The Drowning Girl: Or Inside the Head of a Schizophrenic

The Drowning Girl - Caitlín R. Kiernan

I've been putting off posting a review for this book until after my book club meeting - this was one I needed to talk about. It is rare that I'm so conflicted about how I feel about a book, as I am with this one. After some excellent discussion I think I've finally gotten a handle on why I'm so ambivalent. There are things I love about this book. The writing is top notch, and the ideas are intriguing. The use of imagery, metaphor, and color are all stunning. I also love the idea of a haunting almost being akin to a disease. There was so much about this book that I thought was well done, and the themes were quite appealing. I felt like I should love this book. And yet, I really didn't.

 

I found myself continually frustrated by the narrator, and by the story itself. I was warned, from the get go, that the story may not be the one I wanted it to be, and that was very much the case. I think if this book had presented itself to me as something other than sci-fi I might have liked it more. As is I was let down, especially by the ending. If you are looking for a book that is more mood than plot, and you approach it as a study in madness, then you might get a lot out of this one. If you are looking for a spooky ghost story you might want to give this one a pass.