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Book Review of All the Colors of the Dark

All the Colors of the Dark
VolunteerVal avatar reviewed on + 629 more book reviews


âI just wanted to show you that sometimes things survive despite the harshest of odds.â

My experience with All the Colors of the Dark was unique because I read it while on two overnight Amtrak trips when I felt like I was the only passenger awake on the train. So I feel a unique kinship with these characters whose long journey (from age 13 to 39 through 600 pages) accompanied me on my actual journey.

I loved We Begin at the End, the author's previous novel, for its complex, deeply flawed characters and spare writing style. The characters of All the Colors of the Dark are equally compelling (and flawed) but I didn't connect as strongly due to its length. The middle was repetitive and lagged in pacing, and some suspension of disbelief is necessary to embrace the plot. I usually appreciate short chapters, but this has more than 250 of them, which felt excessive and often abrupt.

The sense of place for most scenes was strong, and unsettling in the best ways. I'm fascinated that a British author sets novels in the United States, but I'm not sure why because I've read many books by American authors set in England and other countries.

I'm glad I read this and I'm interested in the author's next book, but I hope it's more like We Begin at the End. I'm grateful to Crown Publishing for providing a review copy of this novel.