So toxic so long

the book really was a rollercoaster ride for me. it had it‘s ups and downs and it was different to all the other books i have read of her before, but in the end, i still liked it. it wasn‘t very plot-driven in my opinion, so if you like your books full of actions and plottwists, do not pick up this book. it is purely character-driven and that‘s why the book dragged around the middle of the book and made me wonder if i will like this book. gladly, shortly after the 50% mark, the author started stringing all of the perspectives together and i had fun reading this book again. sabine is portrayed very well, starting off as a newly turned until rotting from the inside by turning every possible emotion off. i felt sorry for lottie at the end and even though i understand that the book must‘ve ended this way, i really liked her and she would‘ve deserved a life without being haunted by sabine. the only shallow character was alice, but that‘s because we haven‘t gotten much of her story, but i was fine with it, because we could see the story unraveling through her. what i really loved about this book was the sapphic romance and longing. v.e. schwab portrayed that sooo good, even better than in her heteronormative stories. i really felt the tension between the characters and i was at the edge of my seat the whole time, even though it really isn‘t a story of love. i can recommend this book if you‘re looking for a sapphic character-driven story with depiction of female rage spanning over 500 years. cannot get enough of this author!

Ein fesselndes, aber auch forderndes Buch. Die Geschichte von Sabine zieht einen sofort in den Bann, auch wenn sie als Figur schwer greifbar und teils irritierend ist. Geprägt von Einsamkeit und Verlust, wirkt das Werk eher düster mit fast horrorartigen Zügen. Besonders spannend sind die wechselnden Perspektiven und das Begleiten der Charaktere durch verschiedene Epochen. Das hat zu einem intensiven Zeitgefühl beigetragen, das die Handlung sehr dicht wirken lässt.

Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a wonderful book and not at all what I thought it would be. It’s the first of V. E. Schwab’s works that I’ve read and now I wonder why I haven’t picked her up sooner. I love her way of writing, how she builds worlds and characters, how real and close and touchable it all feels. This book has all that and then some. It’s very heavy on the character part, focusing on development and depth instead of the traditional plot and for the narrative that Schwab spins it fits perfectly. This book would be a five star read easily if not for some minor ‘mistakes’ - at least I felt they were but perhaps I misunderstood the writing. As not to spoil anything I will just say breathing and dorm as two separate incidents and leave it at that in hopes that someone understands what I mean. But those really were just teeny tiny specks of confusion in the grand scheme of a spectacular book and easily put aside.

Eines der besten Bücher die ich gelesen habe. Klar, wer traditionellen Plot sucht, mit einer klassischen Struktur wird hier nicht fündig. Es ist eine "Character-Driven" Story. Der Schreibstil ist sehr poetisch und hat mich nicht losgelassen. Ich denke immer noch drüber nach. Eines der besten Bücher des Jahres für mich.