The Absolute Book
By Elizabeth Knox
Blurb
Taryn Cornick believes her sister Bea was deliberately run down and killed. She believes it so hard she allows a man called the Muleskinner to exact the justice Bea was denied. An eye for an eye.
Which is when Taryn's problems really begin.
Because the police suspect Taryn's involvement in the death.
Worse, others have their eyes on Taryn - those in a faraway place who know what Taryn's family have been carefully hiding in their vast library. The Absolute Book.
They want it - and they want Taryn to help find it.
For the lives of those in more than one world depend upon it . . .
Our Review
The Absolute Book was a brilliant but infuriating book but don’t let that put you off. There were times when I felt like my understanding of the book was only hanging on by a miniscule thread. Having said this, it was a wonderous book and I will definitely buy it.
The style of writing means it is not the easiest book to read, the narrative jumps all over but the plot is so good that I didn’t really care.
I enjoyed both the thriller and the fantasy elements of The Absolute Book. The two shouldn’t really work well together but because it is such a large book, they manage to be quite cohesive.
The single most important event of Taryn’s life so far is the murder of her sister Bea. Taryn believes that she was deliberately killed and that the man who did it got off too lightly. She believes it so strongly that she convinces a man named The Muleskinner to kill him. This is a tale of vengeance in the first instance, but it is a whole lot more than that.
Taryn’s actions cause her to become a suspect in a murder case but also have far-reaching consequences in other realms.
“Taryn couldn’t separate her sister from her death, from the mark on the oak at the fringe of the forest. In Taryn’s memory, her sister was a tender wound, Beatrice’s whole life stained with blood she had shed inside her own head. “
I can’t talk about too many elements of the book without spoiling the plot but if you like books that passionately argue the case for the continued existence of libraries, that contain Demons, Fairy-like characters, talking birds and Gods then this is the book for you.
I am not one for rereading a book immediately after finishing it but I think I would do so with this one if I had more time and I am confident I would like it even more on a second read.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 18 Times.
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