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: A wonderful piece of literature that happens to be centered on a mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
It was surprising to see so many reviews calling this book a mystery, because I've always felt that is a sub-par genre to literary fiction, and this is truly a piece of outstanding literature. Truth be told, though, it is historical fiction with a captivating mystery at the core of the plot.
This isn't a timeless story--the nature of the society is what builds the mystery. The values of 1920's America, including silence and stoicism, are what let this mystery build. This is a book about keeping terrible secrets, and Amanda, the woman who holds all the underground truths, is eventually driven crazy by everything she has bottled up inside.
Great reading, great historical fiction (and I'm not usually a fan of the genre), great mystery.
Book Review: Wonderfully written
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book - from the first page to the very end where you will be crying and sniffling, it is amazing. It is a very heart felt story about family secrets.
If you like Oprah's Book Club books, you will definatly like this one as well. It is definatly more of a female oriented book though.
Book Review: Worth a Read!
Summary: 3 Stars
Perfect for easy reading on a rainy weekend! The seemingly predictable storyline takes a turn for the more interesting and becomes a suprising page-turner!Book Review: Why did I wait so long to read this book?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read many of Oprah's book club selections, and I found that I tend to either love them or hate them. I put off reading this one for a long time, thinking that it might fall into the latter catergory, but happily, it fell into the former.
The story is told in three voices: a third-party narration; the personal perspective of Amanda, a former war nurse; and the perspective of Ruth, Amanda's niece. Early in the book, we learn that Amanda left her hospital job under mysterious circumstances and that she blames herself for the drowing death of Mathilda, her sister and Ruth's mother, which also occured under mysterious circumstances. The novel spans many years, from when Amanda first begins to take care of a toddler-aged Ruth until Ruth's young adulthood. Over this time frame, the author gradually allows pieces of each of the above two mysteries to emerge, mostly in the form of flashbacks, so by the very end of the book, the reader is told the exact events of Mathilda's death as well as all of the details which led up to it.
At times, I was able to guess at some of the pieces of the mystery before they were actually revealed, but that did not deter from my enjoyment of this book. The first few pages of the novel quickly pulled me in, and the suspense did not let up until I reached the conclusion (just a few short days later). The different narrative voices added unique interest, making up for the times when the plot elements were somewhat familiar. Overall, I found this to be one of the best novels that I have read in the past year, and I recommend it highly.
Book Review: Suspense Before Mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was gripping and I loved reading it. The driving sense of suspense was skillfully executed and the ending highly anticipated. Therein lies its weakness. In the end, I felt teased by the suspense that was seemingly spun by a sinister event and yet was, in essence, the natural consequence of a tragic misfortune. Is it possible the suspense was written before the mystery? It could have been a simple fix made right in just a few pages. No regrets. It was a great read and I look forward to Ms. Schwarz's second.