Drowning Ruth: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) by Christina Schwarz Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Drowning Ruth: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Disappointed again in an Oprah pick
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm beginning to believe that people like Oprah's picks and rave about them because she picked them. This is the fourth of her picks I read and have yet to finish one and say "wow, what a great book!". Is everyone so in love with this women that they not dare say a book she picked is just ok or even...bad? This is an ok book but certainly not worth the hype. I struggled through most of it, and the times when I was intrigued the author left me flat with the resolution of the event. It was predictable and trite in some instances. Save your money and check this out at the library if you MUST read an Oprah pick. I think I'm done with her selections for awhile.Book Review: A woman too attached to her niece
Summary: 3 Stars
At its heart, this is a story of a woman, Amanda, who has attached too much of her life's purpose to caring for her niece Ruth. We are all familiar with such people, but they are not often the protagonists in a novel. The woman's story is paralleled by the story of the child, and the novel very nicely is told in both voices. As the novel progresses, we can see the growing maturity of Ruth.
Schwarz makes it a little hard for the reader by having Amanda go to such an extreme as having the child feign illness to keep her out of school. I also had a problem properly relating to the time and its social mores. It is so important to the novel that out of wedlock births be abhorrent, and the portrayal of class relationships seems so "old fashioned", even if accurate. Finally, unlike the author, I could not really like Amanda, even while I can believe in her as a character.
In the author's afterword, which should definitely be read, she says there is too much plot, and I would nominate as unnecessary Amanda's 2nd breakdown and the whole episode when Hilda comes to take care of Ruth. I think Amanda can be understood without the time spent in a mental institution.
Book Review: Drowning Ruth -- difficult to put down
Summary: 4 Stars
I finished the book a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it! I don't get the opportunity to read as much as some of the other reviewers on Amazon.com but I always look to the customer reviews before purchasing new titles. With that in mind, I had to write a quick review of this novel. It was difficult to get into the switch between narratives and the first- and third-person accounting, but once you get to know the characters just a bit, you fall into the rhythm easily. The story was interesting, although I definitely think it's a "woman's read" due to the storyline and character development. The twists and turns are both anticipated and surprising and Amanda can be both admired and hated throughout the entire story, which is rare for a character in her particular situation. A good read on a cold night!Book Review: I've Read Better
Summary: 3 Stars
The book has well-developed characters and generally well written.
One of the problems I had with the book is that I always knew what was going to happen before it actually happened. There were no surprises.
Another problem was that I found Amanda, the main character, to be a rather judgmental, unsympathetic person. Ruth, Amanda's niece, was an oddball as a child and it was interesting to watch her mature after Imogene befriended her. However, at the end of the book her personality seemed to have morphed into that of Amanda.
Carl, Ruth's father, was more or less dropped from the story part way through the book. That seemed strange, as he seemed to be a loving person who would want to maintain contact with his daugher.
I think this book had an interesting plot, but the editors should have pushed for some revisions.
Book Review: Starts off with a bang but ends with a thud.
Summary: 3 Stars
The characters and their unusual secret are quite interesting early on. The author paints a mysteriously dark landscape of icey lake waters, open fields, and an isolated island. However, mid-way through I totally lost interest in the story. Amanda, the looney aunt, suddenly turns relatively normal (huh?). The story of Ruth and Imogene reminds me of a Little House on the Prairie episode. I flipped through the pages quickly just to find where the few paragraphs were explaining what exactly happened on "that fateful night." I suppose some stories are better suited to novella length, and this is one of them.