Tag Archives: the drowned

The Drowned: Meh

John Banville won some kind of award and now every mystery he publishes is like “from the author of this award” and so I was convinced to pick up The Drowned because I like a well written murder mystery as much as the next gal.

Only problem with this one – I read it a couple of weeks ago (guys, the summer is great and I have been reading and faster than I can find my way to write about them) and can remember Very Little which isn’t a problem of my memory because I remembered All of One Day, Everyone Will Have Been Against This and is instead a problem of this book which is very… unmemorable.

I recall it being a murder mystery with a first-missing, then-dead woman and the circumstances are Fishy and the investigator is… uhh… I think he’s a good guy but he’s no Gamache in the sense you do not care about him at all. There’s something to do with a love triangle and a very weird scene of the detective having sex with one of the suspect’s wives?

Honestly I’m just telling you about it so I remember I read it, but you should absolutely not seek it out. This is, indeed, why I have the tag category “books I’ll forget I read” lol lol

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The Drowned: Skip it

Sean O’Brien won the Booker and now any book you pick up of his is like “this guy won the Booker,” and so you think you’re going to be getting an absolute gem. And sure, The Drowned was well written in that its atmospheric and well paced and writing that is good enough not to be noticed, but also it was about too many things and with characters that (I guess because it’s part of a series?) have too little and too much character development going on.

Ostensibly about the disappearance of a woman, Dee, under suspicious circumstances – the husband Armitage reports her as having ‘run off’ the book is more about the relationship between Stafford, the detective, and the others in his life (girlfriend, boss, partner) but without knowing Stafford from other books I was a little lost for why I ought to care about him.

And also a little unsure about the Irish politics (like the Catholics are bad?) and the time period – when are we? Why is everyone smoking so much?

Anyway, all this to say I wouldn’t throw it out a train window, but I also wouldn’t seek it out, and will absolutely for sure forget I read it.

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Filed under Book I'll Forget I Read, Fiction, Mystery