On "An Impenetrable Screen of Purest Sky": A Book Review

Title: An Impenetrable Screen of Purest Sky

Author: Dan Beachy-Quick

Genre: Fiction

About the book…

Daniel is stuck in his past, but he is also stuck in his present. His past contains loss; a mother lost to him after giving birth to a sister, who also dies soon after being born, a father consumed by a desire to translate a myth about a giant, and the chance to move his life in a different direction. His present contains his memories of the past, a teaching job he no longer enjoys, and a book he can't seem to finish. Part stream of consciousness, part poetry, and part story within the story, Daniel's reflections slowly unfold a world much more complex than it initially seems.

What I think  

This book is a little hard to describe and I don't really feel that the above description does it justice, but one thing that I can definitely say is that it's thought provoking.

Despite the fact that the shift between the different styles of writing could be somewhat jarring, it's well woven together in such a way that each part flows into the next. In fact, some of my favorite parts were the stories within the story, the way they related to the larger themes, and how they all tied together in the end. 

There are parts that ramble and get borderline boring, but that never actually reached that point as far as I was concerned.

There are also a lot of literary references mixed in, with large portions talking about Moby Dick. Unfortunately, not having read that yet (after having looked at “Benito Cereno” from seven different angles of literary criticism a few years ago, I’m not so fond of Melville just now), I feel like I may have missed some of what was going on with these references. Many of the others, though, were added in beautifully.

To sum it all up…  

A book I enjoyed for its thought provoking nature and unique viewpoints on life. It’s not your typical novel, but well worth the read. ♥