4.5 ⭐
Wow, what a gem this book was! I'm so glad I read it (thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC).

I think it's best to go in blind with this book - I'll just say that it alternates between modern-day San Francisco and the mathematical/philosophy circles of 1930s Vienna. Add time travel, obsession, Austrofacism and Wikipedia and you've got a great story. Menger Anderson is a beautiful writer too and I loved what she did with the ending. Her writing reminded me of Emily St. John Mandel (whom I love). I really think this book would make a great Netflix miniseries -- kind of similar in feel to the German show "Dark".

The Expert of Subtle Revisions comes out on March 18th!

Amazing writing and vivid imagery. However, this novel is a pretty slow burn and doesn’t really pick up the pace until over halfway through.

First off, the book cover is a Wiki article - it’s what initially drew me to this book and is actually pretty central to decoding the story. The book follows two alternating timelines and 3 character’s POV - it’s a little challenging to follow why these stories were intersected at first but once you get the basics of who they are, it is easier. There’s
* Hase, a young woman searching for her missing father in the year 2016 in SF;
* Anton, a brilliant mathematics professor of the University of Vienna in the year 1933;
* and Josef, a disgruntled academic of mathematics who is also from Vienna 1933

Overall, I thought the writing was well done, and I do like that it makes you think - it’s definitely not a book that hands everything to the audience. However, the multiple POVs did interrupt critical moments (although to be fair, this is a technique that many TV series use to get audience to keep watching) plus there is a lot of exposition in the beginning that you have to be patient with.

Hase and her father pretty much live off the grid and their only online presence is through editing Wikipedia articles, so it was interesting to see how every word matters when it comes to conveying a message or concept. I think this is a good novel for readers who are okay with going along with the ride and putting in some effort to appreciate the writing and see how everything comes together.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are independently my own.

This book had me hooked from the beginning; I couldn’t put it down. I’ve had I went in completely blind, yet somehow intuitively knew the author was leaving breadcrumbs for a mystery that would unfold. While I was correct, I was not prepared for the journey that unfolded (in the best way!). I am not a reader that highlights or annotates, but I went into full detective mode trying to decipher all the clues I could. This is the most fun I have had reading in a long time.

The writing is beautiful. The story switches POVs which can lead to underdeveloped characters or uneven plot pacing. This is absolutely NOT the case here. The characters are fully fleshed out. The POV switches are expertly timed, appropriately progressing the plot and leaving me wanting a little more, yet quickly immersing me in the next POV. I enjoyed my time with each character (expect maybe Josef, but I still enjoyed disliking him).

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

the reason i picked this up is because it sounds right up my alley - i love meta lit and this reminds me vaguely of cloud cuckoo land by anthony doerr (another fave). at first it was a lot to get a handle on. hase lives such a strange life and since it’s a mystery story, it was a bit difficult to understand where the story was going and even where it was starting. but the slow burn was so worth it and by halfway i could not put it down. the prose is lovely, but more than anything, it is such a smart book. it waits until the very end to start making sense and that’s exactly what i had hoped for. i would’ve liked it to be longer i think, but i was so overwhelmed by how subtle it is that in the end i forgive it for any of its shortcomings because i just loved watching it all come together. i’m still not sure what the ending turned into but it is quite an abstract book as it is, so i’m not really concerned. it just felt so surreal, so romantic, so unhinged. i know a lot of people won’t get this or enjoy it but I DO and that’s what matters!!!!

perfect for fans of cloud cuckoo land, alone with you in the ether, the invisible life of addie larue, and the starless sea (aka MY FAVORITES)

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Expert of Subtle Revisions.

The fact this ARC contained no summary piqued my interest as well as the artsy cover art so I thought, why not request it?

It's hard to categorize this novel; it's kind of about time travel but it's a minor subplot.

It's about love, revenge, jealously, family, secrets, and preserverance; yes, I know, that's a lot of themes.

It's well written, but not suspenseful or dramatic.

There's a lot of exposition to get through due to the past and present timelines which is necessary to establish the backgrounds of the cast of characters.

Hase is the main character, who is searching for her missing father, yet at the same time, she's not the main character.

She isn't a well developed character; she's secretive, quiet, introspective, most likely due to the way she was raised.

Actually, there's really no one character to sympathize or root for.

The past timeline offers context to Hase's life and her search for her father in the present.

I enjoyed the descriptions of Vienna in the 1930s, and not just because I recently returned from a vacation in Vienna.

The political climate and civil unrest during that time in Vienna adds tension and anxiety but I felt the author just wanted to discuss Vienna and its politics and threw in the time travel as a literary device just to make it 'more interesting.'

I wanted to know more about the device; why did Gaul create it, unless I missed that part.

The lengthy exposition dragged the pacing of the narrative and after I finished this, I wondered what was the point of the plot.

That time is linear? Or not? That we can't change the past? That we will always have regrets?

I wanted something to happen, not just exposition and monologuing and with characters to care about.

I really liked this book. The author was able to keep a steady and interesting pace throughout the whole book, rare in such an ambitious plot. The book has complexity, layer and layers of subjects intertwined in a beautiful love story.

Hase’s experieces broke my heart at several points during the book. I felt like she was very vulnerable and untethered. Her freedom seemed like an ultimate limitation that constantly threatened her livelihood, I think for this reason I couldn’t go back to this book for a reread. All of the characters seem to meet a tragic or sad end, with rare islands of respite.

The historical aspect of the story is really worth reading, I felt like I was actually in Vienna in the 1930s.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. The Expert of Subtle Revisions is a book that I found to be best jumping into, headfirst, without much of a preface. It’s difficult to describe the plot but, to say that it’s an enjoyable literary mystery that takes you all over the place, in the span of a few hundred pages, is definitely true.

I enjoyed this book but, definitely had to be in the right head space for it. There are two stories, in two different timelines, being told here; ultimately, they overlap, but I found it important to pay attention to little details to appreciate how these stories connected. The author’s writing was sharp and kept you engrossed in the story, whichever point in time you were at. This was not a perfect book and at times, I felt like I really needed to push through. But, I’m glad I stuck with it.

I’d recommend this book and look forward to seeing what others think!

DNF - In the past, I would have gladly worked through this whole book but, this time around I found the pacing rather annoying. I wanted a more profound narration & a deeper exploration of the void that was their experiences. The plot is interesting & the right reader will eat this up.

A totally fascinating story about "what could have been, in another life". The book follows a young woman Hase and her father.

And secondly, in an alternate timeline, it follows academics (smarties!) working at the University of Vienna. Eventually both points of view are connected, and the twists on how they are kept me running back to keep reading this book.

This author has a way with words - her writing is captivating, and her phrasing is stunning. I was extremely disappointed to see she has no other books, as I immediately wanted to read more of her work. Unique, excellent book.

Serious readers of fiction recognize that some novels just don’t work, while others just push all the right buttons. Kirsten Menger-Anderson’s delightful debut novel, “The Expert of Subtle Revisions”, pulled me in from the very beginning and never let me go.

What are those buttons? Math, between the Great Wars Vienna, classical piano, the tortured halls of Academia, San Francisco, libraries, music boxes, and Wikipedia just for a start. Menger-Anderson has an exquisite touch when it comes to capturing a scene, both visually as well as in tone.

“The Expert of Subtle Revisions” is like an exhilarating carnival ride where anything may happen at any time, and all a reader needs to do is hold on tight. Sometimes Menger-Anderson takes you to completely unexpected places, even implausible ones. But, no matter - can’t wait for what comes next.

At one level “The Expert of Subtle Revisions” unfolds as a Gothic mystery. But at its core,, the story focuses on the human need for searching for understanding, and while never quite finding it, always staying committed to the quest.

I look forward to closely tracking Ms. Menger-Anderson’s success with “The Expert of Subtle Revisions” as well as all future efforts.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.