The Drowning Girl

By: Caitlin R. Kiernan

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on The Drowning Girl: "As with all "Neil Gaiman Presents" titles, it's very important to me to find the voice that comes closest to the voice in the author's head; for Caitlin, for this book, that was Suzy Jackson. It was not until the second round of auditions that we found someone who sounded young but not naïve, someone who could catalogue the sharp detail of Imp's carefully observed daily life but also convey the blurred edges of her reality. Caitlin and Suzy kept in touch during the recording, and the result is a reading that is precise but not "stagey", a literary but accessible reading of the novel."

India Morgan Phelps - Imp to her friends - is schizophrenic. Struggling with her perceptions of reality, Imp must uncover the truth about her encounters with creatures out of myth - or from something far, far stranger....

Winner of the 2013 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on The Drowning Girl, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©2012 Caitlin R. Kiernan (P)2012 Caitlin R Kiernan

Boring

Would you try another book from Caitlin R. Kiernan and/or Suzy Jackson?

Maybe if I was desperate

What was most disappointing about Caitlin R. Kiernan’s story?

went on way to much in circles... had no idea who was who

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Nil

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disapointment that I had spent my credit on this.

Disappointed

This book was one of the most disappointing books I have read. Very hard to follow and repetitive throughout the entire story. I love the narrator but did not like the story. It was all over the place

Confusing waste of time

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Nothing

What was most disappointing about Caitlin R. Kiernan’s story?

Not at all

How could the performance have been better?

This was not coherent writing. It reminded me of words thrown randomly at paper and then called a story

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment and the anger at the time and book credit I wasted. I want my credit back

Any additional comments?

Don't waste time you can't get back.

too boring

Would you try another book from Caitlin R. Kiernan and/or Suzy Jackson?

maybe

Any additional comments?

Can't put my finger on why I was not too crazy about this book, sort of hard to follow at times. Kept thinking to myself, get to the point already. Very good narration though!

Confusing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The book jumped around so much that I could never get into it. It was very promising but not for me. Could not finish it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Caitlin R. Kiernan again?

No.

What three words best describe Suzy Jackson’s voice?

Average Sounding. Not inspiring.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

What was this

What would have made The Drowning Girl better?

start from the beginning and change the whole plot

What could Caitlin R. Kiernan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

get better ideas for a story

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

indifference

Any additional comments?

The idea of a mentally challenged girl isnt all that new so lets make her a Lesbian, that'll do it!

Narration Ok - But story all over the place

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Probably because I enjoyed discussing aspects of the book in a group setting more than I enjoyed the actual book.

So what sort of book is it?
Well it might be a ghost story. It may have some horror elements. It might be factual - or it might just be true... or both or neither. Do I sound like a crazy person? That's because this book is told in the first person by someone who considers themselves insane - though her psychiatrist doesn't like using that word. In fact the whole book could be considered part of India Morgan Phelp's or Imp's therapy. She then proceeds to tell her story of how she is haunted by a painting. Or it might be her telling of her descent into the abyss of madness. Either way the reader is transported into the mind of a "crazy" person who recounts the events of her haunting in non linear fashion.

Part of the story is how she met a woman named Eva Canning - but she has two different versions of her first encounter with Eva - One that takes place in July and one in November - both accounts she insist are true. And away we go down the rabbit hole. We also get a couple of short stories that Imp recounts writing - one about a mermaid and one about a wolf or werewolf - but both these stories flow into her "reality" and become part of her haunting. It's then up to the reader to try and disassemble the story to try and decide if any part of it is true or if none of it is true or whatever. In that regard it's a little like Among Others - even though unlike this book I didn't finish that story.

One of the things I could relate to personally in the story was how mental illness affects the lives of family and friends who have to watch the person they love breaking down. The anger, the frustration, the lack of understanding, the feeling of helplessness the grieving. I have a sister who went through a breakdown in her teens and things were pretty intense for a while.
The thing I had trouble relating to was the gender issues of Imp's transgender lover, Abelyn. It's just too foreign to my own way of thinking and a little uncomfortable to read - but I could relate to Abelyn's response to Imp's mental illness and while it's easy to judge some of Abelyn's reactions and decisions in that regard...I get it.

Though the surreal experience and mystery of the book appealed to me initially, the novelty wore off. I found myself in a place where I trusted nothing in the narrative nor believed that this would change and as such found myself becoming disinterested in the story. So I probably wasn't paying attention as much as I should have been. The end does have a twist that caused me to question my previous assumptions of the story but I hadn't been paying enough attention to get the full impact. Perhaps I would benefit from a reread.

I listened to this on Audible and the narrator Suzy Jackson was a good choice for the audio I think. Very easy to listen to.

Worst Book Ever

Any additional comments?

This book was the worst one I have listened to ever! I somehow managed to listen to the whole thing, despite my better judgement, in the vain hope that something would start to make sense or have any redeeming features by the end.

the Narrator did a really good job though.

I have no idea why anyone would ever like this book, although I know it is quite popular, maybe I am just clueless, but the writing style, the content, and the pacing of the book irritated the crap out of me. This book really made me mad!!

Sorry. Can't go with you on this one.

I cannot recommend this work. A tedious and plodding story that failed to catch my interest, told in a monotonous tone. Not one for a long drive, or even a short one on a straight road.

Confusing story but good narrative.

Story wasn't my cup of tea. I had to backtrack several times in order to understand what was going on however the performance of the narrator was excellent.