I will never be the same.
What would it be like to wake up in an endless library, learning that you didn't follow the "one true religion" (which you'd never heard of) and, therefore, are condemned to an eternity in this hell? Unless - out of the stacks and stacks of books, of which there is every combination of letters that could exist - you find the one book that tells the story of your life?
That is the premise of this truly existential-crisis inducing book. The true scope of this hell is hard to wrap your head around as a mortal human being on a finite earth. The concept of eternity has always frightened me, and this book actually forces you to reckon with it. I was horrified in a way that is unlike any terror I have experienced before. It's challenging even to imagine.
I've never read a book like this. One that forces the reader to try to understand something so gigantic, complex, and hard to consider. The story is written quite simply - so it's easy to follow and hard to put down - but the existential angst that arises is overwhelming. I loved it because it's such a fascinating thing to consider, one that I've never read about in fiction.
I do wish it could be longer (an extremely ironic thing to say, given the narrator's circumstances...)
Overall, I loved this book. It's unlike anything I've ever read, easy to read in an hour or two, and will seriously stay in my brain for a long while. It's a unique exploration of religion—its morality and the actual reality of what it means to be "condemned to hell for eternity."
Recommended If You Love:
- Existentialism
- Short, simply written stories that ponder deep philosophical ideas
- The feeling of realizing the universe is infinite and truly considering what that means
Final Word:
Honestly, it's not just a story: it's an EXPERIENCE. Read it for yourself and see what I mean.
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