skaficionado reviewed The Bell Chime by Mona Kabbani
Setup for a Letdown
3 stars
Maybe the timing of this audio book aligns with the movie The Thirteenth Floor, because if you absorb both at the same time just maybe you'll experience something like the kind of mindf_ck both works aspire to produce. Not that there is anything wrong with stories questioning the nature of reality, but this one falls flat. The structure of the book, the order of the narration particularly, sets up the reader to have their mind blown. Sadly, the only thing blown here is a raspberry. This is a two-star story that I gave three stars. The third star is to honor the excellent imitation of living with mental illness(es). That the high quality of the writing and narration only lead to a boring conclusion only makes for more disappointment.
Maybe the timing of this audio book aligns with the movie The Thirteenth Floor, because if you absorb both at the same time just maybe you'll experience something like the kind of mindf_ck both works aspire to produce. Not that there is anything wrong with stories questioning the nature of reality, but this one falls flat. The structure of the book, the order of the narration particularly, sets up the reader to have their mind blown. Sadly, the only thing blown here is a raspberry. This is a two-star story that I gave three stars. The third star is to honor the excellent imitation of living with mental illness(es). That the high quality of the writing and narration only lead to a boring conclusion only makes for more disappointment.