Review of The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

Review of The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
Reviewed by Fiza Pathan
I loved Walter Moers’ book The City of Dreaming Books so much that when I realized there was a sequel The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books, I immediately ordered the book on Amazon and fate had it that once again I got a chance to enter the city of ‘Bookholm’. If you want to know more about the first book in this series titled The City of Dreaming Books, then I’ve already reviewed it earlier. So, check it out in my book reviews section. The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers, is instructive, bookish, and well written. I believe the city of books called ‘Bookholm’ described in this sequel, represents the book industry post 2000 AD. This book is a heavy read, and very retrospective. The protagonist who is a writer and a dinosaur called Optimus Yarnspinner, reminisces a lot about his past which therefore makes it difficult to understand the plot if one has not read the previous book in the series. There is a whole section of the book dedicated to puppetism which I gather is symbolic of the theatre and cinema, though I might not be a better judge of either, because I’ve not really watched a play at all in my life, nor have I been a great fan of the cinema, especially international cinema. However, those who are fans of the theatre and cinema especially its history, the architects behind its growth, and like books which have been adapted to the stage and silver screen, this is the book for you. The first half of the book is interesting and introspective. It is a very well written piece of literature and ends in a way indicating that there is another book coming out in the series, so one is left to wait in a ’cliff hanger’ manner, but it’s a good read all the same. There is not much of hustle and bustle as there was in the previous book, but The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books is still intriguing in its own unique way. It is a heavy read where the dedication of the reader is required for the completion of the story. If you have read the earlier book in this series, I’m sure you will want to read this sequel as well. I would recommend that the reader who is new to this series should first read the earlier book The City of Dreaming Books, so that they may better enjoy this sequel. An interesting and enlightening read.
Copyright © 2017 Fiza Pathan
https://insaneowl.com/2017/03/12/review-of-the-city-of-dreaming-books-by-walter-moers/https://insaneowl.com/2017/03/12/review-of-the-city-of-dreaming-books-by-walter-moers/