of this book in which the author uses her obsession with sea creatures as the basis of these fabulous life stories that use the sea creatures as complex allegories for her life. Even the title, referring to the point in an ocean where the light can no longer penetrate, relates to moments in her life.  As a memoir, it is insightful and tells the story of a unique life of Queerness and mixed-race identity.

I particularly appreciated how the author's experience of trauma and sexual assault were presented in such an unusual and poignant way.  All of this was done in the midst of providing rich details about marine ecosystems and creatures, some of which (like the octopus), we often hear about in other contexts, but some  of which I knew nothing about and found fascinating.  This is just such an unusual set-up and read. 

I highly recommend it.

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This is the first Brian Sanderson book that I have read that I did not hate.  I was fully prepared not to like it, but it turns out that it was pretty clever.  The fantasy world was fascinating, with the ocean of something-not-water, the talking rat, and the hexes. The main character, a young woman, is constantly underestimated by everyone ,including herself, and my favorite plot twist was a brilliant strategy she came up with to out-maneuver another character and foil their evil plot.  I didn't see the twist coming and I was just so impressed with how she turned the situation on its head, all while realistically suffering from imposer syndrome and working her way up from the very lowest position on a boat of pirates.  Despite my traditional dislike of the Sanderson books, I am going to give this one a recommend.

Recommend.
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I really enjoyed Beyond the Cerulian Sea and so I was disappointed that I did not love this book.  I really don't like being spoon fed morality in my novels and this one left nothing up to interpretation.  The metaphors and symbology were just too obvious and the pionts felt like they were being rammed down my throat at some points.  I obviously think that having trans representation in fiction is important and powerful, but my underlying take away from this book was that only magical beings (read Queer) can take care of magical kids and magical beings can only depend and trust magical beings. I can understand where this mentality comes from, but I just think that there is a lot more nuance than what this books allows for.  I found it pretty depressing, rather than inspiring, and a letdown.  The first book took quite a while to grow on me, but once it did, I was all in.  This one had the benefit of my coming in really excited for it and just progressively getting more and more let down as it went on.

Do not recommend.

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This is a quirky micro-history-science book about beavers that I did not anticipate I was going to like, but ended up being sneakily interesting and entertaining.  Who knew that a well-written book about a strangely unique creature could be just the right amount of not-political and not-depressing to make my list of recommendations?
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