Reviews

The North Water by Ian McGuire

jjmann3's review against another edition

4.0

"Life will not be puzzled out, or blathered into submission; it must be lived through, survived, in whatever fashion a man can manage."

I found The North Water a thoroughly astonishing story; chalk full of grit, suffering, and death. Not for those with queasy stomachs.

nora_rue's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

reginamea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

definitelyfinch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cebolla's review against another edition

3.0

What a very strange book. I don't like that I kind of liked it.

maglamenace's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mairi96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

elainehasdogs's review against another edition

3.0

not my cup of tea. Too violent with rape and animal cruelty. The story is good but too much cruelty. I suppose that's part of the time the author is trying to portray.

lucasgarner's review against another edition

5.0

Not since American Psycho have I been so repulsed by a novel. Every page of each novel drips with nihilism, and doesn’t shy away from brutal imagery with no hope in sight. Luckily for The North Water, I love this kind of sick shit and American Psycho is one of my all-time favorite novels. As much as my mind tells me I should hate this book for being so vile, I couldn’t get enough of it. Even with this novel is going for the jugular, it still contains gorgeous writing, and a plot filled with morality clauses for any reader to ponder over. Just great, great stuff. I highly recommend this novel to anyone, just as long as you don’t mind some extreme trigger worthy material.

bibliomaniac33's review against another edition

4.0

Great page turner. Others have written far more detailed and amazing reviews than I am capable of.

So, I'll just say this is The Revenant meets The Terror, giving you the best of both worlds. Bring a dictionary too. McGuire pulled out words you just don't run across every day! Loved it.