Check out my review: https://www.raintaxi.com/volume-25-number-1-spring-2020-97/

-------------
Update (1/31/2020): Shame on me for not finishing off [b:Redwood|34137679|Redwood (The Familiar #5)|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495389883l/34137679._SY75_.jpg|55174849] first, as The Little Blue Kite comes from p. 742. Very clever, Mr. Danielewski.
-------------

Danielewski never stops pushing the boundaries of what fiction can be--that's for sure. And when I saw he went from the dishearteningly-canceled Familiar series to a children's book, my interest was as piqued as my confusion. Here are some thoughts:

1. It is a moralizing children's tale that can be read by people of all ages, like [b:Le petit Prince|31409185|Le petit Prince ( Illustrate)|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470820747l/31409185._SY75_.jpg|2180358].
2. Like [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403889034l/24800._SX50_.jpg|856555], you will be turning the book this way and that, amused at how the form matches the content.
3. As this is the same production team that brought us the aesthetic-bending treats of his former series, you will savor the alternating fonts and colors, looking for patterns.
4. The concepts of the Murk, the sky of the mind, and gentle thoughts are a neat metaphor.

In the end, though, I can only say that I am left indifferent. Really, I mean, who doesn't want some thick book from this guy? ( )

It's not really correct, I think, to call this either a children's book or a picture book, though the illustrations are amazing and children can certainly enjoy it. It's more about how we can live our lives -- free from the murk of our fears, or not.

Funner still, the book can be read in three ways: one is quite short; one medium; and one full-length. ( )

No one has ever impressed me by hiding the name of a major collaborator until the last page. The name of artist Regina M. Gonzalez is not noted anywhere on the cover, title page or verso page. Danielewski is also credited for art, and I have to wonder if he drew the hideous figure art while Gonzalez drew everything else on the page that looked good.

Also, this is classified as a graphic novel, but it is really just a picture book with ridiculous and annoying fonts.

Regardless, it is pure drivel, painful to read once, much less three times as is recommended on the dust jacket. Ugh. ( )