Christina Schwarz - Drowning Ruth

Pros: Old-fashioned storytelling delivered with a breathless, cinematic pace--this is literature that ranks with Dickens and Dreiser
Cons: None (unless you count the paper cuts I got from flipping the pages)

Drowning Ruth is one of those novels that gets readers so worked up, so lathered, so feverish that they run around pressing the book into the hands of friends and, perhaps, strangers on a plane, insisting with wide eyes and spittle-flecked lips,...

Pros: It's a fast read because there are no surprises
Cons: A plot line as worn as a melodrama.

Perhaps if I hadn't picked up this book with such high hopes. Perhaps if I hadn't read such glowing reviews of this book here on Epinions and in newspapers and magazines. Then I wouldn't have had high expectations to be dashed. From everything I'd...

Pros: Captivating novel with plenty of surprises.
Cons: None, other than the fact that it now has that big distracting "O" on the dust jacket

In early August, I read a review of Christina Schwarz’s debut novel Drowning Ruth in the New York Times. Janet Maslin’s praise made Drowning Ruth sound like a solid summer read, so I picked up a copy of my own at the bookstore the...

Pros: Nicely written story with good descriptive elements.
Cons: More style than substance, the plot in the long run fails to deliver.

Drowning Ruth is the first novel by American author Christina Schwartz. It has been a best seller around the world and praised by many critics. I suppose as it is a first novel I should be more measured in my criticism but in the case of this book I find ...

Pros: Fast moving-excellent character development
Cons: I found none

"Drowning Ruth" is a fast paced book by new author, Christina Schwarz. It has made Oprah's book club, and for once I have read one of her recommended books that didn't dent my diminishing brain cells.

The story's two main characters...

Pros: In depth character studies, good mystery
Cons: It had to end

Finally! Something Worth Reading!

After spending the last few months wading through one disappointing book after another I heard about Drowning Ruth. This was my first experience with an Oprah pick but I’m glad I listened...

Pros: Wonderful writing by a debut writer
Cons: none

I've been waiting for this book for a while; I've been broke so I've been dependent on the library for new books, and when Oprah recommended Drowning Ruth, the requests for it doubled. I waited my time, and I finally checked out the book last week. I...

Pros: After awhile, the story becomes quite absorbing.
Cons: The way the story switches back and forth in time and narrators.

Like one of the other reviewers for Christina Schwarz's "Drowning Ruth", I wasn't all that impressed with this book, in spite of the glowing reviews from other members.

There's nothing all that bad about the book, per se, but I didn't think it...

Pros: nice descriptions
Cons: confusing, unimpressive

I don't know exactly how I feel about this book Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz, an Oprah Book Club selection. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. Maybe it's because the narrative is confusing. The narrative isn't chronological. It loops back...

Pros: complex and interesting plot
Cons: bounces between narrators and past/present, plot can drag in some spots

A friend recommended this novel to me when we crashed into each other while browsing Target's book shelf. She said offhandedly "that one was good" so I grabbed it. Wow was that an understatement. Drowning Ruth weaves the tale of two sisters, Amanda ...

Pros: Holds Your Attention, Can't Put It Down Mystery
Cons: I Couldn't Find Any, Other Than The Frustration Of Wanting To Skip Ahead

"Drowning Ruth" is the first selection from Oprah's Book Club that I have read. I actually decided that I wanted to read it after seeing her show where the readers discussed the book. Several of the women made reference to "she should have told him...

Pros: Unique writing style with characters that won't let you go
Cons: May be cofusing to those who like to follow chronological events

If you need to get to bed early this evening I would suggest not cracking a page of this compelling story until you have a block of time to read because you won't want to put it down. Drowning Ruth is a story that grabs you from the first paragraph and...

Pros: Some well written descriptive scenes
Cons: Narrative is hard to follow, characters superficial.

I really have mixed feeling about this novel. I wanted to get into it. But the narrative was extremely confusing. For about the first 50 pages, I was totally confused. I kept reading mainly to figure out the plot. Normally, I find a character or...

Pros: Good Story
Cons: Hard to Follow, fairly predictable, not believable

I liked this book to a point. However, there were many things that bothered me about it. For one, the characters are unstable and weak. Many of them are superficial -- meaning they aren't "real-life" like.
Two, this story is extremely...

Pros: can't put this one down until the last page
Cons: difficult to adjust to the changing of voices at first

Drowning Ruth is one of those books that keeps you guessing until the very end. Just when you think you understand what motivates the characters, Schwartz throws another twist at you. Just when you've decided to love or hate a character, another twist...