Wow! Such a good book. Great writing. Highly recommend.

It was a good, engrossing book. I wish it happened in order the way things happened instead of going back and forth.

Oprah's book club picks are usually a hit or miss for me. This one was definitely a hit.

3.5/5 Rounded down

The story had me interested throughout although I felt the ending was kind of abrupt. Also some questions were not fully answered. All in all, it was a well written book with interesting characters and I enjoyed it.

I found a box of books in my garage. Unread books. Books I don't remember buying. Among them was this book that is about secrets, misunderstandings, the malleability of memories, pain and sacrifice. It is a story about family, what we do for each other, and what we do for ourselves but believe is for the other. Drowning Ruth is a mystery. One woman died when she fell through the ice on a frozen lake in Wisconsin. Now, a few years later her story (and theirs) is revealed by her sister and daughter. Told in alternating times and points of view, the reader finds the story is revealed slowly.

I liked the characters, because they were flawed and real. I felt like they could be people I would know. I didn't always know whom to trust, thanks to all the buried secrets. But, I found this believable as well, because we as humans often hide the truth in an effort to protect ourselves and each other.

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

And just like a spider web, the book drew me into the underlying tangled story. The imperfect characters were believable for their reactions considering the time period and considering each person's childhood. And as time goes on I realize that every family has its secrets. (Or could that just be my concurrent interest in geneolgy?) The plot unfolded in layers keeping interest surrounding the underlying mystery. And despite some reviews, I did find it a good story.

This is again when I wished goodreads would allow half stars in its rating scale. The book was much better than average but enough to rate a 4. It is a good escape read and has enough themes to warrant book club discussion.

Dark family secrets are revealed in this mystery.
Covering the era after 1919, 2 families are involved in mysterious relationships which are tied to the nearby lake.

Stupid Oprah. I quite liked this book, it annoys me to find out that it's an Oprah book. It makes me like it less by default. Why do authors LET her put her name on their books? It's a shame.

"But a sense that there might also exist some entirely different destination, one that he couldn’t yet see but which lay just beyond the obscuring undergrowth of long habit and expectations, troubled him and kept him from moving forward. He had no idea how to hack through the foliage, nor whether whatever he uncovered would please him, but neither did he want to follow blindly the manicured course on which his feet were already set."

All the characters were slightly crazy, but with good reason. I loved the narration, switching between past and present, from the perspective of different characters. I loved the story, and how it played out. Giving just enough of the past to keep you interested in the present.

I thought it was very good.

Incredibly slow start, hard to keep focused for the first 50-75 pages. Carl (who I actually enjoyed as a character) vanishes half way through the book with really no explanation. Book was kind of all over and the ending could of had more than the 3 pages it was given.

Drowning Ruth is an astonishingly well written, thought-provoking novel of what we will do when it comes to the ones we love. I thought this novel was riveted with raw, unbridled emotion from the main character Amanda, "Mandy." And full of twists, turns, and surprises. It beckons to you to continue on one more page until you've read the entire novel and you're left with a completeness like no other. The ending explains every question you have, and maybe you can better understand the motives behind the actions.
I appreciate how this novel is told from the perspectives of many of the characters involved, as well as the back and forth timeline that gives you thorough insight into the backgrounds and thoughts within the characters involved.
This is a read of timeless invention and if you're looking for a read that is not only enlightening in the area of self preservation, love, mental health, and ones own strength, look no farther for this is it. I highly recommend this read!

Not sure what I think about this book..could not decide if it was 3stars or 4 -a little depressing

(This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk)

Not quite the worst book I've ever read, but it comes close...

Being an Oprah book club recommendation I expected this to be pretty good- she's usually spot-on when it comes to books that are sharp, witty, insightful and thought-provoking... But not this time.

Sorry Oprah, but this was depressing (and this is coming from someone who enjoys `The Road' and other apocalyptic stories). I didn't exactly expect a happy tale from the title, but good grief I couldn't wait for this one to end. It's mind numbingly tedious.

Because I DID read it all the way though I think I can say that- it's rare I can stop reading a novel altogether once I've started, but this came close to being abandoned. Infact, I only continued reading because I was stuck on a train journey with nothing else to do and there wasn't a shop on board to buy a magazine. It went straight in the charity bag afterwards too, though I feel bad it may eventually be inflicted on some other poor soul.

I'll spare you the summary of this story, it may send me to sleep- but if you're still interested in what happens, check out the reviews of the people who have *positive* things to say about this novel.

In my opinion: dull. Dull, dull, dull.

I feel better for getting that off my chest.