A review by readers_pov
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75


 ✒️ In this book the most interesting part is the relationships and the psychology of the characters involved. And so is how they change - the story is half a growth-story of the MC and half a psychological thriller. Often simultaneously both. I would also like to raise up the fact that the description of their lifestyle at the marsh made a big impact on me, I found it all fascinating.   

✒️ This book is written in the same style as a dual-pov story would, except that both povs are the MC's own - one is herself when she was a child, and the other is her current adult self. This alternative storytelling is written splendidly - it's engaging, informative and contemplative. What I do want to slightly critisize is that the pov of her childhood self is clearly dominating the story, leaving the adult MC more unknown to the reader. 

✒️ What really fascinates me about this book is the FMC's relationship with her father - the villain of the story. Clearly, she doesn't despise him. She should, the society, her mother, her husband, everyone is adamant the the only feelings she could have towards her father should be hatred. That is the socially acceptable stance. Instead everything implies that she actually adores still him. Her rational side understands that she should treat her father the way society wants, but her thoughts and behaviour all indicate that she can't. But, as her father's daughter, she's trained to be a survivor. She has and will continue to survive in the society and adapt to her surroundings, for the sake of her own family. 

✒️ All of the events taking place in the marsh and the MC's past are addictive and interesting. I just couldn't stop reading of her life. But when the pov switched to her adult self, it seemed to be lacking in depth. Somehow it felt that the heart of the story was and stayed in the past, and the present was just for tying up loose ends, for the sake of giving an ending to the story. 

✒️ Also funny little bonus, it depicted Finnish second- or third-generation immigrants. Some had Finnish surnames and even the Finnish pronunciation got a sentence dedicated to it, despite the center of the story being on Native American/Indian heritage, when it came to the important characters. 
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