Caitlin R. Kiernan takes readers into the mind of a young
schizophrenic girl in her latest novel, THE DROWNING GIRL.
India Morgan Phelps, nicknamed, Imp, is well aware of her
mental illness. Both her mother and her grandmother suffered
from mental instability, and both committed suicide. But
India views her mental illness as an insect she enjoys
dissecting. Instead of fighting the strange moods and
delusions which threaten to overwhelm her losing grip on
reality, Imp finds comfort in her obsessions in the form of
writing.
Imps finds love with Abalyn Armitage, a young transvestite
who isn't rattled by Imp's erratic behavior. But Abalyn
finds it difficult to continue her relationship with Imp
when Imp's behavior takes her down a dangerous road which
could finally break the veil separating her from the
schizophrenics who must be hospitalized.
Imp becomes obsessively fascinated by two fairy tales and a
painting who she believes is no mere painting, but a
haunting. Imp's obsession with The Little Red Riding Hood
goes back to her childhood when she realizes the children's
story can be traced back to a gruesome story dating back to
the seventeenth century. But Imp's sanity truly becomes
threatened when her life suddenly revolved around a painting
named Drowning Girl by Philip George Saltonstall. Imp
believes this is not a painting, but a haunting which the
artist has rendered on a canvas in order to rid himself of
the drowning girl's ghost. Now the drowning girl haunts not
only Imp's dreams, but her reality as well.
When Imp meets Eva Canning the distinction between fantasy
and reality finally become blurred enough to frighten not
only Abalyn, but Imp's psychiatrist as well. Imp becomes
convinced Eva, who she meets on the side of a ride one
night, is the same woman is known as the Siren of Millville.
The Siren is believed to be the ghost of a woman who drowned
who now lures other women to their death. But when Imp and
Abalyn research the elusive Eva, who continously disappears,
they discover, Evan Canning drowned many years ago in a mass
suicide. Imp struggles to find reality in a sea of
delusions. But the truth about Eva results in something Imp
could never have imagined.
Caitlin R. Kiernan weaves a dark, but seductive story which
takes readers deep into the troubled mind of a
schizophrenic. THE DROWNING GIRL is one of those novels
which readers will be determined to figure out. Imp's story
contains not only bits and pieces of her troubled life as a
mentally ill young girl, but the author also invites readers
into the vivid delusions which slowly take their toll on
Imp's grasp on reality. I enjoyed Imp's fascination with the
Siren of Millville, but the wrapping of Eva's story
contained too much disorganization. I felt THE DROWNING GIRL
slowly
started to fall apart towards the end. I thought this novel
was strong enough to stand on its own without the
introduction of Evan Canning. Nonetheless, Imp's bizarre
reality and haunting delusions make for an enthralling read.
Imp, a struggling schizophrenic, fights to determine whether or not the strange mythological creatures she meets are due to her condition or are from something else entirely in this new novel from the award-winning author of The Red Tree.
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