BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Cloisters: A Novel
The Secret History meets Ninth House in this sinister, atmospheric novel following a circle of researchers as they uncover a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York’s famed Met Cloisters.In the end, was it fate that decided what happened to these characters or the choices they made?
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Community Reviews
I think this book is a great introduction to dark academia style books, but it doesn’t compare to some of the well know books in this sub genre.
I really wanted to love this book. Coming from an Art History and Museum background I was hooked immediately but unfortunately, at least for me, I felt like for 75% of the book I was waiting for something to happen and then when it did I was like, "Meh, not surprised." I felt like the description of the setting was wonderful but the overall story and character development fell short. Perhaps you will love it though!
loved this book. The vibes, the descriptions, and the ending :) As a museum educator, I fell right into this world
This debut novel does a great job of showing the angst of breaking into academia, as well as exploring the experience of grief. Ann is our protagonist and after graduating from college the year her beloved father died, is trying to get away from the home that is increasingly claustrophobic. She finds a summer internship that eventually becomes a placement at the Cloisters, a sister museum to the Met. The people she meets and the incidences of the summer change everything. Some of the unmentioned connections were things i predicted, others were not.
My favorite part of this novel is the setting. You can tell the author researched The Cloisters and the city very well. The Cloisters are by far my favorite museum in NYC so that is what originally caught my attention about this book. I love that the author did it justice, we got robust descriptions of The Cloisters themselves along with getting a really good feel of the atmosphere. Since I was a child I was also really interested in tarot and the occult, so this book is literally two of my favorite things put together.
I really loved how the mystery that we thought we were solving didn't end up being the giant twist at the end, there is a giant twist at the end but it is not at all what you are expecting. I look forward to reading more by this author, she will be for sure added to my favorites list.
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