Drowning Ruth

Rating:
Summary: Now featured on my personal Top Ten list . . .
Review: I rarely send in reviews of books, but "Drowning Ruth" moved me to add my voice to the crowd. This is by far the most interesting and engrossing novel i have read in a very long time. I love it when I find myself sinking into the story, into the characters, and that is exactly the feeling I got when reading this novel. The writing is so good that it carried me away, to another place altogether, to a cold Wisconsin lake in the winter. Christina Schwarz paints such a compelling picture of the sisters' relationship that I felt almost a part of the scene. In fact, all of her characters are so vivid that i feel as though I would recognize them walking down the street. And the story itself is a page-turner. Anyway, BUY IT!! READ IT!!

Rating:
Summary: Now featured on my personal Top Ten list . . .
Review: I rarely write in reviews of books, but "Drowning Ruth" moved me to add my voice to the crowd. This is by far the most interesting and engrossing novel i have read in a very long time. I love it when I find myself sinking into the story, into the characters, and that is exactly the feeling I got when reading this novel. The writing is so good that it carried me away, to another place altogether, to a cold Wisconsin lake in the winter. Christina Schwarz paints such a compelling picture of the sisters' relationship that I felt almost a part of the scene. In fact, all of her characters are so vivid that i feel as though I would recognize them walking down the street. And the story itself is a page-turner. Anyway, BUY IT!! READ IT!!

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Book
Review: In this remarkable first novel, Christina Schwarz brings to life a woman on the verge - of a mental breakdown that might destroy her family; of a new economy that might free her from the confining social mores of the day; and of the impending fall of the house of cards she has created by a lifetime of selfish and secret choices. This novel grabs not through surprising plot twists and tricks, although plot aplenty there is, but by creating engaging, complex characters whose fate the reader simply must know. Mandy, the protagonist, is sympathetic yet scary, a victim of social constraints but so intensely narcissistic that she just may be capable of evil. She can taste the liberation of the post-WWI boom, with its demand for women's labor and its promise of mobility, but she is stuck, physically and emotionally, in her rural small town. The suspense is unraveled slowly, and Schwarz offers abundant clues along the way. The mystery will not be solved until the last page, of course, but Schwarz shuns red herrings for the more satisfying confusion of abundant evidence, which like in real life often points in different directions. Subtle, intelligent, and evocative, this novel is the best I've read in some time.

Rating:
Summary: Ice Ice Baby
Review: I'm no writer, so I'll just spew the kinds of cliches that you won't find in Christina Schwarz' fabulous book. You can't put it down. You never know what's coming. It's gorgeous and creepy and scary. It's complex. The characters are finely crafted. The sense of period and place is spot on. And oh yeah - the writing is great. Of course I'll never go ice skating again, but that's a small price to pay.

Rating:
Summary: Just on the safe side of melodrama
Review: Wisconsin. 1919. A small town. A terrible secret. In most hands, these ingredients would blow any novel off the tracks in the first few pages, quickly degenerating into melodrama. Christine Schwarz, with impressive skill and beautiful writing, keeps her plot under control--but just barely. The mystery about the drowning threatens to overwhelm the rest of the novel whenever it comes to the foreground, but Schwarz's portraits of her characters and of the period lives they live is so persuasive, and so compelling, that you are willing to grant her enough leeway to get away with this story. A thoroughly enjoyable book, and I can't wait for her next novel.

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing psychological thriller!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel -- from its memorable, engaging first sentence ("Ruth remembered drowning." How could *that* be?) to its quietly poignant final scene. The plot centers on a mystery of family secrets surrounding Ruth's murky memory. Along the way to its resolution, the author develops a psychologically sophisticated portrait of a family living in rural Wisconsin during World War I. Time, place and the personalities of some wonderful, idiosyncratic characters are presented in rich detail. This book reminded me of two personal favorites of recent years. Like *Snow Falling on Cedars*, it is densely atmospheric. The lay of the land and the vagaries of the weather become important elements in the story; the effect is to transport the reader into a vividly imagined world. Like *Anywhere But Here*, this book is eloquent in its portrayal of intensely ambivalent relationships among women: between sisters; between mothers and daughters. Drowning Ruth should appeal to fans of many genres: family drama; historical novel; mystery and psychological thriller, to name a few. I recommend it most highly!

Rating:
Summary: Just Home Folks
Review: This novel makes the reader feel such great affection for its characters that we almost forget how dark it all is. Yet by the end we sense that light prevails, more or less. And we DO come to the end because the story is so gripping. You just can't stop. Schwarz has a light touch with style that draws one in and makes the shifts in time and viewpoint easy to follow- and fun. She often shows a wry sense of humor, sometimes a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, as she portrays the matter-of-fact way her solid Midwestern characters deal with the bizarre turns their lives take. The storytelling is so good that it's hard to believe this is the author's first novel.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is the most cleverly written mystery I have read for some time. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Unique Story about surviving against all odds
Review: "Drowning Ruth (Oprah's Book Club)" -- by CHRISTINA SCHWARZ is a unique, intelligent writing at its best - Absolutely Fantastic, mesmorizing and heart wrenching all at once. I didn't want to put it down. It compares to "Memoriors of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: A Novel" by Rebecca Wells; "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb, and "When It Rains" by Marjorie Spoto. A Must Read.

Rating:
Summary: I could not put this book down, it is such a great story!
Review: I read this book for the first time a little over a year ago and it is still my favorite book of all time. I read the whole book in about 3 days which is a record for me. The story is very simple and touching. I never expected how it would end until right at the last page and when I read it the tears began to fall. This would be a great book for several different age groups also. I hope you get this book and enjoy it as much as I do.