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talasterism 's review for:
A Study in Drowning
by Ava Reid
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wowwwwwwwwww what an amazingly written book! first the things i didnt like -- i agree with many that the beginning is a bit slow, i was certainly also rolling my eyes at the meek excuses to dislike P. as an academic rival and barely any of them making sense. and GOD the fact that she can recite not only an entire!! book!! line by line but also other niche poems of everyone??? this feels so absurd.
but man, the themes!!! and how lovely they are interwoven throughout the book, and how grippingly real Effy feels with all her doubts and struggles and illusions (or not?), i had shivers several times. i also reallly enjoyed the short lines from Angaharad sprinkled throughtout, the image of the sea haunting the pages, ("Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."), i liked the actual darkness of the academia (even if all of this is giving white femi)
i enjoyed how the same metaphor of the sea slowly eating away can make as much sense for a death and for sexual assault (and how easily a parallel can be drawn between a SA and death on its own), the eyes and the mirrors, the fairy king taking over as the way sexualised violence often progresses in intimate relationships, first it's rare, then becoming the norm until the person you once loved is gone entirely , and the sea!!! the horrible realisation of Ianto going "what i see before me is a drowning foundation and two fatherless children" or the end parallel of effy being talked over by three men about her work!!
it was really scary at time too, at time when you don't know if effy is imagining things, if she will be okay, if those things she is seeing are real or not - and it's hard to tell which one would be wworse
"tears, blood, and seawater -- all of it tasted the same. Salt and salt and salt."
"i refuse mirrors. i refuse them for you, and i refuse them for me, if you want to see what you are, look into the tide pools at dusk. look into the sea."
"you can die as esily of thirst as you can of drowning"
but man, the themes!!! and how lovely they are interwoven throughout the book, and how grippingly real Effy feels with all her doubts and struggles and illusions (or not?), i had shivers several times. i also reallly enjoyed the short lines from Angaharad sprinkled throughtout, the image of the sea haunting the pages, ("Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you."), i liked the actual darkness of the academia (even if all of this is giving white femi)
i enjoyed how the same metaphor of the sea slowly eating away can make as much sense for a death and for sexual assault (and how easily a parallel can be drawn between a SA and death on its own), the eyes and the mirrors,
it was really scary at time too, at time when you don't know if effy is imagining things, if she will be okay, if those things she is seeing are real or not - and it's hard to tell which one would be wworse
"tears, blood, and seawater -- all of it tasted the same. Salt and salt and salt."
"i refuse mirrors. i refuse them for you, and i refuse them for me, if you want to see what you are, look into the tide pools at dusk. look into the sea."
"you can die as esily of thirst as you can of drowning"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Xenophobia, Stalking, War