The Spear Cuts Through Water: A Novel

Truly the best book I've ever read. Experiencing this novel is probably the closest I've ever come to understanding a religious experience. I read well over 100 books every year, and I have ever since I can remember. I'm kind of a book snob and it's rare when I give 5 stars. This book deserves more. It is criminal it was passed up by all the awards. Go on YouTube, Insta, TikTok, and all you'll see are book reviewers at a loss for words for the masterpiece that is this novel. I picked it up after coming across a thread on the fantasy subreddit on Reddit. It was unanimous that this book was not only the best read of 2023, but one of the best of the millennium. After waiting 18 weeks on hold at the library, I ended up buying a copy for myself. This is the most imaginative, unique, transcendent novel I've ever experienced. The prose left me breathless. I'd re-read pages at a time and think "How the heck did someone come up with this? How does someone write like this? Literally, how??" My ebook kindle copy is ridiculous, because I have probably something highlighted on every page. I'd read a line and think "I need to remember this one, too!" It was getting out of control, but I couldn't stop. This book had me in an emotional upheaval so great that I was left feeling like a husk of a person every time I read. I could only handle 10-20 a day because my heart was both bursting at the seams with joy and with gut-wrenching pain. Some scenes were so moving and powerful that I'd lie in bed, stunned, for who knew how long. The book followed me around at work the next day like a weight in my stomach, distracting me, exciting me, and pulling me back. I'd cancel plans to sit and enjoy my 10-20 pages a night. Jun Ossa is probably my favorite character ever written, because somehow, with minimal spoken lines, the emotional layers and depth to him was staggering. There were so many small, subtle things that were ingeniously added that left me shaking my head in disbelief that the author was pulling it off. I just think it's criminal this hasn't gotten the attention it deserves yet. There is this gem of a novel out here, quite possibly the best book ever written, that people are just sleeping on. We didn't deserve this book. No one deserves this book. Please, for the love that all that is good, read this book. I just... wow...

That was a slog. A beautifully written, thoughtful, well developed world of a slog– but a slog nonetheless.I did not know what I was getting myself into here when I picked it up. Its an alternate world fantasy with a lush world, dying gods, a lot of cruelty, a little bit of love, and very visceral descriptions. But it took me a long time to get into it, and then when I put it down, I would have a hard time getting back into it.Partly because of the very, very lush descriptive language which at times was too lush for me. But mostly because of the dream-like approach to structure. We have a framing convention that starts the book with a “you go into a hidden theater” and somehow in that theater they are acting out the long ago story of the death of an Emperor and his three terrors of sons, and the travels of two warriors with a dying god in third person.And there’s also a thing where the author will briefly mention something like “the warrior walked by the cowering villagers” and we’ll get the italicized thoughts of the villagers in the next line. This was cool for a short while after I finally figured out what that was. Having inner thoughts of minor characters does serve to flesh out the world, and there’s a wonderful consequence of having these thoughts later in the story for the two traveling warriors and their relationship, but I think it became cognitively wearisome for me at times when I was in “reading for plot” (this is a long book) mode and I had to kind of pull back to identify whose thoughts they were and then piece together how that fit into the current scene, etc.So this is lovely, but for me, long and a bit wearisome at times. I applaud the creativity here while privately thinking to myself “maybe not the author for me.”

I'm having a hard time describing this incredibly layered, ambitious, and unconventional book. It is familiar in its epic fantasy/folk tale story beats, but it's told in such a unique, experimental, metaphysical style. It's woven deeply into the novel and doesn't feel like a gimmick. A little preview: there's the story of the reader, who is then invited to a play in the spirit realm, and that stage play is the main heart of the book.The author adds little asides told directly to the reader as if the characters are there watching with you, their commentary adding spice and giving a sense of the wide scope of a fully lived-in world. And still, the writing feels intimate, giving voice to side characters that could have been so easily discarded. Reading this book feels like you're really in the audience of a theater with actors breaking the 4th wall (and maybe the person next to you keeps adding little quips since it's actually based on their life...) The audiobook really highlights this quality, and the narrator does a fantastic job changing voices.Add to that a magical tale of gods and monsters, interesting characters (repping LGBT, people with disabilities, and vaguely Asian-ish?), and themes of redemption, legacy, parenthood, and selfish and selfless acts of love... it's a mind-boggling 5/5 for me.

This book is different in many ways, with multiple narrators at the same time, multiple time frames at the same time.It is difficult at first to catch the thread, but then you get used to it. The story is weird but interesting, but I just didn't get caught in it and it was sometimes a struggle to continue

Haven’t finished reading it yet, but loving the book so far! Compelling and original storytelling, highway recommend it!

I went into this book completely blind, guided only by the high praise from people I trust - I then knew I needed to read it immediately. I was told that the first 100 pages would be hard to get through, and while that was true, I was left speechless by the beauty of the prose. Initially, I wondered where the beautiful writing was leading, but when you looked past that, you see a surprise beginning to an epic journey. It made me more eager to uncover the story. It's structured as a story within a story, bouncing from one to another, and as the narrative unfolds, it all starts to make sense.I felt like I was in a theater, watching a play about two warriors who must escort a goddess across the land to end the legacy of a king and his three sons, who each bring terror on their way. The challenges they faced within five days were unlike anything I’ve read before. The prose added the perfect element to make the story feel original and unparalleled.The lyrical sentences and raw, flowing words allowed me to witness the characters’ growth through their tasks, bringing me emotional feelings from the first page to the last. It was as if I was with them throughout their journey. This demonstrates the power of skilled writing.𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘻 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴.The author encapsulated the right information at the right time, and as a reader, I savored every new piece of information that made the story more coherent. Although reading a story in the first, second, and third person point of view can be hard to digest, I was so immersed that it all made sense to me.This was an original piece of art, shape as a novel and apparently one that found me at the right moment, because this story will stick with me forever. At its core it’s a classical love story, but it covers so much poignant themes, meaningful truths, harsh challenges, metaphors, difficult things to process but also important ones that defines someone; the sacrifice, the promises, fighting for honour and our own, love and loss, inheritance trauma, regrets. Where in one moment it was unsettling, the next one was sweet; from "ark" to a cannibalism scene to "anw" to a dance scene, I truly can say that this book gave me many emotions, and reflected on the journey of one.From the characters of Keema and Jun and their bonds and development that shape this story in a powerful way by their strong connection, to lola telling the story to her grandson, and bizarre characters like a man with a wolf’s head, giant tortoise, and smoking monkeys - there is no limit to the imaginative world Jimenez created. He delivered each aspect to make this book one of a kind.I’d recommend to check the triggers warning before and if you consider dnf’ing it in the beginning, wait at least after the first part, this is so worth it.

The concept and writing is as beautiful as the cover

Ancient folklore, meets dreamstate, meets real life and its mundane heartbrake and dissapointments.But much more of the first two which makes it a lot more fun. Shocking at times, very refreshing, not really like anything else I've read and one I will not forget.

La novela es un 10/10, lo que juzgo aquí es que estaba CARO para el estado en el que se encontraba.