back in february, when I first heard about this book through randomly researching my local library’s front display and seeing the really high rating this book has (with barely 1k+ reviews!!), I just knew I had to get into this as soon as I can. and today, I’ve managed to finish it

if you’re going into this, just know that there’s a lot of big words that you’ll definitely have to look up in a dictionary, so if you’re more of a person who wants something easy to read, this book might not be for you. it can look flowery on surface level, but personally I found the author chose their words carefully, like I was reading a 19th century classic and trying to analyse the author’s interpretation in my head like an AP literature exam. and that’s definitely a good thing in a sense. i will admit that I haven’t digested it enough properly and might missed out in some details, so I may reread it sometime in the future (or browse tumblr for other people’s analyses hahahah)

also whoever said the book gives disco elysuim / hollow knight (silksong) vibes… I’m gonna hug you so so so tight. those two (or three) games are one of my all-time favourites and this book absolutely felt like i was transported into a similar world with its rich, layered worldbuilding and themes of class and politics (and also bugs). the characters all felt so complex, driven by their own desires and flaws, and when you get to that point. it’ll change the way you see this book. forever

if you’d like a book with dense worldbuilding, dynamic characters, themes that will make you want to analyse the heck out of this book and read multiple (video) essays on it, but can also handle deep writing woven with intricate detail that’ll make you read back to the earlier chapters multiple times, pick this damn book up. you will not regret it