The Starless Sea

 The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 512 pages.

When he was a child Zachary Ezra Rawlins, the son of the fortune teller, saw a painted door in an alley that looked so real he thought he could have opened it, but he didn't try, so this is not where his story starts. Years later he is a graduate student who has always believed just a little bit in magic when a strange book in the university library starts him on a journey to an even stranger place. Zachary end up in a Harbor on the Starless Sea, a place of stories whose own story has been ending for decades. Zachary has a part to play in the story of this strange place, but it is so clouded in symbols and fate that it's impossible to know what it is except by exploring and letting the narrative take him.

This was a reread and I liked it at least as much the second time, which is saying a lot for a book that instantly became a favorite as soon as I read it. The whole story feels like a riddle, but it's also so deeply atmospheric it feels like a warm hug and coming home (helped by that fact that this is way up at the top for me of dream fantasy settings to actually live in). The fact that I already knew where all the puzzle pieces would end up eventually made it easier to appreciate how they all fit together along the way, which only helped me understand how beautifully crafted this book is more. Speaking of which, Morgenstern has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. I think it may be a little bit elaborate and flowery for some people, but for me it's unmatched. It is hard to describe this book thoroughly, because it is very intricate and heavily atmospheric, so I will just have to recommend people read it for themselves.