Review: Dark Matter by Blake crouch

“If you strip away all the trappings of personality and lifestyle, what are the core components that make me me?”

​It feels so good to check off books from the TBR list. Dark Matter was a fast, thrilling and quite enjoyable read. However, I was promised a f-ing mind blowing experience, and that didn't happen. But what I got out of this book was so much better.

“As long as I'm with you, I know exactly who I am.”

Me and my husband buddy-read this book. And while he is super into science fiction and physics and all of that, me, - not so much. I was a bit scared that I might be bored or confused by this book - but I wasn't at all. Turns out Dark Matter is so much more than just science fiction. It is a science fiction with so much heart and emotion, and love.

​The concept is pretty cool, and the pace is incredible. There were definitely a few heart thumping instances. It is also very well written - I would definitely recommend. But what surprised me the most in this novel, is how much Blake Crouch knows about family, love, sacrifice, choices and consequences. The book is full of so many amazing ad heart wrenching quotes! I teared up at least twice! So, bravo, Crouch, bravo!

“I’ve always known, on a purely intellectual level, that our separateness and isolation are an illusion. We’re all made of the same thing—the blown-out pieces of matter formed in the fires of dead stars.”

The connection that the main character, Jason, had with his wife, Daniela is swoon worthy. And not because it's perfect. It's very flawed - and that's what makes it so real, so relatable. To be completely honest, one can take out all of the emotional quotes from this book and build a pre-marriage counseling course off it. It's that good.

“They haven't been unhappy these last few years, quite the opposite. But it's been a long, long time since she felt that sense of giddy love that effervesces in the pit of your stomach and spectacularly upends the world.”

The plot itself had a few holes - I felt like quite a few questions were left unanswered. Things that seemed very important in the beginning, or the middle of the book, were just completely forgotten by the end. Some of the events that happened at the very end were quite weird to me too, but overall I was pretty satisfied with how it all wrapped up.
Although, I have to mention that it did feel a bit - open. Like there were so many questions left and it made me think that maybe there will be a number 2? I mean the world is infinite, so why not. I would totally be okay with a second book, or even better - a spinoff.

“My reality—more and more every day—is this world. Where I have nothing. Where I’m a homeless, filthy creature whose existence evokes only compassion, pity, and disgust. Nearby, another homeless man is standing in the middle of the sidewalk, having a full-volume conversation with nobody. I think, Am I so different? Aren’t we both lost in worlds that, for reasons beyond our control, no longer align with our identity?”

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