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The Book of M A Novel Peng Shepherd 9780062669605 Books

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The Book of M A Novel Peng Shepherd 9780062669605 Books

The Book of M is a brilliant story about a world where for some unknown reason people's shadows start to disappear. It's discovered that shortly after someone loses their shadow, they start losing memories. Memories like how letters make words, or how a doorknob opens a door, or that eating food keeps you alive. The world spins into chaos and we follow a cast of honest, grounded characters who try to navigate it the best they can while keeping an eye on their own shadow, or a grip on their fading memories.
The Book of M is hard to put down. Peng Shepard's writing and storytelling style is captivating and encompassing. Some of the chapters are very short, and I kept finding myself saying "I'll read one more and then I'll go to sleep," again and again until I was deep into the night. The dedication of the characters in the story stem from Shepard's dedication to tell a story worth reading.
The novel is peppered with magical realism that would make Haruki Murakami proud, fantasy that Neil Gaiman would enjoy, and on a solid foundation of storytelling that Peng Shepard proudly owns herself.


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The Book of M A Novel Peng Shepherd 9780062669605 Books Reviews

THE BOOK OF M's story is propulsive, mysterious, and strange; the language is delectable. Pathos is counterbalanced by humor; the characters are drawn with depth and nuance. Rarely have I read a book that so delicately interweaves the best aspects of both genre and literary fiction. I can't wait for her next one.
I just couldn’t make myself finish this book, and I ALWAYS finish books, no matter how painful. So this is a first for me. I bought this book because of all the favorable reviews and the premise of the story, a post apocalyptic world where memories are tied to shadows and people begin to lose both. I was promised a book that would grab me right away, but this one never did. I never got hooked or even remotely into the story or the characters. When the One Who Gathers started to make an appearance, things seemed to get more interesting, but when Ory encountered the Red Kind in DC I simply could not stomach it anymore. All I could think about at that point was Steven King and The Dark Tower series, and how much this book just fell off the rails for me. It’s not an issue with suspending disbelief for the magic that comes into play, but rather with even caring about the characters or where this is all going. And I appreciate how the author brings in a diverse set of characters, but it got to a point where she seemed to be trying too hard, look at me and how many different things I can bring into one setting. Rather than being cohesive it made everything more disjointed and unbelievable for me.

The premise to this book is very interesting and I was very much drawn to it, but for me it boils down to poor execution. Please note, I WANTED to like this book. Post apocalyptic stories are some of my favorites. But this one always rubbed me wrong and never got off the ground for me. I don’t even care how it ends at this point, I can’t force myself to read any more.
Did I read the same book as everyone else? One dimensional characters, unsatisfying resolution to plots. It’s like it was written by a person that’s only used to interacting with people via social media. The characters where completely unbelievable. There were so many nonsensical plot holes (and I am an avid sci-fi reader) that I wanted to throw the book into a fire after reading it. Don’t waste your time.
Some minor spoilers follow. Nothing major.
The premise behind this had me hooked from the start. Such an original and clever concept that had me champing at the bit to find out how it would all play out...
...until about half way through when it became more of a traditional post apocalyptic story with warring factions etc... At this stage I was beginning to tire as it seemed to stray from what made it so enjoyable to me. This was also a very long read so it felt at the time that these sections were unnecessary filler...
...until later in the book when you realise that this section is actually essential to the final outcome in what becomes a very circular tale.
The ending is as beautiful as it is tragic, and made me forgive the middle section of the book.
This one will stay with me for some time.

A fantastic debut.
Engaging, with appropriate characterization and intriguing setting. The new take on an apocalyptic state-of-things lends itself to interesting emotional dynamics.

But - the rules for engaging the world change. There is no consistency in how magic works. There is also no satisfying final explanation of all the mysterious happenings. There is also no satisfying conclusion for the most empathized-with characters. All the threads are suddenly severed with a catch-all surprise twist that feels inconsistent with the implied/foreshadowed promises about the kind of world the characters live in and the hoped-for reconciliation most of the book led up to.

So, I loved some scenes. But days after finishing, I don’t know what the book was about. I have no meaningful takeaway. I have no satisfaction of the characters’ stories being thoroughly extracted.

It’s as though the writer gets bored, or writes her way into a corner, so the story just ends.

Still, many redemptive qualities and quite entertaining and fun. Better than most of what’s out there. But if I forgot I already read it, I’d hope my forgetful self would skip it for something else.
The Book of M is a brilliant story about a world where for some unknown reason people's shadows start to disappear. It's discovered that shortly after someone loses their shadow, they start losing memories. Memories like how letters make words, or how a doorknob opens a door, or that eating food keeps you alive. The world spins into chaos and we follow a cast of honest, grounded characters who try to navigate it the best they can while keeping an eye on their own shadow, or a grip on their fading memories.
The Book of M is hard to put down. Peng Shepard's writing and storytelling style is captivating and encompassing. Some of the chapters are very short, and I kept finding myself saying "I'll read one more and then I'll go to sleep," again and again until I was deep into the night. The dedication of the characters in the story stem from Shepard's dedication to tell a story worth reading.
The novel is peppered with magical realism that would make Haruki Murakami proud, fantasy that Neil Gaiman would enjoy, and on a solid foundation of storytelling that Peng Shepard proudly owns herself.