Oh boy. Can I just start by saying I really wanted to like How To Tell Toledo From the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer. I have been following Netzer’s career since she came out with Shine, Shine, Shine in 2012. She is one of those hot young things getting all the accolades and everyone I know seems to like her books. Boom. How To Tell Toledo came in at the library and I was ready.
The novel is about George and Irene who were, quite literally, born to be together. Their mothers got pregnant at the same time, and raised their children to be soul mates. This all appeals to be on every level. I love the premise of the story, add to that the fact that both George and Irene are astrophysicists and I’m sold.
So what went wrong? How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky is fanciful. I would even say it nudges up against magic realism and for me that is one bridge too far. Very rarely do I ever find myself invest in a novel in which magic realism plays a large role. I just don’t seem to be able to suspend my disbelief. In this novel, George is repeatedly visited by goddess-like apparitions, and I just couldn’t. So that’s that.
Who would like this book? So in spite of the fact that I didn’t finish this book, I want you to like it. Please, suspend your disbelief if you are able. It is a well written book that happens to take a flight of fancy. Below are some other reviews of How To Tell Toledo From the Night Sky to help you see if you should read it. And, please let me know if you’ve reviewed it.
52 books or bust 
Sorry this one didn’t work out for you, but I think you do have to be able to let go of a bit of reality for it to click!
Hey, not every book is for every person. But I so badly wanted to like it!
I too tried to love it but just could not get into this one. I really need to write a DNF post cause it just didn’t work for me either. I like how you wrote this one with finesse!
I’ve debated with myself over the value of writing a DNF post, but I’m glad I did it. I hope that by explaining why it didn’t work for me I make clear that it is only my opinion. It doesn’t mean the book is bad, only that the book and I weren’t compatable.
I have a hard time with magical realism too. Basically, any time I’m reading a book that seems realistic and then something happens that could never happen in real life . . . I’m done. I can’t read any more. There are a very few exceptions, but not many. I was sent an ARC of this book and knew it was not for me, for that reason. It’s funny, but if a book is total fantasy, I’m OK with it. It’s the mixture of “magic” and “realism” that bothers me.
I think it bothered me more because I didn’t know it was coming. If I had known going in, I might have been ok with it. Maybe.
It’s so tough when you really want to like a book and it just does not work for you. Good on you for recognizing it and just letting it go though. For the second time in 2 weeks I’m toying with the idea of walking away from a biography…haven’t made the final call on it, but it’s not looking good. Hate when this happens.
It’s even harder to walk away from a book when it’s so pretty.
I’ve been hearing good things about this from other bloggers and I do like magical realism, so I might give this one a try. It’s encouraging to hear that the author is one you like š
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I struggled with this one, but ultimately I liked enough elements of it to finish it. I will say that George’s “visitations” are explained at the end, but some of the other quirks and weird aspects are not.
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