Sofia Samatar is one of those writers who gets called gorgeous and lyrical, for good reason. Her Olondrian books almost get lost, in terms of plot, under the language itself and the way she develops the story as a sensory/poetic experience that is happening to her characters.
I found this book easier to read than her first, some of which may simply come from more exposure to her style and also the focus of this story and the four women whose interwoven lives create the narrative of what is, in so many ways, presumed to be men’s stories.
I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it.