Book Review: THE NORTH WATER

I just can't. I tried. I really gave it a good try, but I just can't. I started and stopped. Then started again, mainly because I didn't have anything else to read on our recent trip, but I'm not going to finish this one. The North Water by Ian McGuire was highly recommended by several people in one of my book clubs. And I trust their opinions. They mentioned this book at more than one meeting and said how surprised they were by how much they enjoyed it. I was surprised too! 

Not only that, but it's on so many lists and has won numerous awards:

One of The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of the Year

National Bestseller

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

Winner of the RSL Encore Award

Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize

A New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Named a Best Book of the Year by Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, New Statesman, Publishers Weekly, and Chicago Public Library

All of which makes me wonder if I'm missing something. Or perhaps I'm just too squeamish. 

This story felt like a train wreck full of dismembered and mangled bodies that you can't look away from. It's horrifying and disturbing, but you want to see it anyway. There's so much cursing. Never in my life have I seen the f-word so many times in such a small amount of space. Given the characters, rough as cobs seamen, it's not surprising and most likely very realistic, but that doesn't mean I want to spend my time reading it. 

There's also a lot of liquid. Water, rain, ice, blood, bodily juices of all kinds, blubber... the fluids that flow from this story make me feel damp and icky just thinking about it. Wet, cold and dirty and so violent, I feel like I need a shower after just a few pages. 

I can say without hesitation this story is not for the faint of heart... or for the animal enthusiast. It's a page turner. There's no doubt about that. The story and writing itself is wonderful, but it's just so... bleh! It's dark and vicious and so, so raw. Do I want to know what happens at the end? Yes, I do. But I'm not willing to trudge through the filth to find out. I'll just ask my friends how it ended. :) 

So am I recommending this book? Not really, and yet, if you can handle all the things I've mentioned above, you'll probably really enjoy it. So I'll leave that up to you! Let me know if you've read this or if you think you might give it a try! 

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