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Book ReviewsMy Drowning |
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Book: My Drowning
Written by: Jim Grimsley |
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Very Potent Stuff!!!
Rating:
5 / 5
MY DROWNING is a haunting portrait of southern poverty and abuse by one of today's most gifted writers. This atmospheric novel is the painful (yet never pandering) tale of young Ellen and a potent commentary on the impact of the home environment on self-image as well as the heritage of physical and emotional abuse. Grimsley not only paints with a dazzling richness and depth of character, he also explores the nature of memory and the need for acceptance even as it comes in direct conflict with the survival instinct. It's all very complex and utter real. As always Grimsley's language soars with a poetry all its own. For additional richness and an overview of this horrific theme read Grimsley's WINTER BIRDS where young Ellen grows up and becomes a mother.
One of the darkest yet most brilliant books I have ever read
Rating:
5 / 5
This is definitely not a feel good book. The author narrates the life of Ellen, a southern woman growing up in horrific circumstances. It is a testimony that the human spirit is determined to succeed, that even when we are deprived of basic needs, we carry on and move forward. This book will make an impression that stays with the reader for a long time after putting the novel back on the shelf.
No "Mystery," No Publication
Rating:
4 / 5
This is indeed a well-written book. It combines a Proustian dredging through the mystery of time and memory with a Faulknerian sense of the harsh poverty of the South and its effects on the human soul as well as Faulkner's own sense of the mysteries of human memory, all written down with touches of fine lyricism.-The problem is, and I realize that I'm in the minority in this opinion, that it's impossible for an author to combine these fine traits and have any hope of getting his work published without mangling, yes mangling, it into a "mystery" where it can rest comfortably in that section in Barnes and Noble and be sure to sell. Proust and Faulkner, with their sense of the artist's obligation to be true to his calling, to not retrench their work to fit the marketplace, wouldn't stand a chance in this day and age. I wish Mr. Grimsley had the luxury to explore more into the psyches of the characters (which he does so well), I wish he would give full-rein to his lyricism and, above all, I wish he didn't have to fit this into the genre of "mystery."-All life is a mystery.-But then the book would be at least as long and complex as a Faulkner novel. And how many of you reviewers would have bought it?-No, the work will not be regarded as a masterpiece. What "mystery" is? The simple truth is that they don't cover the grand swath of light and dark in the human soul (though Mr. Grimsley does his best) because they have to fit into a formula, which by definition limits their scope, however gracefully, as is the case here.-This book is a good page-turner, as most mysteries are, and (as other reviwers have noted) Mr. Grimsley has an acute insight into the feminine perspective, as embodied by the character of Ellen Tote. All this being said, I'm afraid the book will be forgotten in ten years time, replaced by other "mysteries."
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