THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE by Sara Gran

I’m pretty surprised that a novel about rare books and sex magic would be so compelling…

...or maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise? 

Because on second thought, that sounds awesome. And to top it off, it’s written by the great Sara Gran. 

This novel follows a successful author-turned-book-dealer who is hired to track down a mysterious rare grimoire detailing a complicated sex spell that promises the practitioner unimaginable power after the successful completion of five acts.

Sara Gran has a serious talent for writing with a  powerful efficiency in characterization; she really knows how to introduce and illustrate a character to the point where you immediately understand who they are. She’s detailed and engaging in her descriptions and astute in her observations. She’s a stand-out and better at this than most authors I’ve read, and it makes her work immediately readable. Just like with Gran’s masterful horror novel, Come Closer, the power here is in the subtleties. The plot and the way it evolves is actually deceptively simple, but it leaves room for Gran to focus on what’s really going on here which is the spiritual and emotional reawakening that Lily goes through in the search for the book. And the author does this in a subtle, well-paced way. 

Yes, it’s a book about greed, sex magic, and rare book-selling, but it’s also a sometimes touching look at getting past grief. 

GRADE: A