The Art of Floating
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
Barbara M. reviewed on + 147 more book reviews
Picked this book up from the library's give-away rack. Sounded interesting. First book I've read by this author. The book starts out promising enough--Sia (the protagonist) finds a drenched man on the beach. He doesn't speak. She takes him home. Then the news media gets wind of this "silent man" and he becomes a worldwide media sensation. So, the reader is drawn into the mystery of wondering who this guy is. There is also the mystery of what happened to Sia's husband, Jackson, who mysteriously disappeared about a year early.
However, the book (in my opinion) went off on a strange path with all kinds of oddball things. M, Sia's mom, would regularly sit up in a tree across from Sia's, write messages on a white board and hold them out, hoping Sia would see them (this was after Jackson disappeared and Sia had closed herself off to others--M could have put the white board in front of Sia's window each day but that wouldn't have been as interesting as having M sitting up in a tree). The silent man had a strange "injury" behind each ear with the suggestion that they could be gills. Sia's "floppy fish" in her abdomen and her "floating" are two other things that are a little off the wall. The "floppy fish" happens when Sia comes into contact with someone who seems to have a strong emotion at the time (i.e., sadness). Sia apparently is an "empath"--which, per Google, is a real but rare phenomenom. So, perhaps empaths have a visceral reaction (i.e., "floppy fish" in the abdomen) when in contact with someone experiencing strong emotions. Sia's floating above her body and whizzing around the community is really out there. There are numerous accounts of people who are near death who tell of out-of-body experiences where they are above their bodies looking down. However, it rarely occurs in other circumstances.
The story included Sia's flashbacks of her life with Jackson. This included several instances of "foreplay" which really didn't add anything crucial to the story. There were also "chapters" (some only one page) of children singing a rhyme about Sia; several about plovers (a plover beach ended up being an essential part of the story but all the little chapters--including one that was a page-long definition of "fledge"--really added nothing to the story); Sia's writing lists. I wondered if the author had an obligation to write a certain number of pages so added these to meet her quota.
I didn't particularly like Sia or Jillian, her best pal and editor/agent. Jillian seemed rather silly for a woman in her 30s. The "Dogcatcher" actually turned out to be a rather interesting character and I would have liked to learn more about her.
The author has some writing talent which is why I'm giving this book two stars instead of one. However, I doubt if I'll read any of her other books.
However, the book (in my opinion) went off on a strange path with all kinds of oddball things. M, Sia's mom, would regularly sit up in a tree across from Sia's, write messages on a white board and hold them out, hoping Sia would see them (this was after Jackson disappeared and Sia had closed herself off to others--M could have put the white board in front of Sia's window each day but that wouldn't have been as interesting as having M sitting up in a tree). The silent man had a strange "injury" behind each ear with the suggestion that they could be gills. Sia's "floppy fish" in her abdomen and her "floating" are two other things that are a little off the wall. The "floppy fish" happens when Sia comes into contact with someone who seems to have a strong emotion at the time (i.e., sadness). Sia apparently is an "empath"--which, per Google, is a real but rare phenomenom. So, perhaps empaths have a visceral reaction (i.e., "floppy fish" in the abdomen) when in contact with someone experiencing strong emotions. Sia's floating above her body and whizzing around the community is really out there. There are numerous accounts of people who are near death who tell of out-of-body experiences where they are above their bodies looking down. However, it rarely occurs in other circumstances.
The story included Sia's flashbacks of her life with Jackson. This included several instances of "foreplay" which really didn't add anything crucial to the story. There were also "chapters" (some only one page) of children singing a rhyme about Sia; several about plovers (a plover beach ended up being an essential part of the story but all the little chapters--including one that was a page-long definition of "fledge"--really added nothing to the story); Sia's writing lists. I wondered if the author had an obligation to write a certain number of pages so added these to meet her quota.
I didn't particularly like Sia or Jillian, her best pal and editor/agent. Jillian seemed rather silly for a woman in her 30s. The "Dogcatcher" actually turned out to be a rather interesting character and I would have liked to learn more about her.
The author has some writing talent which is why I'm giving this book two stars instead of one. However, I doubt if I'll read any of her other books.
