Drowning Ruth (Oprah's Book Club)
The stunning psychological drama you will never forget
- Author
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'POWERFUL . . . SUSPENSEFUL . . . RICHLY TEXTURED . . . [A] CHILLING, PRECOCIOUSLY GOOD START TO A BRIGHT NEW NOVELIST'S CAREER'
New York Times
'[A] gripping psychological thriller . . . In the winter of 1919, a young mother named Mathilda Neumann drowns beneath the ice of a rural Wisconsin lake. The shock of her death dramatically changes the lives of her daughter, troubled sister, and husband . . . The narrative gradually and tantalizingly reveals the dark family secrets and the unsettling discoveries that lead to the truth of what actually happened the night of the drowning'
FRANCINE PROSE, US Weekly
'DEFT AND ASSURED . . . [WITH] STRONG CHARACTERS AND A PLOT LONG ON TENSION AND SURPRISES'
Time
'A strong sense of portent and unusually vivid characters distinguish this mesmerizing first novel about horrifying family secrets . . . a complex and rewarding debut."
ANITA SHREVE
RIVETING . . . A VERY SUSPENSEFUL TALE, ONE THAT WILL KEEP READERS UP SHIVERING IN THE NIGHT
USA Today
New York Times
'[A] gripping psychological thriller . . . In the winter of 1919, a young mother named Mathilda Neumann drowns beneath the ice of a rural Wisconsin lake. The shock of her death dramatically changes the lives of her daughter, troubled sister, and husband . . . The narrative gradually and tantalizingly reveals the dark family secrets and the unsettling discoveries that lead to the truth of what actually happened the night of the drowning'
FRANCINE PROSE, US Weekly
'DEFT AND ASSURED . . . [WITH] STRONG CHARACTERS AND A PLOT LONG ON TENSION AND SURPRISES'
Time
'A strong sense of portent and unusually vivid characters distinguish this mesmerizing first novel about horrifying family secrets . . . a complex and rewarding debut."
ANITA SHREVE
RIVETING . . . A VERY SUSPENSEFUL TALE, ONE THAT WILL KEEP READERS UP SHIVERING IN THE NIGHT
USA Today
- Published: Sep 06 2001
- Pages: 288
- 197 x 153mm
- ISBN: 9780747264651
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Press Reviews
- Choice
'A gripping read' Choice magazine
- Play (The Times)
'A compelling mystery' The Times
- The Scotsman
'Assured and dense debut...Schwarz's real achievement is in matching the complexities of her plot with vivid characters' The Scotsman
- Frank Delaney
'Austere, tense, painful and rewarding, this book keeps you reading until the vertebrae sulk - and the aftertaste has the bitterness of a linctus whose sharpness conveys its benefit' Frank Delaney
- New York Times
In [the] assured last stroke, Ms Schwarz affirms the psychological underpinnings of a book that would have worked page-turningly well as a straightforward mystery alone. She gives it the extra wisdom that marks DROWNING RUTH as the chilling, precociously good start to a bright new novelist's career
- Sentinel Sunday
'This is a book that really ought not to be missed' Sentinel Sunday
- Anita Shreve
A strong sense of portent and unusually vivid characters distinguish this mesmerizing first novel about horrifying family secrets and nearly annihilating guilt. DROWNING RUTH is a complex and rewarding debut
- USA Today
A riveting first novel... A very suspenseful tale, one that will keep readers up shivering in the heat of an August night
- Kirkus Reviews
Quietly powerful prose and carefully nuanced description... Creates a satisfying fictional world. An engrossing debut from a writer to watch
- Publishers Weekly
The first sentence of this brilliantly understated psychological thriller leaps off the page and captures the reader's imagination...Schwarz deftly uses first-person narration to heighten the drama. Her prose is spare but bewitching, and she juggles the speakers and time periods with the surety of a seasoned novelist
- Time
This unusually deft and assured first novel conveys a good deal more than thrills and chills
- Washington Post
The stars of DROWNING RUTH are the beautifully imagined lakes in summer and winter, the desolate farmhouse where Ruth grows up... The book offers ... more tender gifts
- New York Post
It remains gripping to the end
- New York Times Book Review
A remarkable debut: surprising, unsettling and sure
- New Statesman
'It is not hard to see why DROWNING RUTH became a bestseller...Where many historical novels are weighed down by detail, DROWNING RUTH is drenched in the melancholic atmosphere of its setting...an intriguing story' New Statesman
- Independent
'The compelling quality of Christina Schwarz's first novel, DROWNING RUTH, is quite unique' Independent