Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Akairya

Jan 19

****

4/5 Stars

I enjoyed this read. Overall, it was a lovely meander into an incredibly creative world – as expected when one picks up a Sanderson story.

For the most part, I found this book to be pleasantly comfortable. I didn't hyperfocus into it, or obsess over it, or gnaw at my fingers in stress as the climax crept ever closer. I simply picked away at the chapters and felt content when it was done.

Saying all of that, there were two sections that dove straight to my heart. Light spoilers here, so continue reading at your own risk:

The scene where Painter meets the Dreamwatch and learns that he never would have had a chance to join them because of his lack of connections SLAMMED into me. As an author with very little money and very few literary connections, such a moment was raw and relatable. Breaking into an industry with any kind of force generally requires you to know the right people…and those who know the right people are generally well off. If you aren't well off and you don't know the right people, being an extrovert works in your favor – get viral on TikTok and WAH-BAM.

In other words, this scene was an excellent metaphor for those of us who feel utterly defeated by closed doors.

Sometimes we need to remember that those doors only have special, rather unfair locks.

I was utterly surprised by this moment in the book and completely impressed with it because of how well it was handled by Sanderson.

What also resonated with me was the overall theme – machine progress and its negative effect on creativity and society. I thoroughly enjoyed Sanderson's take on this very relevant question, as it's one that I've thought about plenty.

With its neat prose, lovely plot, and the two mentioned moments, this book was a wonderful experience for me.