A review by nikkihrose
The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
4.0
I received Jennifer McMahon's "The Drowning Kind" from NetGalley, and the first thing I want to highlight is that as a galley, it definitely needs to go through a final round of editing. There were often duplicated words in sentences, or words missing altogether. There was one instance where the wrong name was used, completely confusing the context and meaning for the reader. But again, it is important to keep in mind that this was a galley, and therefore was still in editing phases.
This is the first book I've ever read by McMahon, and I can easily say that many of the reviews of her writing are accurate: she has a detailed and beautiful style for describing surroundings.
"The Drowning Kind" alternates between present time and the late 1920s - between narrators Jax and Ethel, respectively. The narrators are joined by the water - the springs - in Brandenburg, Vermont. In the 1920s they are located at the most exquisite hotel in the area that people travel from all over to visit, but in present time, the springs are privately owned by Jax's family, and the home has been named Sparrow Crest.
The novel uses both narrators to paint the history of the springs, weaving the intricate family tree and tragedies into vivid and painstaking detail. The springs feed into a pool at the back of Sparrow Crest, a pool so black that you cannot see through the water - but also dark enough that the reflections staring back at you are so vivid they look real.
Jax, grown up, is now a social worker, and works at helping children through their struggles. But when her schizophrenic and bipolar sister whom she has separated herself from over the past year ends up dead - drowned in the blackened pool behind Sparrow Crest - Jax can't help but feel guilty, return to Vermont, and do whatever she can to make sense of what her sister, Lexie, had been up to in her final days, which was apparently an attempt to discover the mystery and power that existed beneath - or within - the water.
These springs are magical. Reports of healing, survival, and granted wishes have been around for decades. But the water doesn't only give - it takes, too.
Between the incoherent messages left behind by Lexie, the stories she has heard over the years, and first-hand accounts from members of the community, Jax starts to unravel. How can the truth be true when it's beyond the realm of reality? How can people exist in the water? People claim that those who die become part of the springs - that the springs give, but they also take.
How much would you be willing to sacrifice for your ultimate wish?
---
This book was intriguing, but definitely not a typical read for me. While I loved the mystery surrounding it, and the warped and interwoven narration to build the history and story, it was more of a ghost story than anything else.
This is the first book I've ever read by McMahon, and I can easily say that many of the reviews of her writing are accurate: she has a detailed and beautiful style for describing surroundings.
"The Drowning Kind" alternates between present time and the late 1920s - between narrators Jax and Ethel, respectively. The narrators are joined by the water - the springs - in Brandenburg, Vermont. In the 1920s they are located at the most exquisite hotel in the area that people travel from all over to visit, but in present time, the springs are privately owned by Jax's family, and the home has been named Sparrow Crest.
The novel uses both narrators to paint the history of the springs, weaving the intricate family tree and tragedies into vivid and painstaking detail. The springs feed into a pool at the back of Sparrow Crest, a pool so black that you cannot see through the water - but also dark enough that the reflections staring back at you are so vivid they look real.
Jax, grown up, is now a social worker, and works at helping children through their struggles. But when her schizophrenic and bipolar sister whom she has separated herself from over the past year ends up dead - drowned in the blackened pool behind Sparrow Crest - Jax can't help but feel guilty, return to Vermont, and do whatever she can to make sense of what her sister, Lexie, had been up to in her final days, which was apparently an attempt to discover the mystery and power that existed beneath - or within - the water.
These springs are magical. Reports of healing, survival, and granted wishes have been around for decades. But the water doesn't only give - it takes, too.
Between the incoherent messages left behind by Lexie, the stories she has heard over the years, and first-hand accounts from members of the community, Jax starts to unravel. How can the truth be true when it's beyond the realm of reality? How can people exist in the water? People claim that those who die become part of the springs - that the springs give, but they also take.
How much would you be willing to sacrifice for your ultimate wish?
---
This book was intriguing, but definitely not a typical read for me. While I loved the mystery surrounding it, and the warped and interwoven narration to build the history and story, it was more of a ghost story than anything else.