A review by clairebartholomew549
The Watermark by Sam Mills

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

This book is a wild ride from start to finish. It's a little hard to review without giving away too much, but I'll do my best. Jamie is a journalist who interviews his idol, Augustus Fate. Fate tricks Jamie and traps him - along with another woman, Rachel - in the novel he is currently writing. Jamie and Rachel then careen through various novels, trying to get back to the "real" world and their "real" lives, while all the while Fate (the name is a bit on the nose, but ultimately I think it works) messes with them like they're his playthings.

This book is definitely more plot-focused than character-focused, which I didn't mind but sometimes makes it a bit difficult for me to get into a book. I was really impressed by how Mills attacked different genres - Dickensian England, Soviet-era rural Russia, futuristic America with robots, etc. - and appreciated how questions of who we are and who we would be if our circumstances are different shone through. Jamie and Rachel's push and pull of being put together in various timelines and trying to make sense of their relationship is really interesting (even if Jamie sometimes is a whiny character), and each book's world felt fully realized. This is definitely an eccentric book, but it flies by despite its page count and is wholly engrossing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
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