Reviews - The Catch: The long-awaited debut novel from award-winning writer, Yrsa Daley-Ward

129 reviews for:

The Catch: The long-awaited debut novel from award-winning writer, Yrsa Daley-Ward

Yrsa Daley-Ward

3.64 AVERAGE

jpep's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

doreeny's review against another edition

3.0

This is an esoteric novel that will be loved by some readers; unfortunately, I am not one of them.

Clara and Dempsey are 30-year-old twin sisters abandoned by their mother who presumably drowned in the Thames River. The girls were adopted separately and lived very different lives. Though they have reconnected, theirs is a difficult relationship. One day Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their birth mother and even has her name, Serene Marie Nkem Droste, though she is the same age as the twins. Clara and Serene form an intense relationship, but Dempsey is skeptical and suspects Serene is a con artist. To complicate matters, Clara is a celebrity author who has written an autofiction book which she describes as “’a terrible tale about my mother, as though she told it to me herself.’” The book casts Serene “as some kind of witch-like siren from a bad part of town who cons everyone with her looks and ends up causing disaster.”

Both Clara and Dempsey are narrators in alternating chapters. Both are unreliable because both struggle with addiction and trauma which cloud their judgments. Each admits to hating her twin so comments need to be filtered by the reader. A couple of times, one sister narrates her version of a past event and then the subsequent chapter gives the other sister’s memory which may be contradictory. So what is the truth? Chapters of Clara’s novel are included as well; they add to the confusion because events in the book seem to mirror what is happening to Serene in the present. So what is going on?!

The writing style will catch the reader’s attention. Clara speaks about her body in an interesting way: “holding the head that is on my body” and “The body of mine gets into the car. The body of mine takes its trembling hands” and “These legs go to cross the road anyway.” Then there’s the imagery; the colour orange is mentioned 22 times. There are 46 references to “blue” though sometimes the word refers to colour and sometimes to mood. Olfactory imagery abounds: “vetiver-and-smoke scent” and “night-old brandy smell” and “smelling of geranium and patchouli” and “hints of musty river water.” Tactile imagery is also noticeable: “scaly skin” and “itchy rash.” It is the lyrical prose that most impressed me.

Much of the time it is difficult to understand what is real and what is imaginary. Confusion is compounded by references to shapeshifting and time travel, a character not belonging on this planet, a character feeling as if she is not real, and a character feeling like she is disappearing. There’s often a strange dream-like quality which is disorienting. Magic realism with its blurring of reality and fantasy is not a style I always enjoy.

To be perfectly honest, I struggled to keep reading. Pace at the beginning is slow, and because the characters are untrustworthy, they are unlikeable. I had problems connecting with anyone. There are poignant moments emphasizing “Not everyone gets a chance to have a mother, and life isn’t fair. You lose parts of your insides when you lose a mother.” However, these moments were not enough to overcome the disorientation I felt.

Though the writing style is descriptive and engaging, The Catch did not really catch me.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

gracieoneill's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company | Liveright and Netgalley for an digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

While The Catch will not be everyone's preference or liking, I was hooked by it's unreliable narrators, winding timeline, and beautiful prose. Yrsa Daley-Ward did an incredible job weaving everything together.

There's a lot about the book that leaves the reader confused—who to trust, what is happening, *can* this be happening? But the through-line through all of this is Daley-Ward's steady hand. There was intention on every page, with every word choice. Even when I was trying to figure out what the hell was happening, I knew that there was a purpose.

The lyricism is Daley-Ward's writing is nothing short of beautiful. She is able to find the most human and uncomfortable adjectives in one sentence and have the most poetic line in the next.

It does drag a little bit in the middle, gets a bit muddied. But I find it has a strong ending. If you're someone who doesn't like vague endings—this will not be the book for you. But if you're open to exploring the "what-ifs," I highly recommend The Catch,

ninquellote's review against another edition

2.5

So it was an interesting read.

I’m still thinking about characters and plot twists, and it kinda left me with what just happened. After finishing I thought about the synopsis and how it was about an entirely different book.

I can say I really liked the first half of the book, it was interesting, there was mystery, and the characters were nicely written and developed. But then the second half happened, and it wasn’t really good in my opinion. It felt like author wasn’t really known where does this all lead. The plot was chaos, and the characters were a mess, like stuff was pulled out of the hat (the ending and whole magical realism). The sisters don`t really change, and they are so untrustworthy with recollection of events that I couldn't believe them at all and root for them. I still don’t know for what we met a couple of background characters, for example therapist or mystic. The longer I'm thinking, the more I wonder if it was a fever dream of Mother, is it mental illness or time traveling for real? There was one thing in the end I liked but it’s spoilery so I won't say what it is but I think it was really nice.

It was a wild ride, and overall not a very good one.

Thanks to Liveright Publishing for an eARC.

haerlee's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Surreal. Poetic. Disjointed. With echoes of Morrison's "Beloved", where the past can be made corporeal, we get the story of twins who reunite with their mother in the hopes of stopping their own birth. Or is it? The language alone is enough for the reader to "just go with it," but it might not be for people who aren't in the mood for that journey. While I think that it would make for good discussions, I think that reading it within strict confines of a month might prove difficult- perhaps 6-8 weeks will prove more successful.

nenye_wordsandwhatnot's review against another edition

2.75

My rating rests entirely on the fact that I was perplexed enough to finish reading it plus the portrayal of abandonment and far reaching consequences of childhood trauma.

Very unsure how to feel about the prose and the character work. I could kind of see what the author what trying to achieve and yes, maybe the convoluted nature of the story was intentionally done to make it more of a mind fuck but I’m still not sure what to make of it in it’s entirety.

This is how I felt when i read Mona Awad’s Bunny. I don’t like that feeling. It feels like I was bamboozled into a psychedelic trip.

celestially_yours's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

First off this cover is giving exactly what this book is: mind-boggling and twisted in a good way.

The concept behind this book is absolutely brilliant. So brilliant I am not sure I got it all, but what I did get was parallel universes of twin sisters left by their birth mother and adopted by separate families. One to a well to do, 2 parent home, fitting the “perfect family” description (or were they). The other a single father (but why). Seeing each other only briefly at holidays. As a twin myself, this book resonated with me, because me and my sister after high school lived totally separate lives. Making our bond hard as we matured and had different relationships with friends and lifestyles in different cities. What makes this book interesting is the twins are fraternal and don’t look much alike. They each have their own struggles. Clara struggles with multiple addictions(I will let you read and find out) and success. Dempsey struggles with her beauty image and personality disorder. They aren’t close but they are bonded by something. The story heightens around Clara seeing someone who looks exactly like their mother that hasn’t aged a day. Who comes in trying to “assist” her and figure out the next moves,which I found intriguing. Hence the themes of blue in the book which may represent an emotion or a spirit. Another interesting aspect of this one was the multiple uses of sex in the book. (Read it)The chapters are short which I loved and go back and forth between the sisters perspectives and activities-hence the “multiverse” . This is also an example of unreliable narrators. When I finished the book I was unsure of my feelings. You will either really love this book based on the writing, which is perfection, or hate it based on the ending=twisted. There is also a final chapter and an alternate endings so read the last part real slow. Hence The catch because there is always a catch.
Thank you to Liveright Books for the gifted ARC.

cadill08's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was richly written, complex and deep. It focuses on two adult twin sisters and the reappearance of their mother, including a meta-fiction aspect where events in the story mirror events in a book written by one of the main characters. I loved the complex portrayal of the twins, including their different upbringings after they were separated, and the threads of magical realism and fantasy. I’m not sure the story fully landed for me, but ultimately I think definitely worth reading for a unique and thought provoking threads that make an interesting reading experience.

jukietoss's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I was completely absorbed in this layered family story. It took on a bunch of elements: twins raised separately, a book within the book, time loops--and it did all of them justice. I had such a great time getting to know the characters, watching the sisters' relationship evolve, and gaining well-paced insight into how we got here. It kept me guessing, and even got kind of creepy in such a fun way. This book is smart, compelling, and very hard to put down. It's also a bold examination of motherhood, sisterhood, and women's lives. I love a woman-centered story that looks at how society impacts the personal, and THE CATCH does it in a truly original way. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time!

I recommend this for anyone who likes literary fiction that gets a little weird, for people who like to see motherhood represented with complexity on the page, or anyone who's up for a little mysticism to help understand the world.

becks_678's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I read this in 7 hours and it felt like it. I was going through so many emotions that I had to put the book down multiple times. Taking small breaks while staring out in the distance. I will not go into the characters or the plot. What I need to talk about is the unreliability of everything. Had me going a bit crazy. Half the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I was feeling every other emotion other than happiness. The anger to the character, plot and even author. I’m not mad about the book is not bad. I had such a hard time going through it. Feeling like a damned fever dream, you think it’s over and done but no you’re still dreaming. I need people to pick the book up, tell me what they think and have a discussion on my ideas lol. I would love to read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company I received a ARC for an honest review !

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