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: Interesting time, interesting place
Summary: 4 Stars
This novel tells the haunting story of two generations of a Wisconsin family brought together and torn apart by the lake adjacent to the family home. Focused on four women, sisters of two generations, the novel develops around the sisters' relationship with the lake, and the tragedy that ensues when it claims one of their lives. Much of the book is spent untangling the secrets which led to the drowning, and working out the complicated problems which arise from the family's attempts to keep these secrets.
Scwartz's story jumps back and forth across time, from past to present and back again. This means that the story develops piece by piece, and this is what makes it something of a mystery. I found the plot development to be one of the more satisfying parts of this book, seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I enjoyed the developments leading up to Scwartz's telling of what actually happened the night of the tragedy. After that point, however, I found the plot to be something of a let-down. The conclusion seemed a bit too neat, and a bit forced.
The most enjoyable part of this book to me was the way in which Scwartz set the scene- the way in which she managed to capture the sense of a time and place. The novel is set in the Wisconsin countryside in the first half of the twentieth century, with most of the action focusing on the last years of WWI, and the 1920s. Scwartz offers a convincing portrait of Wisconsin farm country in the late-1910s and early 1920s. Her descriptions are vivid, without being overstated, and her story intersects with several significant historical events, including WWI and the influenza epidemic. Scwartz gives her readers a strong sense of connection to the seasons, the land, the lake. I really did feel like I was part of the world about which she wrote.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel. The development of the plot engaged me, and the scenery captivated me. I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but my reading was by and large time well spent.
Book Review: A bit of a letdown
Summary: 2 Stars
This book focuses on Amanda Starkey, a young nurse who has suffered a breakdown and was sent home by her boss so she could get her act together. Amanda returns to her family home in Wisconsin to live with her sister, Mattie, and Mattie's daughter, Ruth. Mattie's husband, Carl, is off fighting in France during WWI.
The sisters are very close, and so Mattie is of course thrilled to have her sister back in her life on a daily basis again. They begin to embark on a new aspect of their life together, while Mattie anxiously waits for her husband's return from the war.
Then, one winter night, tragedy strikes, and Mattie ends up drowning in the nearby lake. Her young daughter, Ruth, almost ends up drowning as well, but is rescued in the nick of time.
Not long after Mattie's death, Carl returns from the war, wounded. He is eager to see his wife, not realizing that she has died.
Amanda, who has never liked Carl, hopes that he will decide to leave again almost as soon as he'd returned home. She figures him for the sort to not want to raise a child alone, and each day waits for him to leave, thereby making her Ruth's sole caretaker. Yet much to her annoyance, he manages to get his bearings again and remains a fixture in both hers and Ruth's life.
At the same time, Amanda struggles with inner demons, both because of what happened to her sister, and because of what happened in her life prior to returning home, which you eventually learn about. She is then sent to a sanatorium and Carl is left to care for his daughter on his own. However, he founders, and ends up relying on a second cousin (Hilda) for her grudging help.
This new upheaval causes Ruth to regress a great deal, and she stops talking and acts out by breaking things in the house and being impossible to toilet train and deal with overall. In a funny turn of events, Ruth manages to embarrass Hilda enough so that she leaves. Carl, in an act of desperation, takes Ruth with him on one of his many visits to see Amanda, in the hope that it will spark a desire in her to get well once and for all. It works, and a year after having been committed, Amanda returns home.
The rest of the story vacillates between what really happened the night Mattie drowned, and what is happening in Amanda and Ruth's life afterwards. In the first part of the book, Ruth ages from about 3-5. When the second part begins, she is already 11. I felt that was somewhat abrupt, and it took me a few pages to realize how much time had passed, as there wasn't anything to indicate that this had happened.
The book continued to bounce around a lot from this point on, between reminiscences of the past and what was actually happening to the characters months or years down the line. It got a little annoying at times to have to figure out where exactly the next installation was starting out. Also, the book jacket said the story was told from several of the main character's points of view, but the only ones you really hear from are Ruth and Amanda.
I was pretty disappointed by the end of the story. The book starts out intriguing and makes you wonder if Amanda literally went off the deep end after all and killed her sister, or if it was in fact an accidental drowning. But by about halfway through, the facts become clear and are easy to interpret. Still, I hoped maybe I was wrong and the ending would surprise me after all. It didn't.
Carl also disappears about halfway through the book. It's due to a job he takes, but it felt like he was written out of the story because the author ran out of use for him, or wasn't sure what to do with him after a certain point. She spent a lot of time focusing on Carl's desire to learn about the truth of his wife's death.
As it was, he only found out part of the truth, and that was according to what Amanda got him to believe. Nevertheless, Carl accepted it at face value and after that he accepted his wife's fate. He was then written out of the story. I didn't really like that aspect of things and didn't think it meshed with everything else that was happening. Even though he wasn't a strong character in general, he's one of the characters I actually liked. Amanda wasn't that likeable at all, and was a pretty cold person who was obsessed with Ruth and still obsessed with the past. Ruth was somewhat pliable and easily molded to her aunt's bidding, even though she made some feeble attempts to be her own person.
I don't know if I'd read this author again. But I managed to find this book for $1.. and would say it was worth it and I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it, either on here or in a bookstore.
Book Review: A good read!
Summary: 4 Stars
I liked this well-written book. The characters are believable and the feelings and events ring true. Book Review: Very Slow Going...
Summary: 3 Stars
While it seems everyone here really enjoyed this book, I was just not all that impressed with it. The storyline was intriguing, and I wanted to know why Mattie died, but I think the book could have been about 100 pages shorter. Also, after getting about half-way through, you pretty much know exactly what the real story is, and it's just tedious reading after that, trying to finish the book when you already know the outcome.
And I have to agree with the previous reviewer who said the character's are rather unlikeable...this is very true. Amanda is a controlling and conniving woman who has very few redeeming qualities, and Carl (Ruth's father, Mattie's husband) really needs to get a backbone.
Time was also very difficult to follow. At the beginning of each chapter, anywhere from a few months to a few years may have passed, you're never really sure. Overall, I don't know that I'd recommend this. While the plot was interesting, I believe it would have been much better as a shorter novel...there was just so much 'filler' in this book that it drags on. This was my first Christina Schwartz novel, and I'm pretty sure it's also my last.
Book Review: In the minority
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted to like this book. I love fiction set during this period, and I have an affection for *A Northern Light* (young adult novel also set during this period, which I used as a reading selection for my high school students). This book, however, just seemed ponderous by comparison.
The plot moves slowly, and the characters are rather unlikeable. The male characters are under-developed and under-used for the plot. The switching points-of-view don't move smoothly and cause confusion, rather than clarification. Mostly, though, I just found myself skimming (rather than reading) large parts of the text because I was bored and wanted to get to the end.
Divergent points of view are difficult to write. If you want a masterful use of this technique,read Faulkner or Shirley Ann Grau's *The Keeper's of the House.* Leave this on the shelf.