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A review by doughtah
A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
5.0
I won a copy of A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland in a giveaway and for two months it sat unread while I scrambled around reading other things. Now, having finished it, I wish I had cracked open the book sooner.
A Conspiracy of Truths is told in a first person POV of an old man called Chant. Chant, from the very first page, is in trouble with the law and is relating to us - the Reader/the Listener - his story. I won’t tell you anything beyond that because discovering where Chant is and what happens to Chant is the entire fun of the book and every page and every chapter reveals something new for the mystery.
One aspect of the book that I think Rowland did fantastic with was the cadence of Chant’s story. Chant’s occupation (I lied, I am telling you just a smidge more) is being a storyteller of sorts. Throughout the book he talks about how he has a bajillion stories in his mind about people from all over the world. And the thing that really shows that - beyond him just saying so - is the narration. As soon as you crack open the first page, Chant is saying fuck and speaking like someone who would be verbally telling a story. He has asides where he’ll ramble for a paragraph or two and still bring it back around to his main story. The way he relates to us who has said what and in what way sounds like a person telling another person about what they’ve experienced.
Repeatedly, I read the first page out loud to people to try and show them how interesting the book was and each time they agreed. There’s a solid rhythm to Chant’s/Rowland’s storytelling.
There is also a fantastic cast of characters. Each of them have their own stories outside of Chant’s and it shows. Their stories intersect with Chant’s, but they’re sole purpose in the book’s universe is not to serve Chant’s story and that helped make them stand out all the more as their own selves. There’s a cranky advocate, a simpering Queen, a doddering King, an honorable Queen, a heartfelt apprentice, and quite a few other characters built into the story who also have their own tale apart from Chant.
One of my favorite parts of the story was that the men and women were never expected to not be emotional. They were allowed their vulnerable moments. Chant and his apprentice had quite a few that made me tear up.
On a technical side, I want to say that I loved the book cover, the back cover (!!! JUST A BIG QUOTE! none of that ‘here are some reviews of it!’ I loved that so much), the stories within Chant’s larger story, the writing (again), and the map! Chant’s unreliability!! I loved every thoughtful thing that went into the book and from what I read, there were so many thoughtful things.
Now, some heads up for folks: lots of time spent in jail and some repercussions that come from that, quite a bit of fear about torture, some callousness from characters, incompetency in government, violence and gore for a little bit, and some cheating on significant others (not by anyone married).
This was a really fun book to read and I’m glad I finally picked it up to read. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an unreliable narrator, stories about storytelling, political maneuvering, world building, and found families. All in all, it was a wonderfully emotional book with a beautifully unreliable narrator whose true meaning is in his actions and not always in the words he tells his audience.
A Conspiracy of Truths is told in a first person POV of an old man called Chant. Chant, from the very first page, is in trouble with the law and is relating to us - the Reader/the Listener - his story. I won’t tell you anything beyond that because discovering where Chant is and what happens to Chant is the entire fun of the book and every page and every chapter reveals something new for the mystery.
One aspect of the book that I think Rowland did fantastic with was the cadence of Chant’s story. Chant’s occupation (I lied, I am telling you just a smidge more) is being a storyteller of sorts. Throughout the book he talks about how he has a bajillion stories in his mind about people from all over the world. And the thing that really shows that - beyond him just saying so - is the narration. As soon as you crack open the first page, Chant is saying fuck and speaking like someone who would be verbally telling a story. He has asides where he’ll ramble for a paragraph or two and still bring it back around to his main story. The way he relates to us who has said what and in what way sounds like a person telling another person about what they’ve experienced.
Repeatedly, I read the first page out loud to people to try and show them how interesting the book was and each time they agreed. There’s a solid rhythm to Chant’s/Rowland’s storytelling.
There is also a fantastic cast of characters. Each of them have their own stories outside of Chant’s and it shows. Their stories intersect with Chant’s, but they’re sole purpose in the book’s universe is not to serve Chant’s story and that helped make them stand out all the more as their own selves. There’s a cranky advocate, a simpering Queen, a doddering King, an honorable Queen, a heartfelt apprentice, and quite a few other characters built into the story who also have their own tale apart from Chant.
One of my favorite parts of the story was that the men and women were never expected to not be emotional. They were allowed their vulnerable moments. Chant and his apprentice had quite a few that made me tear up.
On a technical side, I want to say that I loved the book cover, the back cover (!!! JUST A BIG QUOTE! none of that ‘here are some reviews of it!’ I loved that so much), the stories within Chant’s larger story, the writing (again), and the map! Chant’s unreliability!! I loved every thoughtful thing that went into the book and from what I read, there were so many thoughtful things.
Now, some heads up for folks: lots of time spent in jail and some repercussions that come from that, quite a bit of fear about torture, some callousness from characters, incompetency in government, violence and gore for a little bit, and some cheating on significant others (not by anyone married).
This was a really fun book to read and I’m glad I finally picked it up to read. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an unreliable narrator, stories about storytelling, political maneuvering, world building, and found families. All in all, it was a wonderfully emotional book with a beautifully unreliable narrator whose true meaning is in his actions and not always in the words he tells his audience.