04 August 2012

Book (P)Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver


Warning: ahead there be spoilers.  Please don't read this review if you don't want to know any plot points from this book. This is a review for the third book in the Delirium trilogy, and the book isn't published until March 2013.

Lauren Oliver's Requiem feels far less like the conclusion of a trilogy than the third book of a tetralogy. Readers who are comfortable with ambiguity will enjoy the ending, and readers who want to know what *exactly* happened, and to whom, and who survives and who doesn't, and what will happen next will likely be very disappointed.  Many novels begin in media res, but this one kind of ends there. I'm fine with that.  I'd rather have an ambiguous ending than one whose ends are tied up too neatly or implausibly. And to be honest, I'm not so enamored of this series that I really care all that much.  I'm mildly curious to know what happens to Lena, Grace, Alex, Hana, and Julian after the book ends, but it's not the sort of thing that will keep me up at night.  It is the sort of ending that will inspire much fanfic, though.

This book has two first person, present tense narrators.  Double ugh!  I think employing multiple narrators makes for lazy storytelling (and this book is no exception), and first person, present tense point of view usually makes me want to pull my hair out.  In some books it works to an advantage, but most of the time I think it creates a false immediacy that carries readers along in the absence of real plot.

Anyway, back to the narrators: Lena, whom we know well from all three books, takes up half the book, with the other half narrated by her former best friend, Hana, whom I'd all but forgotten. Lena is still reeling from the revelation in book two that Alex, her love from book one, is still alive, and for most of this book she is torn between loving Julian and not being loved by Alex. In the meantime, Hana is preparing for her wedding with Fred, son of the former mayor of Portland and, it turns out, a very dangerous man to cross.  The kind of man who would make your blood run cold, demanding a deadly level of loyalty and exacting any punishment he can think of for those who cross him.

Lena's story in the Wilds is mostly about survival, and her clan has to deal with its own treachery and anarchy of a sort. She's kind of mopey until near the end, where she's dealing with three separate females: newcomer Coral, who is a rival for Alex's love, her cousin Grace, and her mother.  Surprisingly, I thought Hana's story was the more interesting of the two; so often in fiction, the stories of those who are left behind intrigue me more than the stories of the wanderers and wayfarers and war makers.

I think Lauren Oliver is an acceptable stylist whose prose serves the story, and I think her plotting across this trilogy shows tremendous potential.  I just wish she would try her hand at something more worthy of her (mostly hidden) talents. I'd like to see her write a chunky, single-volume, plot AND character driven novel for YA or adults that stands on its own merits without capitalizing on the trendy and popular tropes of dystopian love triangle stretched out into trilogies when really a well-edited single volume would suffice.  

44 comments:

  1. wow Genial :D
    How did you obtain the advance reader's edition???

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    1. Yes, Anon, I read the ARE of this one that the publisher sent my bookstore.

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  2. I'm very, very excited for this book, I'm disappointed that it doesn't have an ending that tells you exactly what happens, though.

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  3. I happen to enjoy ambiguity in my book endings, but I know there are a lot of fans like you who want to know a little more precisely what happens. If you want specific details, I'll be happy to have you contact me via my Goodreads page. I've had quite a few people ask for details over on that site.

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  4. I dont understand, who does Lena end up with in the end, Alex or Julian? I want to know anything that I can!

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    1. Anon, I'd prefer not to answer that in a public blog this early before the book's publication. But if you want to contact me on Goodreads and send me a private message I'd be happy to discuss it.

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    2. Oh, well! Thanks for the review of Requiem anyways!

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    3. How do we find you on goodreads?

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    4. I have the user name Emily Crowe and it's viewable to the public. Please sent me a private message via that site if you wish to know more about the book.

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  5. Hi. How can I contact you on Goodreads?

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  6. Hi, Anon You can search for me at Goodreads under the name EMily Crowe. My profile there is viewable by the public. I imagine a google search alone would turn it up, but you might need to register at Goodreads in order to PM me.

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  7. Hello, Could you tell me where I can I read the requiem book online? PLEASE I'm from spain :)

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    1. I don't believe there is any online source where you can read this book online before the book is published. Once the book is released in 2013 you can buy the physical book or the ebook, but there wouldn't be any *legal* sources to read it otherwise.

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  8. Oh no! So disappointed to hear it doesn't have a very conclusive ending!!! I hope the love triangle is at least resolved?!?! Also kind of disappointed to hear it sounds like Julian doesn't die and I kind of wanted him to! LOL He is in the way! And what a new girl goes after Alex! And Alex doesn't love Lena!!! Oh my heart! I know he is mad and can't really blame him since she gave up on looking for her but I was hoping he would forgive her.

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    1. I wish I could promise you that the love trianlge is resolved, but I didn't particularly think it was. The book literally ends in the middle of an action scene, and while there might be more readerly hope for one of her lovers over the other, I think Oliver played this one pretty cannily. If you want to know specifics you can PM me at Goodreads and ask.

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  9. Will you by any chance be selling this advanced copy to readers? I would love. love. LOVE the opportunity to buy it or win it! Then hopefully I can form my own opinion! :)

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  10. Will you by any chance be selling this advanced copy to readers? I would love. love. LOVE the opportunity to buy it or win it! Then hopefully I can form my own opinion! :)

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  11. Are you by any chance going to be selling or giving away this advanced copy as well? I would love. love. LOVE. the opportunity to obtain the ARE. Thank you for your review (and for not giving any HUGE bits away). I hope I will soon be able to form my own opinion. Hopefully before March!

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  12. I would like to rescind my previous question about you selling the ARE. As it has yet to be published, I've been told selling an ARE is "unethical." However, if you do have a giveaway for this copy, please let me know! Thank you! :)

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    1. Hi, lily. Sorry to disappoint you, but a friend's daughter was interested in reading this, so I passed it on to her instead of hosting a giveaway. Good luck finding a different copy to read.

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  13. Thank you so much for the info on "Requiem".It was very helpful and I can't wait for the book to come out! :)

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  14. Thanks for the info! Can't wait till it comes out but very disappointed at how the ending will seem to be

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  16. does it actually say in the end who she ends up with? (i dont want to know who, just if she decides)

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    1. hi, hannah. i think the ending is written intentionally ambiguous so that Alex AND Julian fans can still hope, but the case is much stronger for one than the other. If you do want to know who, you can message me on Goodreads.

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  17. Heeey, thank you so much for sharing the info about Requiem! Now I can't wait to read it. March, hurry up!

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  18. Thanks Emily (:
    It's very nice of you to put this up & it helps a lot for us. Thankyou so much xx

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  19. I CANNOT wait to read this book! Thanks for the review, so helpful. Hurry publishers, hurry!

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  20. I CANNOT wait to read this book! Thanks so much for the review :). Hurry publishers, hurry!

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  21. I loved reading your review and it has left me really excited but nervous for Requiem! I seriously hope in the revised final version of the book, Lauren Oliver makes is clearer who Lena ends up with; I'm praying for it to be Alex ;)

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  22. This was very helpful!!! Now looking forward to reading it but also fearful of if I will end up still liking the series as much as I do with this book. Thanks for putting this up!! :)

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  23. Thank you so much for giving some information about requiem, You were very helpful. :)Now I can't wait to read the book. Thanks again.

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  24. Hi Emily, thanks for replying the private message on goodreads! It was very kind of you and I can't wait to get my hands on the book! Thank you!

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  25. This is the best review i.ve read about this book thx alot nw we have an idea about the book but plz plz plz can u tell me who lena will end up wth so i can stop thinking about the book :D???

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  26. Thanks for taking your time to answer some of my questions about Requiem via Goodreads! You were really helpful. Sometimes I just need to know some spoilers in order to decide whether or not I should read a book.

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  27. Thanks Emily for answering my questions via Goodreads. I appreciate it. Your comments were very insightful and very helpful. I now have a better idea whther or not to rush out and buy the book. I believe spoilers are good sometimes. Thanks again.

    Courtney Wallace

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  28. Your review got me even more excited about the book!

    Can't wait to read it :)

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  29. Hello there, just leaving a comment on your blog as I promised I would. This review is very helpful and I'm afraid that I fit into the "doesn't enjoy ambiguity" category. I would have liked to have some sort of ending, not necessarily a perfect one but an ending at least. However, if this pushes for a fourth book in the series then I am more than thrilled.

    I personally didn't think that I would enjoy Delirium at first, but slowly got into it the more I read and although I am not particularly amazed by the writing or the plotline, I am not the kind of person who can just leave a series alone. I need to have closure! Therefore I will be sticking with the series till the end. I have also grown fond of the characters (although I was never truly bothered by Lena and her attitude within the first book, she is much better in Pandemonium).

    I hope this comment is okay for you, I am not used to blogging sites.

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  30. Hello, this is Melissa here, from Goodreads.
    This review was very helpful to me. thank you. I don't look forward to the lack of ending, but if that means that there will be a fourth book then I don't mind that at all.

    I didn't think that I would enjoy Delirium when I first began to read it and although I am not particularly bothered by the plot or the writing itself, I foudn myself growing attached to the characters. Plus, there is no way that I will start a series and not finish.

    I hope this comment was okay, as I don't use blog sites often (the last time I did was for Media at 6th form). Sorry if it isn't.

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  31. I loved this review... I appreciated how you gave spoilers, but not the climax ( At least I don't think)!! Thank you so much for replying back to me!!

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  33. Thanks so much for answering my questions on Requiem on Goodreads! I can finally sleep at night! I loved you review of the book too! It was honest and informative without spoiling too much. I'll definitely be reading more of your reviews in the future! :)

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  35. Hey..I just finished requium and I thought it was pretty good but ur review was definitely accurate..except I thinkbhannas story was really a waste..I really feel like she should have stick to the way delirium was written with just lena and left hanas boring story to the mini novellas....but if ur looking for a book that really showcases lauren olivers talents look no further than "Before I Fall" by lauren...its the first book she wrote but its by far one of my favorite books and I think it really does a good job of creating an interesting plot as well as making you think and evaluate what is really important in your life :)

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