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Palimpsest
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a strangers kiss.Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a cursea voyage permitted only to those whove always believed theres another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. Theyve each lost something importanta wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in lifeand what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.From the Trade Paperback edition.
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IndoorDame
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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#TemptingTitles #WithATown This is one of my favorite novels. Such an out there concept. There is a city that tattoos itself onto your skin. You can only visit it in your dreams. You gain access by sleeping with someone who‘s been there… Also where I learned the word palimpsest, which in subsequent years has become one of those things that crops up everywhere in my life. @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Well done 👍🏼 🗺️ I see (edited) 12mo
dabbe #stacked! 💚 12mo
68 likes3 stack adds2 comments
review
AllisonM89
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
Bailedbailed

July #doublespin @thearomaofbooks

Confession: I bought this book knowing nothing about it other than the fact that I adore the author.

Like any Cat Valente book, the writing is MAGNIFICENT, but this plot isn't for me. At all.

TheAromaofBooks Well you checked that one off the list in record time! 😂 2y
AllisonM89 @TheAromaofBooks i tried starting it yesterday and i just couldn't do it... 😅 2y
12 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Mogoeg
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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Pickpick

This book is extremely weird & cool & also kind of terrifying. Rarely have I read something that so accurately captures dream geography - in this case a beautiful, opulent, pitiless & terrifying city of sex and dread - the eponymous Palimpsest. If that sounds appealing to you, it is definitely worth checking out. I guess I've been sleeping on Valente - her imagination is 🔥 I'm excited to read more of her work. Let me know if you have any recs!

76 likes5 stack adds
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GatheringBooks
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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GatheringBooks
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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#QuotsyDec18 Day 15: A #Cup redolent with forest secrets, dark and deep. Or not. 🤣😂🧚🏼‍♀️📚☕️

76 likes1 stack add
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JessReads
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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New ink, inspired by Cat Valente (quote via The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland... and compass from the cover of Palimpsest.) Who else has literary ink?

ElizabethAndino JESS! That is SO FREAKING COOL. If I ever get a tattoo it will definitely be literary....just have to come up with something as amazing as this! 6y
julesG So cool! I want a literary one, but cannot decide which quote/fandom 6y
megt That‘s beautiful! 6y
See All 7 Comments
JessReads @ElizabethAndino I am SO HAPPY with it! 6y
JessReads @julesG That‘s why I have so many - I couldn‘t decide on a single one! 6y
JessReads @megt Thanks! 6y
annkuch13 Gorgeous! 6y
22 likes7 comments
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GrilledCheeseSamurai
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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Spent my Sunday morning with this one. Valente sure has a way with words! I'm a big fan. ❤️

Andrea4 For no particular reason, I simply adore the word "palimpsest". 6y
bookwrm526 @Andrea4 it‘s fun to say! 6y
GrilledCheeseSamurai @Andrea4 @bookwrm526 😅 Definitely a fun word! 👍 6y
83 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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HollyB3
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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Curated book mail. 💕 perfect on this rainy day. #pigeonreads

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JessReads
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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Waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets, but I have my book to keep me company!

ScientistSam I went last night! 7y
27 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Alytrue
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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Reviewsbylola I can't wait to read The Swans of Fifth Avenue. 7y
Alytrue @Reviewsbylola my book club loved it - then we all had to read In Cold Blood! 7y
24 likes2 comments
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Moray_Reads
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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Mehso-so

Full of lush, hypnotic prose and imagery both beautiful and discomforting, Valente makes no allowances for her readers; she hits hard and makes no apology. But while I adored Deathless in all its complexity, Palimpsest dragged after the first half and felt much longer than it was. Valente is a superb writer but the balance of this one wasn't right for me. #TacklingTheTBR #LRC21 #litsyteadingchallenge

saresmoore A wonderful review, as always! 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore Thank you! I never review on GR, it seems less open and safe than Litsy. I enjoy thinking a bit deeper that the start rating for once 7y
saresmoore I agree. I actually dislike the star rating as a rule. A book can be brilliant and I hated it or poorly written and I couldn't put it down. Stars don't reflect the subjective nature of reading. 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore absolutely. It's a gut thing for me but if a book is well written I feel I can't very low star rating just because I don't happen to like it 7y
41 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Moray_Reads
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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I forgot to post this yesterday for #ReadJanuary. #page24ofcurrentread. You can see an apostrophe on this page which is word because latest on in the book they just disappeared!

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whateverTabi
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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"I missed you, Olezhka," said the dead mouth of the other Lyudmila, her red dress far too small now, the weeds of the Volkhov still throttling her neck.

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CherylDeFranceschi
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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This was such a magical read. And within this wondrous, very sexy story, is the book The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland. #bookwithinabook #readjanuary

ReadingEnvy This is one of my favorite books of all time! 7y
CherylDeFranceschi @ReadingEnvy I loved it, too. I feel like nobody has read this, even though it's so amazing! 7y
ReadingEnvy @CherylDeFranceschi two years ago i got to stand in front of the author and tell her how much I loved it, while she signed my copy 💃💃💃 7y
See All 6 Comments
Loreen On to my wish list it goes! 📖 7y
CherylDeFranceschi @ReadingEnvy That is so awesome! I just can't get enough of her writing! I cannot even wait for the upcoming sequel to Deathless!!! 7y
Bette I've wanted to read her for a long time...thanks. 📚 7y
75 likes11 stack adds6 comments
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Sraexx
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente

They could not bear each other, in the end, and perhaps a thing begun in blood and death and salt must end that way.

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RealLifeReading
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
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#seasonsreadings2016 day 30: #bestofdecember
I'm playing catch up today after spending most of yesterday lying down, resting and napping (woke up with a migraine and a cold kind of day - but much better today!). These were the best books I read in Dec. To be fair I read most of Do Not Say We Have Nothing in Nov but did finish it in Dec (it's a gorgeous book but it took a while to get through). Palimpsest recently blew me away w its strange world

RealLifeReading I was amazed by the intensity and emotions of Burial Rites. And even more so by the fact that it's based on a true story. And Swing Time, I can't really pinpoint one absolute reason for enjoying this book but it was just such a great read. 7y
tpixie I enjoyed burial rights also. A lot of great research went into that book and it was a great story 7y
LeeRHarry Great choices 😊 7y
See All 6 Comments
allisoncc I loved Burial Rites as well. Deep, and the truth of it was that much more gut wrenching. 7y
RealLifeReading @tpixie yes it was and so sad 7y
156 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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LitProfNovara
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente

"There had been such a smell in the place of her dream, of sassafras and the sea, bay leaves and dandelion seeds blowing wild, of coffee plants, of sweat. The smell burned into her; she had striven after it in the way of dreams until she could hear the starry surf on a bright shore."

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MacabreGoblin
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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For me, it's a compulsion...but this is beautiful.

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CherylDeFranceschi
Palimpsest | Catherynne M. Valente
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This is 1.99 on Amazon. Amazing, erotic and gives you the seeds of where Fairyland came from. I strongly recommend this one.

sparklemotion Thank you! I've been wanting to read this one for a while. 8y
BookishFeminist I'd get this for Kindle but I just checked this out from the library finally. So excited! Love her. 8y
GuiltyFeat Having to look up the title of a book in the dictionary is a deal breaker for me, I'm afraid. 8y
ReadingEnvy I like Valente a lot but this is my absolute favorite. And I got to tell her so in person. ☺️🤗🎉 8y
CherylDeFranceschi @ReadingEnvy ❤️! That's fantastic! I love this one so much, too. I thinks it's time for a reread. 8y
54 likes7 stack adds5 comments
review
Heidsalot
Palimpsest | Catherynne Valente
Bailedbailed

I don't often bail on books and I really liked the premise of this one. The writing is quite good, but I've hit the one third mark and the plot still feels as aimless as the main character's lives. I might pick it up again later, but for now there are just so many other books I'd rather be reading.