Novel: Into The Water
Author: Paula Hawkins
Format: Audiobook
Source: OC Public Library
Rating: 4/5
Summary
For this novel, let’s move to a small town called Beckford. A river flows along its boundary. The river has an infamous section called the Drowning Pool. Many women had died here, some drowned by force and others by will. Nel Abbott is writing a book on these women and the truth behind their deaths. Unfortunately, she meets the same end as those women. One morning, someone notices her body floating in the pool. Preliminary investigation shows it could be a suicide. But her sister Jules thinks otherwise. While Nel’s daughter Lena feels her mother killed herself in guilt. The story answers whether Nel killed herself or somebody murdered her.
My Thoughts On The AudioBook
I heard the audiobook by Penguin Random House Audio Group. The narrators are Laura Aikman, Sophie Aldred, and Rachel Bavidge. The audiobook gets another 5/5 from me. The main attribute I look for in an audiobook is the ability for me to understand the speech of all the narrators. More often the narrators change their pitch or reading style to emulate the character. And in such cases, their speech becomes unclear. This didn’t happen with all the narrators in this novel. And that’s the reason for a full rating.
My Thoughts On The Novel
Unlike the last one “The Girl On The Train“, I enjoyed “Into the Water” by Paula Hawkins more.
The way this novel progresses is confusing in the beginning. We have the main alive characters telling their stories interlaced with narratives of the women who died in the Drowning pool.
An example, you are hearing Julia’s story (her point of view), suddenly you change to Lena’s story then abruptly to one of the dead women narratives, and so on. With over 8 narratives, this style makes the novel tough to listen to.
I view this novel’s plenty characters as pieces of a puzzle. As you read further in the book, you join these pieces to form the short stories which lead you to the climax. Like any other investigation, the novel takes you through a lot of short stories, which don’t have a link to the main plot. They are only present to build the suspense.
The challenge to keep up with stories of so many characters, to remember them as I progressed through the novel make me give 4/5 rating.
Most of the time when I read a novel there are small parts inside which make me think. One such part is the rift between two sisters, Nel and Jules, which shows that misinterpretation of other’s actions can break our bond with them. One action by Nel and its misinterpretation by Jules created a huge gap between the sisters. Jules moved out of Beckford and severed her contact with Nel. She expected an apology from Nel who didn’t even knew her mistake. She didn’t respond to Nel’s attempts at reconciliation. Finally, Jules understood her mistake only after Nel’s death. Now she regrets not having patched up with her sister when she had the chance.
Often we also misinterpret an action by our parents, or siblings or spouses. And instead of clarifying our thoughts we keep inside us a grudge against them. It’s better to air our thoughts in front of the other person so they can clear our misunderstanding. Or they get to know which of their action hurt us. Doing so saves us future regrets and living life with unnecessary pain.
Overall I liked this one. And recommend this novel to my friends who like to read a mystery.
Have you read this novel? If yes, What are your thoughts on this novel?
Thanks for stopping by. Till next post, Happy reading!
