Title: Into the Water
Author: Paula Hawkins
Publisher: Riverhead Books, hardcover (400 pages)
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Genre: Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Literature and Fiction
I was SO excited to read this book... I've had it preordered since I found out about it (maybe half a year ago), and I was a little disappointed that it ended up being a really busy week when it finally got here. I didn't really get into it until Friday night, and once I started there was no putting it down. That's about the quickest I've read 400 pages since The Girl on the Train (although I think that one was a bit shorter, technically).
Being that The Girl on the Train was Hawkins' first book, I-along with everyone else who enjoyed it so much-wondered if she'd be a one-hit-wonder. Was the first one a fluke? Did she get lucky? Can she please please please do it again?
So let me just say, that I actually didn't love The Girl on the Train... the story didn't captivate me, but Hawkins' writing did. Knowing that she was capable of that level of writing, I went into this second piece of her work with high hopes.
And... I was NOT disappointed!
This story follows the lives of the members of a community that live around a river that runs through their town. We begin right after [another] woman is found dead at the bottom of the river this summer. There are a myriad of characters to follow, as the plot and history of the town unfold. Hawkins deals with body image issues, broken families, feminism, rape, abuse of power, mental illness, and probably more that I'm not remembering. Each of her characters has a deep and complicated past that she manages to weave together to tell her story, and she does it really well.
things that i liked:
- Hawkins tells a really good story; something about her writing (even when I don't care much for the story), really really has the ability to keep me turning those pages. She is very simple in style, but she pulls me in and keeps me there from start to finish.
- In both of her books, Hawkins has a plethora of characters. Some of them more interesting than others, all of them carry incredible depth in a surprising way; you would think that, with her style being so simple, Hawkins would lose some of her characters along the way. It seems like there's a lot of room for error with each chapter being only a couple of pages in length, but she manages to tie everyone together seamlessly, and by the end, you don't doubt her at all.
- Short chapters seem childish, but Hawkins moves from one character to the next so quickly that you actually have to think harder than ever to keep up with her. I love that she forces you to pay attention by demanding you engage your memory at every turn; if you lose track you'll never catch up! It keeps me involved with the characters and I love this style of writing.
things that i did not like:
- Her stories haven't stunned me, yet. The Girl on the Train was pretty good, but it definitely wasn't the best book I've ever read... and the same goes for Into the Water. They're more than tolerable, I mean, I don't HATE them, but I think that more than anything, Hawkins wins because she writes well. I hope that she writes more and more, because I think that one day she'll manage to tell an amazing story, and she'll do it well.
So, I wasn't disappointed. This was a good read, and Hawkins proved that her first efforts were legitimate and that she is here to stay. Like I said above, I'm looking forward to what she'll do next, because I think that she will really knock one out of the park at some point. Her ability to use SO MANY CHARACTERS and do it SO VERY WELL, is soooo impressive.
I have maybe three different friends who are excited to read this one, so I'll pass it on with enthusiasm... I think people will like it, even though, like I said, the story is subpar. She pulls us in, regardless. Four stars!!
