"The Age of Ice" had so much going for it, and at the start, felt incredibly interesting: magical realism, historical fiction, an unreliable narrator, off-kilter storytelling, antiquated writing style. In the beginning, the puzzle of the book is entertaining - but unfortunately it all falls apart.

Though the writing is great, the story loses purposes and it seems like we're reading just to read. The sense of purpose and the puzzle of the book disappears, the characters top growing, and unfortunately, the end falls flat.

Das ist schwer, denn es gab Ideen und Abschnitte, die mich fasziniert haben und die ich wirklich mochte. Aber alles andere war für mich eine Qual. Es war SO langatmig. Es könnte sein, dass die Langeweile beabsichtigt war; eine Darstellung dessen, was Alexanders Leben war. Aber es hat für mich nicht funktioniert, so oder so. Mir hat das Konzept der Geschichte gefallen, aber nicht die Ausführung. Wenn Sie Sprache, Geschichte und langatmige Beschreibungen mögen, wird man es vielleicht mehr genießen als ich es tat.

Unfortunately I've tried coming back to this book again and again over the years, but can't get into it-- it's just not for me.

No matter how much that I tried, I just did not enjoy this book. The premise was interesting and exploring this world was fun. I am not able to pinpoint why this book fell short for me. I have read other books by this author and found them to be enjoyable. Just not my cup of tea and at no fault of the author's.