Reading Diary:: A Discovery of Witches | Deborah Harkness

My experience with A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness has been different to every other book I’ve read this year, or ever. For this reason, it doesn’t feel right to simply ‘review’ this book. Instead, I’m going to walk through my journey with it (so far). I have a feeling you other readers out there will be able to relate to something, at least, in this experience. We’re lovers of books and story, after all. But for those of you interested, yes, I gave this book five stars, no question.

It begins with…

Let’s start at the very beginning. I heard of this book when it was first popular. I even checked it out from the library, and after an incredibly long wait, I had couldn’t remember why I’d wanted to read it in the first place (I mean vampires? Really? Weren’t we passed that, as a culture?). Plus, as usual, I had a long list of other books on my list that I prioritized instead. After that, I had no intention of reading it. Ever.

and then…

Then the TV series came to Netflix in the US, and during Halloween season, too! My husband and I were looking for something new to watch, and that’s what we chose one night.

Holy crap.

Instantly I knew it was something I had to read. Not only did the story intrigue me, this ages old mystery and people who have been around through ancient history (this is what I’m always missing from other vampire tales. Oh you’re a hundred years old? Who cares. Two hundred? Snore. ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED?! Now we’re talking…), and a girl with magic who refuses to embrace it, but I was so curious about the construction of the story itself. There are so many storylines depicted in the show, I wanted to see how it was translated from the book. Yeah, I’m a book nerd and a story geek and an aspiring writer who is desperate to soak up every quirk and detail I encounter.

I had to read it. So I ordered the paperback trilogy boxed set.

We finished the first season in a few days, and we started the first few episodes of season two before I decided to stop and catch up with the books before continuing.

It begins (again)…

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Book Cover

I tackled this thing armed with all of my tools of the trade. My copy of this book is underlined, highlighted, and page flagged to within an inch of its life. Because I already knew the plot of the story from the show, I was able to identify the details and ‘clues’ throughout the narrative that had to do with the primary conflict in one color, I used another color highlight for the romance details I liked, and a third for the magic/creatures details. I flagged every scene or micro-scene that felt important or extra meaningful.

In short, I savored it. Every word, every detail, every choice by the author.

There are some odd things about this story, from a structure point of view. It doesn’t follow a lot of the formulaic advice you heard incessantly in writing circles. It takes its time. It makes itself easy to savor. I loved it.

The story is built in layers, and though there are probably too many scenes with Matthew and Diana just sitting around talking about intense magical theory, all that information is needed by the reader and can be forgiven. It’s hard to tell if I’d have been so engaged with these sometimes-tedious conversations if I didn’t already have some understanding of where it all was leading already. I suspect it wouldn’t have been quite as enjoyable if I was reading it with no context, but it could easily be the opposite. That’s the thing about books vs adaptations. The only other time I’ve seen an adaptation before reading the books is with The Lord of the Rings, and Pride & Prejudice, and neither of those were as enjoyable to read after seeing them come to life so beautifully on screen (feel free to come at me in the comments). But if I watch something after reading the book, I usually enjoy it a great deal less.

As I said, I stopped watching the show after season two, episode two or three, so I’m actually changing my tactic going forward. I’m currently reading Shadow of Night (book two), and I’m about halfway through. I’m enjoying it just as much as A Discovery of Witches, but I’m feeling the lack of knowledge of what is coming next doubly, since I had that for book one. Such a strange experience!

So tell me — have you read this All Souls series? Have you seen the show? Have I intrigued you enough to pick it up?! Tell me all!

See ya next time!

Details

Title:: A Discovery of Witches (All Souls #1)
Author:: Deborah Harkness
Genre:: Paranormal Romance
Publisher:: Viking Penguin
Length:: 592 pages
Audio Length:: 23h 59m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jennifer Ikeda
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: February 2011
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 1