The Drowning Girl, Written by Caitlin R. Kiernan, Narrated by Suzy Jackson
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Reason for Reading: This was one of the nominations last year for the World Fantasy Awards
Synopsis: In The Drowning Girl a young schizophrenic woman, Imp, tells the story of her meetings with Eva Canning – a ghost? a mermaid? a werewolf? a normal, disturbed young woman? As Imp’s mind roils in schizophrenic fantasy, the readers are left wondering how much of the story is reality and how much is fantasy.
My thoughts: I’m having a hard time coming up with viable thoughts about this book. I just don’t know what to think! I was interested throughout; I always cared about Imp – and about her girlfriend Abalyn – but I never knew quite what to think. Which, I suppose, is the point of the book? Kiernan did a fantastic job of spiraling Imp’s writing in and out of control, and the pacing of the spirals was quite amazing. This is a skilled bit of writing. Likewise, Jackson was a superb narrator for this role. Her inflections were perfect for hinting at whether Imp was “in control” or “out of control” when certain passages were read. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy open-ended stories, especially those stories with an aura of unreality.
Hibernator's Library 
I tend to like out of the box and open ended is OK as it often reflects life.
The seemingly pointlessness is indeed puzzling. Perhaps the author just wanted to portray the certain aspects of schizophrenia.
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Yes, I imagine the author was trying to portray the confusion of a schizophrenic mind. This was certainly an interesting story, but I am left wondering what it means. 🙂
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