Genre: Publication Date: May 2, 2017 Pages: 386 (Hardcover) Published By: Riverhead Books Website: Paula Hawkins Into The Water on Goodreads My review copy:
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In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help.
Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind.
But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.
And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .
(Goodreads)Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind.
But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.
And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .
Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.
Yes, it is. It’s, like, when someone has an affair, why does the wife always hate the other woman? Why doesn’t she hate her husband? He’s the one who’s betrayed her, he’s the one who swore to love her and keep her and whatever forever and ever. Why isn’t he the one who gets shoved off a fucking cliff?
Into The Water is not an easy book to review. Heck, it's not an easy book to read and wrap your head around, let alone try to analyze and judge. The plot line is very tightly woven, if a little bit confusing. For the majority of the book, I had a hard time following the story line and keeping track of all the characters (there were SO MANY, I do not recommend listening to this book on audio), but thankfully it all came together in the end.
Initially, I was going to give this book 2, maybe 3 stars, because as I was reading it, I thought it to be very predictable and cliched. The very last chapter changed my mind completely. It wasn't until the very last pages that I realized just how extremely well plotted and foreshadowed this book was. And it was hard not to feel impressed by Hawkin's storytelling skills. At the same time, if I am to be honest, I enjoyed Girl On The Train a bit more. Both these stories feature characters that are beautifully complex, broken, and oh-so-completely human (and by that I mean flawed), but Into The Water is more convoluted and multi-layered, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the constant switching of POVs and timelines made it hard for me to really get into the story line and connect with the characters.
Into The Water deals with so many issues, from suicide, murder, abuse, statutory rape and infidelity to failed parenting and broken family ties. It doesn't just touch on those subjects, it explores them in depth, with brutal honesty and rawness. It's heavy, dark and very convoluted. Unapologetically twisted and haunting in its final message.
It took me almost two weeks to get through it, but in hindsight, it was well worth it.
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