Title robust but beautiful, precise yet expansive, irrefutably suited to the work. Early pages intoxicating and compelling in equal measure, ensnaring readers of every age, race, inclination and intellect. Strong voice established immediately, original and unique yet paying subtle homage to esteemed antecedents from Western canon and beyond. Setting remote and perhaps exotic but palpably of this world. Landscapes rendered exquisitely but never simply for description’s own sake—every evocation of place and situation inextricably linked to movement of plot and deepening of character.
Plot gently ruthless, powering forth though never at expense of atmosphere, advancing without appearing to do so—reader so distracted by elegance of prose that unaware in grip of events, in outcome of which he or she now profoundly invested, to extent major and minor characters like living, breathing humans encroaching on actual life. Protagonist rendered in close third person, frequent use of free indirect style ensuring consciousness of text inseparable from consciousness of character. Protagonist drawn with great care, internal and external characteristics rendered vividly and naturally without stride of plot ever being broken. Other characters no less round, telling details for each woven seamlessly into narrative.
Symbolism active but not intrusive, only granting its rich rewards to the most attentive and contemplative readers. All metaphors and similes organic and resonant, withstanding all scrutiny, layering images with extra potency while never tangibly straining to do so. All dialogue ripe with subtext, lifelike without tiresome fidelity to quotidian human speech. Flashbacks used sparingly to great effect, introduced and let go via seamless transitions so that reader moved back and forth through time without motion sickness or disorientation. Each page somehow a thing of visual splendour. Music and rhythm of prose implacable without being mannered or overwrought.
Latter stages of novel bring events to inexorable climax, begging more questions than it answers. Protagonist wiser but still assailed by complexity of life—death no less certain than at outset, though perhaps now less to be feared. Last pages rich with sense of completion without neatness or bogus resolution. Final sentence impeccably weighted, certain to echo in reader’s mind, gorgeous, haunting, perhaps a touch ironic, unquestionably the correct end.