I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so well developed and the pace was perfect. I had a sense that I was in this underwater realm reading it. It felt like I was in a trance being pulled into this story and had no idea where it was going. I read a NetGalley version of this book. And highly recommend it.

Even after finishing this novel, it feels distant, or disaffected in some way. While I could tell you the plot, it is hard to say what this story is about. It explores grief and trauma, and what happens when desperate and broken people break others, without realizing it. There was a reality to our main character that I appreciated. As we learn more about him through the story my feelings towards him changed, which I thought was compelling writing. He felt lived in, but also hollow at the same time, a reflection of a person, stitched together by denial and inertia. The story was intriguing, forcing the reader to wonder what was real and who to believe, or believe in, as everything seems to fall apart. As the storyline weaves in and out of occult practices and possibilities you are left investigating what you want to be real, and that is an interesting position to put a reader in. Even as the story unravels and we get to the end there are moral questions about the nature of relationships and reality that are not tied up in a pretty bow, which I appreciate. I did finish feeling like there was more story to be told, though. Not in the ending, I thought where and how it ended was fine, but it felt like there was something missing on our way there, some more emotional catharsis or revelation or some sort of narrative tension that wasn’t quite there, but close. That said, the writing is mostly strong. Every once in a while there are some stylistic run-on sentences, mirroring a stream-of-consciousness, almost performative tone, and while these didn’t always work for me they often did, pushing us deeper into the characters’ experience, running us headlong into the same walls the characters were up against. I appreciated the overall vibe and feel of the writing, detached and yet intentional, it just felt a little loose in places, like it could use a little more editing (granted I read a pre-publish ARC). Similarly, there are some interwoven pieces, bits of articles or other ephemera, that come between chapters, and none of those felt very compelling to me at all, and they didn’t feel like they added to my experience.

Those quibbles aside, I enjoyed the novel quite a bit. The writing style matched the overall tone of the story, and it was a different portrait of grief than one often displayed. The book is a little bit of a slow burn, it takes its time and gets a little lost, here and there, so if you are hoping for quick action and clean answers you may be disappointed. There are also some brief but graphic depictions of violence that may be triggering. The scenes feel important to our character’s journey and don’t feel exploitative or like they’re there just for shock value, but some folk might want to be aware of them before jumping in. I wouldn’t say I recommend this book to everyone, it does feel a little distant and slow, and while its an engaging sort of character study I’m not sure, yet, what fruit is yielded from the discomfort of the journey. But I did enjoy it. I think if you’re interested in this character study of grief and listlessness, and how pain, not appropriately addressed, just continues to simultaneous plant deeper roots and radiate outward, if that is the kind of contemplative journey you enjoy taking, there is certainly something here for you.

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher University of Iowa Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A unique novel with a real focus on character and atmosphere. It’s literary, emotionally evocative, heavy at times, and strong work.

DNF - I adored the prologue of this book. Alone, it promised a stunning story. Unfortunately, I did not find myself enjoying this book. I struggled to connect with the way the writing seemed to want to do everything without really touching on the essence of what could have been there. I found the story tedious to follow & it truly felt as though the promising prologue went out the window.

This book seemed to try to be a lot of things at once - true crime, family drama, and some existential ramblings mixed in made for a disjointed and difficult to follow storyline. Multiple scenes seemed to not entirely make sense in the flow of the writing (I found myself skimming back a few pages to make sure I didn't miss anything). I'm not sure how it made it through stages of editing.

The initial 10% of the book was super promising. The rabbit holes the "plot" went down after that were superfluous, sometimes brutal, and disconnected.

Thank you Net Galley & University of Iowa Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

So, this book is about Marta. She didn't mean to kill her husband, but he ends up dead in a lake. She's sad and gets into the occult, and everyone around her gets involved in the mess. Then there's Peter, a guy investigating Marta's husband's death. He's dealing with his own problems and becomes obsessed with Marta. They meet, and things get even crazier.

This book is like a mix of different types of stories. It's about sad stuff and love, and it makes you think about relationships. The main guy, Peter, is kind of boring. He's like a character named Holden Caulfield, but not as good. It's pretty unique, so I can't really compare it to anything else.

There are parts in this book that didn't make sense to me. I had to go back and read some parts again because the changes were sudden and confusing.

I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It's like it needs someone to fix the story to make it all fit together. From the beginning to the end, you'll wonder how things got so messed up.

There are too many things that don't make sense. I had questions that didn't get answered. The story goes off in different directions that don't matter. I liked where the story was going, but then there were two awful scenes where animals suffer and die. It's really unnecessary and upsetting. The world is already tough, and we don't need more of that in books.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Yikes, no I don't jive with animal cruelty in books or movies. I may be a wimp, but I can't handle it.

I rarely do this, but I'm going to have to DNF this one at 18%. I don't quite get what's going on with the writing, because it seems like the sentences are neverending and a lot of stuff just doesn't make any sense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book. I really struggled with the writing. A few times I stopped reading and thought "was all that just one sentence". The book seemed to jump around a bit and was confusing. I ended up reading a few reviews to see if it was just me who was struggling. I hate not finishing books and wanted to keep reading if it was going to get better. I did read that there was some animal cruelty coming up soon so I made the decision to stop reading.

Firstly, thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this novel.

Sadly this was a DNF read for me, making the call to put it down at 65%.

I enjoyed the concept of this book, it sounded fun and had potential. I just REALLY struggled to engage.

It takes a lot for me to DNF a book but The Diver did it. The style of continual text and lack of structuring only added to this. The confronting animal cruelty scenes also seemed quite unnecessary and abrupt? This may very well have been the authors intention but the scenes sat strangely in comparison to the rest of the novel’s tone.

Overall, this book has potential—just needs another edit in my opinion.

Review also on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/114568706

*This was a DNF for me.*

I really, really loved where this book was going. I’m crushed that there had to be not only one, but TWO scenes of animal cruelty that ended in both animals dying very horrible deaths. The world is mean and brutal enough as it is, why is this necessary? It’s not anymore.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this title.

The writing of this book is awful. The sentences have so many commas. They’re so long, hard to follow, and frustrating to read. I DNFed at 10% because it’s so bad. If you love commas, this is the book for you.