DNF at 59%

This book just didn’t grasp me. I can’t remember the characters’ names and I have no motivation to go back to it after putting it down.

In theory, a struggling relationship between a high school teacher and his flighty intellectual girlfriend is an appealing premise for a literary novel, but this was poorly written and honestly quite boring.

A really interesting concept, but I felt a little lost at times. Parts of it felt over-written, while other parts felt underdeveloped. Not for me.

This is a very interesting book about a subject which is so mysterious yet so fascinating - cults. How people become entrapped within a cult, how they are eventually extracted - these are situations and concepts which are, fortunately, so mysterious to many readers. At time the book was a bit hard to follow and had a complexity which made it slightly less enjoyable to read but it is worth sticking with it.

I'm a huge fan of cult novels, so this one appealed to me based on the description. I found it a little scattered and while I appreciated the back stories of the families, it was too much detail and "in the weeds" detracting from the cult removal aspect that I was drawn to. Very descriptive writing, I felt like I really knew everyone, but at the same time would have preferred more focus on the main events to keep things going. Thankful for the ARC!

Cults are always a fascinating subject, and that is no different here with this novel. It is character driven, and makes you think as hard as the intellectual, if narcissistic, main character. The novel as a whole works on some level, but it is not the best cult-focused novel of the year. It loses the reader in parts, though I would recommend it.

A newer updated version of "When Mermaids Sing" is currently up for re-release under the title "The Narrows". That is the version I have just read. I enjoyed the story and thought the author's writing kept me going even when I wasn't clear exactly what the point was he was trying to convey. I found myself identifying with the narrator, Larry Brown, because he also seemed to struggle with how he should feel about his cousin Bradley and the cult. I wasn't really sure whether the author was trying to warn against cult indoctrination or defend it. Maybe that was intentional.

I would definitely read other books by this author and would recommend "The Narrows" as a though provoking read.

This book was a little difficult for me to get into and read which was a little disappointing because I was so juiced when I saw it was about cults and helping someone escape from one! Character development was a little lacking for me, and it was hard to finish. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.