written by Anne Spollen
The Shape of Water was just a little difficult to get into--it opens with a huge chunk of descriptive babble that seems to make absolutely no sense. It took a while to understand what the book was about, and even now, it's a little hard to explain. The Shape of Water lacks a solid plot, everything about it, the wording and the structure, is fluid and always moving and changing. I really enjoyed the dialogue; it was highly realistic. I think the main character's need to set fires could and should have been explored in more depth, as it was pretty much the closest thing to a plot that the book had. It took a while to understand the Fishes, and like everything else in this book, I still don't think it's possible to fully understand, but everything gradually began coming together and making more sense. I found parts of the book intriguing (fortune teller), parts very predictable (sibling), but parts unexpected (Andrew). I'd like to talk about that last one a little more. I really liked that something Andrew was going through, something that would ordinarily separate people, brought them together in such a unique way. It's a strange book, not like anything else I've read, but I'm glad I did.
Rating: 4/5
"We're in the process of unknowing one another."
I just finished this one last week! Bought it for its cover, and had no idea what I was getting into, but I found I couldn't put it down. I would have to use the word HAUNTING to describe this book as I am still thinking about the girl (Magda)and all the stuff in the book. I agree -- you just like this book not for the plot or anything you might expect -- it's kind of like being put under a spell. Really unusual and really good.
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