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nickartrip102 's review for:
The Catch
by Yrsa Daley-Ward
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
A darkly human tale full of unreliable narrators, with shades of Toni Morrison and Daphne du Maurier.
I requested and received an eARC of The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward via NetGalley. Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their relationship blown apart after their mother vanished into the Thames. Following her disappearance the twins are separated in foster care and have lived under the impression that their mother died. All this changes, however, when Clara is sure she had spotted her dead mother stealing a watch in a department store.
I fell in love with the way this story is written and found myself mesmerized by Daley-Ward’s words. Her prose is poetic and unforgiving, both beautiful and repugnant. The way the author fully allows the reader to inhabit Dempsey and Clara’s world makes for very compelling reading. How the sisters relate to one another on the page felt very real, the tension, anger, and sadness radiating off the page was irresistible. As I read The Catch I kept on finding myself asking, which sister do I trust? Which characters do I believe? It wouldn’t take long for me to realize that I had entered the story with the wrong mindset.
The Catch is puzzling and disorienting with no stability in sight. Just as I thought I had a grasp on what was happening, I had the rug yanked from beneath my feet and had to crawl my way toward the end where I discovered that I knew nothing at all. As confusing, and at times difficult, as this book can be to read, I found it well worth it in the end. Clara, Dempsey, and Serene are willing to hurt themselves, hurt each other, and hurt you, but through all the murk what shines through is the depth of humanity invested in these characters and their stories.
I requested and received an eARC of The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward via NetGalley. Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their relationship blown apart after their mother vanished into the Thames. Following her disappearance the twins are separated in foster care and have lived under the impression that their mother died. All this changes, however, when Clara is sure she had spotted her dead mother stealing a watch in a department store.
I fell in love with the way this story is written and found myself mesmerized by Daley-Ward’s words. Her prose is poetic and unforgiving, both beautiful and repugnant. The way the author fully allows the reader to inhabit Dempsey and Clara’s world makes for very compelling reading. How the sisters relate to one another on the page felt very real, the tension, anger, and sadness radiating off the page was irresistible. As I read The Catch I kept on finding myself asking, which sister do I trust? Which characters do I believe? It wouldn’t take long for me to realize that I had entered the story with the wrong mindset.
The Catch is puzzling and disorienting with no stability in sight. Just as I thought I had a grasp on what was happening, I had the rug yanked from beneath my feet and had to crawl my way toward the end where I discovered that I knew nothing at all. As confusing, and at times difficult, as this book can be to read, I found it well worth it in the end. Clara, Dempsey, and Serene are willing to hurt themselves, hurt each other, and hurt you, but through all the murk what shines through is the depth of humanity invested in these characters and their stories.