celinenyx
Four years, one current that connects them: the far-reaching idea that human life will not be the same after.
The Countenance Divine is an ambitious novel, tying together not only four vastly different time periods and their characters, but also highly contrasting writing styles. I was impressed with the diversity of writing, moving from pseudo-confessional document to dream sequences and stream-of-consciousness letter writing. These technical feats are what makes the book good - but at the same time it was missing that element that ties it all together. Though the reader is compelled to turn the pages, the lurking presence that connects all stories was only touched on too sporadically. By the end of it, I was vaguely left with the feeling of "what did I just read?"