Bonnie G.’s Reviews > The Wayfinder > Status Update

Finally nearing the end, and the drama just really ratcheted up!

That feeling that you don't want a book to end . . . not getting that at all. Reader error. This book is fully steeped in fantasy and folklore which is not my thing -- I expected more historical fiction. Objectively though, that parrot is the worst.

In this part of the book, that godawful parrot is mostly absent. Sadly, not entirely absent -- the parrot has to reflect philosophically on his loneliness for a while -- but he is blessedly less in evidence than in the first 200 or so pages. There have been exciting battles, women raped, men ripped apart by animals, an amputation or two, and the ingestion of rotting intestines, so I am not bored.

This has gotten much more engrossing. Still hate the parrot. So much. Hoping he is dinner soon.

This portion of the book has been much more engrossing for me. If it were not for the damn poetry-spouting parrot, I think I would have been able to truly lose myself in the beauty of the language and the drama of the violent imperialism.

So far I am admiring the book more than I am enjoying the book, but that is a me problem. I am not always big on epics, especially those with sprinklings of magical realism. The Odyssey bored the life out of me. And while I loathe the wise parrot (who reminds me of Iago in the Aladdin movie, whom I also found enervating), most of Johnson's choices are really smart. I do appreciate the craft.

This reminds me a lot of fantasy in its approach. So much world-building. Incredibly well done world-building, but just a lot of it. It is very early in the book, so we will see, but I generally lean toward more interior stories, and almost never read fantasy. If I don't end up enjoying this, the fault will be with me, because already the craft is shining like the sun.