Deftly written and emotionally powerful, Drowning Ruth is a stunning portrait of the ties that bind sisters together and the forces that tear them apart, of the dangers of keeping secrets and the explosive repercussions when they are exposed. A mesmerizing and achingly beautiful debut.Winter, 1919. Amanda Starkey spends her days nursing soldiers wounded in the Great War. Finding herself suddenly … suddenly overwhelmed, she flees Milwaukee and retreats to her family’s farm on Nagawaukee Lake, seeking comfort with her younger sister, Mathilda, and three-year-old niece, Ruth. But very soon, Amanda comes to see that her old home is no refuge–she has carried her troubles with her. On one terrible night almost a year later, Amanda loses nearly everything that is dearest to her when her sister mysteriously disappears and is later found drowned beneath the ice that covers the lake. When Mathilda’s husband comes home from the war, wounded and troubled himself, he finds that Amanda has taken charge of Ruth and the farm, assuming her responsibility with a frightening intensity. Wry and guarded, Amanda tells the story of her family in careful doses, as anxious to hide from herself as from us the secrets of her own past and of that night.
Ruth, haunted by her own memory of that fateful night, grows up under the watchful eye of her prickly and possessive aunt and gradually becomes aware of the odd events of her childhood. As she tells her own story with increasing clarity, she reveals the mounting toll that her aunt’s secrets exact from her family and everyone around her, until the heartrending truth is uncovered.
Guiding us through the lives of the Starkey women, Christina Schwarz’s first novel shows her compassion and a unique understanding of the American landscape and the people who live on it.
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Gripping.
While I didn’t totally like the main character in the book it kept me guessing!
Too predictable
I was surprised that it was an Oprah pick. I found it odd and poorly put together. It was vague at times and spun its wheels. I felt it was much ado about nothing. It wasn’t a satisfying read in any way.
I liked the book a lot, found it had some exciting and scary parts. The ending was a bit surprising. Thought it a great book to read for book clubs.
This book has many twists. Not sure that the characters are likeable. They are flawed as people are, but I am not finding anything likeable about them. In fact to me their flaws are so strong that all I feel is sadness. Also I find that the only thing keeping me reading is trying to figure out hy Ruth drowns.
I thought the book was depressing and waded through it trying to find a positive note. I don’t think the one dimensional characters in this book are any more realistic than the Huxtables.
Loved this and would like to read more by this author!
This book was pretty good, but I found it hard to keep up with the characters with so much flash back.
The story is mostly unhappy and disturbing. The descriptions of the environment are slightly reminiscent of Willa Cather as are the characters.
It was different
Loved this book, could not put it down can see this being made into a movie!
It kept me guessing until the end.