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City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris, #1)

Jeff VanderMeer

Start date: October 24, 2015

Discussion: CITY OF SAINTS & MADMEN

Why we're reading this: Because it's good!…more
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CITY OF SAINTS & MADMEN

Intertextual references in COSAM
By Traveller · 17 posts · 35 views

last updated Nov 23, 2015 08:51AM

The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris
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last updated Nov 17, 2015 08:41AM

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What Members Thought

Oct 15, 2015 Amy (Other Amy) marked it as reviewed-apart · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, edition-matters

The River Moth was wide and deep, the traveler in his boat a speck of speck of light in the darkness. Five crewmen manned the boat, which ferried visitors to the legendary city of Ambergris. The traveler knelt near the prow, staring toward his destination. Such a smell came across the water from the city. It excited him for reasons he did no[LIBRARY STICKER]mell of water-stained paper, an invisible watermark all-encom[LIBRARY STICKER]was the smell of wet clothing left to molder. It was the smell The River Moth was wide and deep, the traveler in his boat a speck of speck of light in the darkness. Five crewmen manned the boat, which ferried visitors to the legendary city of Ambergris. The traveler knelt near the prow, staring toward his destination. Such a smell came across the water from the city. It excited him for reasons he did no[LIBRARY STICKER]mell of water-stained paper, an invisible watermark all-encom[LIBRARY STICKER]was the smell of wet clothing left to molder. It was the smell o[LIBRARY STICKER] transformed to mud, dissolved to silt. It made the traveler see the river, the water, as an intricate conspirator, infiltrating marsh and bracken, woodland and rock, with rivulets of itself. It made him think of smell as something physical, like a gate, a fence, a bridge. In listening to the water slap the sides of the boat and in absorbing the smell that told him the water permeated everything, had soaked through, even into his head, the traveler began to think he just might, some day, be able to say he understood water... And ahead: Ambergris, huddled and indistinct. Here and there, a spire or dome rose out of the gloom, glittering with light. Yet the city seemed at times to flare and flicker like a hissing candle. Across the water that separated boat from shore came bobbing out of the dark: an overturned canoe, a shoe green with algae, a pink scarf, a torn piece of net with a fish still breathing inside of it, caught by the gills... Somehow, staring down at these entrails for oracles, the traveler understood that he would know the water more intimately before he reached the city.
-from the cover of this edition

I have gone a bit over the deep end for this book, I know. I requested this edition from the library to find out whether the vignette on the dust jacket was included in later editions. (The answer appears to be no, but I have the latest edition from Tor on order to confirm.) The other special item from the earlier editions is that "The Man Who Had No Eyes" is completely encrypted in this version, and when I get a moment, I intend to decrypt it to find out where the specific words are embedded in the book, as VanderMeer believes this changes the reading experience. (He has also vowed to never do another encrypted story, thank goodness.)

(Personal to the Aurora Public Libray: (view spoiler)) ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2015 Amy (Other Amy) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, geography-of-the-heart, xx-collection, pop-sugar-me, death, they-burned-what, library-i-love-you, with-pictures, words-on-words, religion

This 700 page book took me a day and a half to read. The penultimate story in this novel was the last thing I read last night and the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning. Driving home from errands, I found myself thinking about it again, along with thoughts of David Foster Wallace, and tearing up. This review might take awhile. In the meantime, this book is awesome, and you should probably read it.

7 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2015 Amy (Other Amy) marked it as paused · review of another edition

Shelves: x-kindle, x-own-it, fungi

Yup, reading again on Kindle.

**So, I'm not making any progress reviewing this off site. I'm going to start the review here, move the 'real' review to the paperback edition when it's done, and use this space for additional lit crit type stuff afterward. Weird and convoluted, I know, but it seems to be the only way this is ever getting done.**

(view spoiler) ...more

1 like · Like · see review