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For me, The Drowning Girl was an exercise in literary execution. It was hard for me to get into the book, into the narrative, because I was too often distracted by the form. It served its function well, and on an intellectual level, I have a lot of respect for this book. It would make a really interesting book to study academically or as fodder for writerly discussions with writer friends. As an overall read it was difficult. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, it was probably part of the novel's intent. After all, this is the memoir of a woman suffering with mental illness, and Imp is the most unreliable of unreliable narrators. She admits that the story doesn't make sense, that its inconsistent, that some things are factual and some things are true. That there are two ways that things happened, one of them factual and one of them true.
I love Caitlin Kiernan. I've loved her since I read Silk many moons ago, but if I hadn't read all of her other books and enjoyed them so thoroughly, I wouldn't have made it through The Drowning Girl. It reminds me of reading The Sound and the Fury. These are books that require an inordinate amount of attention and investment. These are not bad things, but the absence of what we consider traditional storytelling is a challenge that only the last 1/4 of The Drowning Girl manages to mostly navigate. But I also think that's the point which makes this a brilliant exercise in writing. There is alot of intent in the structure, but not much to keep one emotionally engaged. Watching Imp sort through her ghost story nightmare was increasingly less interesting as the novel progressed because there wasn't enough action. There wasn't enough reveal. We were too often left in the dark because Imp was in the dark. Again, I think that was the point, but it left little room for connection. The Red Tree was a challenging read, but I loved it far more than I did The Drowning Girl.
I'm sorry that I didn't like this book more, and that I gave it such a low rating. I love Caitlin Kiernan, and I really wanted to love this book. I was SO EXCITED when it came out. Unfortunately, this one was a bust for me, Again, it would make an amazing academic study of writing and intent, but as a narrative for reading and enjoyment I found it really difficult and convoluted.
I love Caitlin Kiernan. I've loved her since I read Silk many moons ago, but if I hadn't read all of her other books and enjoyed them so thoroughly, I wouldn't have made it through The Drowning Girl. It reminds me of reading The Sound and the Fury. These are books that require an inordinate amount of attention and investment. These are not bad things, but the absence of what we consider traditional storytelling is a challenge that only the last 1/4 of The Drowning Girl manages to mostly navigate. But I also think that's the point which makes this a brilliant exercise in writing. There is alot of intent in the structure, but not much to keep one emotionally engaged. Watching Imp sort through her ghost story nightmare was increasingly less interesting as the novel progressed because there wasn't enough action. There wasn't enough reveal. We were too often left in the dark because Imp was in the dark. Again, I think that was the point, but it left little room for connection. The Red Tree was a challenging read, but I loved it far more than I did The Drowning Girl.
I'm sorry that I didn't like this book more, and that I gave it such a low rating. I love Caitlin Kiernan, and I really wanted to love this book. I was SO EXCITED when it came out. Unfortunately, this one was a bust for me, Again, it would make an amazing academic study of writing and intent, but as a narrative for reading and enjoyment I found it really difficult and convoluted.
