A book a day: Brandon Sanderson: Elantris

Idioma original: English

Original title: Elantris

Translation: Manuel de los Reyes Garcia Campos

Year of publication: 2005

Valuation: dispensable

I didn’t expect anything from this book and yet it still managed to disappoint me.

Reading a good book requires an intellectual effort. In part, that effort makes the reading more satisfying once finished, as well as enriching it with our interpretation and analysis. This is not to be said for works that require making decisions or keeping a record of events, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude.

This task can be exhausting. So from time to time one turns to lighter readings to keep the machine oiled. Entertaining, exciting, intriguing stories… but they do not produce a change in us (even from the point of view of some psychological theories, any learning is only evident as a change in behavior). Anyway, when I am tired of doing any intellectual exercise, I turn to such readings. Some detective saga or science fiction (I was pleasantly surprised by The Three-Body Problem).

I tried to read some fantasy books. Brandon Sanderson tops many lists and when looking for which of his books would be the right one, why not listen to the recommendations of the writer himself. Sanderson recommends Elantris, for anyone who wants to delve into his literature. Here we go.

A prince falls from grace. A cunning princess wants to save the kingdom. A very evil villain wants to conquer the world (if Sanderson doesn’t put any effort into writing, I’ll put even less effort into summarizing the plot).

The book is poorly written. There are many redundancies and inconsistencies in time and character of the characters; the narrator is confused with the thoughts of the protagonists; the characters lack personality, beyond what the narrator describes to us, without this being supported by the characters’ actions… I could go on, but what does it matter.

If I had a little more empathy, I would feel bad for those who consume this junk food.