I almost stopped reading at the beginning of Part 5. Not because I didn't want to know what happened, or because I didn't like it, but because I was beginning to feel like Jack, and I didn't like that. Jack feels awful, and yet keeps coming back to the thing that makes him feel awful because he doesn't know how things will turn out. I, unlike Jack, had the power to flip ahead, so I took it, and then I felt better, but I wasn't sure I needed to keep going.I feel, on the one hand, like I should immediately order the sequel, and on the other that I don't really feel like feeling like Jack anymore. We shall see.(I'm also not really fond of the way women are treated in this book--they have the power to save men, but very little agency-- but I feel like Jack has a problem with it too, so maybe that will even out in the wash.) Last May, I read a book called “Winger” and I absolutely loved it. Sure I loved the story and it’s characters, but what really captivated me was the way it was written. The way that it totally and completely took me to another place. The way that it made me think, and how it left me wanting more once I finished it. The author of that book was Andrew Smith, and once I read it, I knew I had to read his other books to. That’s how I ended up stumbling across this book. When I first began the The Marbury Lens, I was creeped out. I don’t like creepy books, and normally I put them down before I can really get into them, simply because I don’t enjoy being scared, however this book intrigued me. From the prologue to the very last page, it was like I was on one big giant roller-coaster. Even when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it. What had just happened in the last chapter, what was going to happen next. The uncertainty of the book, and the always blurred line between reality and fantasy, is what made it so amazing. The Marbury Lens is a beautifully captivating story, and once you start, you can’t stop-even when you want to. Also don't read it in public unless you're okay with people laughing at you for your facial expressions, and then being shocked when you told them you actually liked the book, considering all of your groaning, and head banging-on-desk-ing, and closing of book. Trust me when I say, at some point you will close the book, yell "I'm so done" and then it will haunt you until you pick it up and keep reading. The characters were so easy to connect to, and I can honestly say it's one of the best books I've ever read.I’ve read quite a few negative reviews on this book, and while they were all different in their own way, the all had pretty much the same point-it was too confusing, there were too many plot holes, you never really find out what was real and what wasn’t. And while all of these things are true, I think these things were the reason this book was so awesome. In the end, no, you don’t find out what’s real and what’s not, because it’s all up to you. I’ve chosen to believe this; Marbury is a place for a second chance. Everyone there has done something in our world that has haunted them, and that is why they are so drawn to that rotting hell hole-because they are in some way, free. While it’s not an ideal place for anyone, everything is all out in the open. There are no secrets, no “blurry lines”, just good and evil, black and white. So while yes, I do think it was a figment of Jacks imagination, I think it was also a figment of someone else's. It’s a place where everyone goes at one point in their minds, some people just stay there longer than others. P.S. All I want for Christmas is my very own Conner Kirk okay bye.
What do You think about Marbury Lens, The (2010)?
Weird and cool. Emotional at the same time. Really well done.
—Lev
