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Abroad
From the author of the bestselling Girls in Trucks, a sad, wry testament to the beauty and recklessness of youth
The city of Grifonia, Italy, is swarming with secrets—thousands of years of dark, murderous secrets.
Taz, a British student who has just arrived for her year abroad, thinks that she will spend her time in Italy sipping wine and taking in the rolling Umbrian hills. But she soon falls in with a cabal of posh, reckless girls—the B4—who turn her quaint fantasies into an erotic and dangerous rush through the darkest realms of friendship and love. Abroad is a chilling parable of modern girlhood from an author who “from her opening line . . . grabs you and never lets go” (People).
Not since Donna Tartt’s The Secret History have we been treated to such an addictive tale of tumultuous adolescence. We see Taz scared and alone, but hungry for new experience and piqued by the thrill of living abroad. We see her roommate, the plainspoken American Claire, who worries about Taz’s motives and expresses sincere concern for her safety—but everything changes when they fall for the same man.
And then there’s what we don’t see—the perils that lurk around the corner. We don’t see the secrets that friends—and lovers—keep from one another. And we don’t see the force that is bigger than Taz, bigger than her friends and loves, a force that seems to be propelling them all toward a dark, awful end. Inspired by real events but tackled with grace and sharpness by a master storyteller, this is Katie Crouch at her finest.
The city of Grifonia, Italy, is swarming with secrets—thousands of years of dark, murderous secrets.
Taz, a British student who has just arrived for her year abroad, thinks that she will spend her time in Italy sipping wine and taking in the rolling Umbrian hills. But she soon falls in with a cabal of posh, reckless girls—the B4—who turn her quaint fantasies into an erotic and dangerous rush through the darkest realms of friendship and love. Abroad is a chilling parable of modern girlhood from an author who “from her opening line . . . grabs you and never lets go” (People).
Not since Donna Tartt’s The Secret History have we been treated to such an addictive tale of tumultuous adolescence. We see Taz scared and alone, but hungry for new experience and piqued by the thrill of living abroad. We see her roommate, the plainspoken American Claire, who worries about Taz’s motives and expresses sincere concern for her safety—but everything changes when they fall for the same man.
And then there’s what we don’t see—the perils that lurk around the corner. We don’t see the secrets that friends—and lovers—keep from one another. And we don’t see the force that is bigger than Taz, bigger than her friends and loves, a force that seems to be propelling them all toward a dark, awful end. Inspired by real events but tackled with grace and sharpness by a master storyteller, this is Katie Crouch at her finest.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2014
35 people are currently reading
2440 people want to read
About the author
Katie Crouch
9 books430 followersKatie Crouch is the New York Times bestselling author of Girls in Trucks, Men and Dogs, and Abroad. Embassy Wife was optioned and is currently in development with 20th Television for series. She has also written essays for The New York Times, Slate, Salon, and Tin House. A former resident of Namibia and San Francisco, Crouch now lives in Vermont with her family and teaches creative writing at Dartmouth College.
Follow her on Instagram at @katiecrouchwrites.
Follow her on Instagram at @katiecrouchwrites.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
August 12, 2016
Abroad is, kind of, the Amanda Knox story - but from the perspective of the victim (Meredith Kercher, known here as Taz). If you've paid even passing attention to the news over the past few years, you likely know the story - two girls come to a small Italian city on an academic exchange and end up as roommates. They become friends, do some minor experimenting with sex and drugs, form relationships with friends and lovers - and then Taz is found murdered in her room by Claire and Colin (the Amanda and Rafaelle characters). This is where Abroad stops, for the most part - the focus is not on the aftermath or the trial, but on Taz's backstory and her experiences in Italy leading up to her death.
I'm not exactly sure why I didn't absolutely love this. After all, I'm admittedly a little obsessed with the Amanda Knox case and enjoyed her biography (Waiting To Be Heard), and Cartwheel, another fictional retelling of the story, was one of my top reads last year. It also manages to incorporate an exclusive group of mysterious and affluent friends, unrequited love, and a romantic European setting - all of which would normally be a winning combination for me.
But something just didn't quite connect, which is probably in large part due to the writing. It's fine, but it lacks the poetic quality needed to highlight the tragedy of someone so young dying so horrifically, or to make an Italian city come alive on the pages. It tries to be poignant and introspective without actually coming up with any particularly meaningful insights.
There were also a few alterations to "Claire" that just seemed as if they were incorporated to make the story more dramatic and instead were slightly ridiculous - rather than just being a girl coming of age and casually experimenting with her sexuality, she is self-proclaimed as "sex-obsessed" and apparently wants to sleep with every single man she encounters throughout the novel, including both of Taz's potential love interests. There's also an - I know this is a work of fiction only loosely based on the actual events and relationships, but I just didn't feel like they improved the story at all.
All of this is not to say I hated the book - the story just can't help but be compelling, and I read through it hungrily despite there not being any mystery in what was to come (Taz foreshadows her death various times throughout, and there's never any question of her fate). Crouch manages to incorporate very interesting backstories for some of the characters, particularly Taz and her group of friends, and I actually loved that we were seeing all of the events from Taz's viewpoint rather than Claire's.
Worth a read, especially if you've had interest in the Amanda Knox case, but certainly not the best retelling out there.
I'm not exactly sure why I didn't absolutely love this. After all, I'm admittedly a little obsessed with the Amanda Knox case and enjoyed her biography (Waiting To Be Heard), and Cartwheel, another fictional retelling of the story, was one of my top reads last year. It also manages to incorporate an exclusive group of mysterious and affluent friends, unrequited love, and a romantic European setting - all of which would normally be a winning combination for me.
But something just didn't quite connect, which is probably in large part due to the writing. It's fine, but it lacks the poetic quality needed to highlight the tragedy of someone so young dying so horrifically, or to make an Italian city come alive on the pages. It tries to be poignant and introspective without actually coming up with any particularly meaningful insights.
There were also a few alterations to "Claire" that just seemed as if they were incorporated to make the story more dramatic and instead were slightly ridiculous - rather than just being a girl coming of age and casually experimenting with her sexuality, she is self-proclaimed as "sex-obsessed" and apparently wants to sleep with every single man she encounters throughout the novel, including both of Taz's potential love interests. There's also an - I know this is a work of fiction only loosely based on the actual events and relationships, but I just didn't feel like they improved the story at all.
All of this is not to say I hated the book - the story just can't help but be compelling, and I read through it hungrily despite there not being any mystery in what was to come (Taz foreshadows her death various times throughout, and there's never any question of her fate). Crouch manages to incorporate very interesting backstories for some of the characters, particularly Taz and her group of friends, and I actually loved that we were seeing all of the events from Taz's viewpoint rather than Claire's.
Worth a read, especially if you've had interest in the Amanda Knox case, but certainly not the best retelling out there.
August 18, 2021
We might imagine an entire Round Table of readers on a grail quest, to find another novel as totally entrancing as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. For some of us, Tana French’s The Likeness came very close. I’m not yet ready to award the bronze medal, but I was delighted to find a contender in Katie Crouch’s Abroad. (How have I not known of this book earlier?). The setting is the imaginary Italian university city of Grifonia, obviously modelled on Perugia, and the plot based on the Meredith Kercher/Amanda Knox murder case, somewhat like what Emma Cline did with the Manson murders in The Girls. Because some superficial readers amongst Goodreads members have already complained of “Spoilers” in previous reviews, I’ll not mention whether the 1st person narrator is supposed to be the victim or the accused (though it’s perfectly obvious and necessary which). Here she is supposed to be Irish (though previously a student at Nottingham). As my knowledge of Irish idiom is derived entirely from reading Tana French, I couldn’t judge how successfully Crouch caught Taz’s dialect, though she got ‘jumper’ ‘trainers’ and ‘crisps’ right, ‘cell phone’ and ‘hood’ (for ‘bonnet’) wrong. Here the American character is supposed to be from Butte MT (I have never knowingly encountered anyone from Butte in a lifetime, and I used to live in Spokane), a student at University of Montana in Missoula, pretty well established on the creative writing circuit. We also have a close-knit group of students called the 4B, who as in TSH are quite involved in the unlicensed pharmaceutical trade where a drug called Zanopane (which I thought was a Polish ski resort but seems to be an Italian variety of Molly) features. Also, as in THS we have a secret society trading in ancient mysteries (here Etruscan) and speaking Latin. I found both the Meredith and the Amanda impersonators quite likeable and the story riveting and the motive for the murder plausible. But I judge third place on the podium (which Crouch confuses with a lectern) to be still open and eagerly await another novel with a school setting and a close-knit gang of friends to contest the bronze with Abroad.
December 19, 2016
The narrator of Abroad is based, rather loosely, on the brief experiences of UK exchange student Meredith Kercher in Italy leading up to her murder. There is an Amanda Knox character (Claire), a Raffaele character (Colin, although he's British in this story), and
I'd say that if you are reading this book based on your interest in the Amanda Knox connection, you will likely be disappointed. The aftermath of the murder is limited to the very last chapter of the book, for one thing, and Claire/Amanda is sort of a peripheral character for the first half of the book. The book becomes far more interesting when Claire and our narrator Taz begin spending more time together and have a brief rift, for exactly the reason someone might have fought with the real Amanda Knox (you'll see what I mean).
Katie Crouch's writing has improved since Girls in Trucks. My main criticism of that book was that despite some risks she took with point of view, it didn't come together into a cohesive, meaningful story. Abroad is much more successful in that respect. Taz's need and loneliness in a foreign country are palpable. Particularly when she forms a relationship with one of the Italians on the bottom floor of her cottage, Marcello, who indicates from the start that he is going to use her for sex (he doesn't even get her name right for a while!), but Taz just lets it happen because he is confident and pushy and she wants to be wanted.
And I loved the way that need and loneliness complimented the small historical vignettes of women's murder, from ancient to finally present, that Crouch chose to intersperse. It all came together to form a brutal picture of female lives, the way we are used and discarded, or pitifully requiring mercy killing.
My biggest criticism of Abroad, which is entirely personal to me and your mileage may vary, is that I felt the storyline of Taz's relationships with the B4, a wealthy female clique of fellow British women , dominates the plot to the exclusion of other more interesting characters like Claire, Colin, and Marcello.
But thinking back on the whole of the book, I chose to bump it up from three stars to four, because for me it's like the literary equivalent of Sia's music: an excellent primer on what it feels like to be a certain type of woman -- young, privileged, searching, and coming up more wanting than you ever expected.
(Note: everything I've read about the real Meredith Kercher indicates she was actually happy-go-lucky and popular. Not sure if that's just the result of the way we tend to romanticize the dead or a reflection of true facts.)
I'd say that if you are reading this book based on your interest in the Amanda Knox connection, you will likely be disappointed. The aftermath of the murder is limited to the very last chapter of the book, for one thing, and Claire/Amanda is sort of a peripheral character for the first half of the book. The book becomes far more interesting when Claire and our narrator Taz begin spending more time together and have a brief rift, for exactly the reason someone might have fought with the real Amanda Knox (you'll see what I mean).
Katie Crouch's writing has improved since Girls in Trucks. My main criticism of that book was that despite some risks she took with point of view, it didn't come together into a cohesive, meaningful story. Abroad is much more successful in that respect. Taz's need and loneliness in a foreign country are palpable. Particularly when she forms a relationship with one of the Italians on the bottom floor of her cottage, Marcello, who indicates from the start that he is going to use her for sex (he doesn't even get her name right for a while!), but Taz just lets it happen because he is confident and pushy and she wants to be wanted.
And I loved the way that need and loneliness complimented the small historical vignettes of women's murder, from ancient to finally present, that Crouch chose to intersperse. It all came together to form a brutal picture of female lives, the way we are used and discarded, or pitifully requiring mercy killing.
My biggest criticism of Abroad, which is entirely personal to me and your mileage may vary, is that I felt the storyline of Taz's relationships with the B4, a wealthy female clique of fellow British women , dominates the plot to the exclusion of other more interesting characters like Claire, Colin, and Marcello.
But thinking back on the whole of the book, I chose to bump it up from three stars to four, because for me it's like the literary equivalent of Sia's music: an excellent primer on what it feels like to be a certain type of woman -- young, privileged, searching, and coming up more wanting than you ever expected.
(Note: everything I've read about the real Meredith Kercher indicates she was actually happy-go-lucky and popular. Not sure if that's just the result of the way we tend to romanticize the dead or a reflection of true facts.)
April 30, 2016
You know, the weird thing about this book is that all the characters were awful - I didn't like a single one of them, including Taz - and yet I was completely enthralled by the story! I just HAD to find out what happened!!! Mind you, I didn't realize until the end that this book was based on a true story, so I don't know how that affects my rating. Maybe I would have felt differently if I knew anything about the true crime version, but whatever - I personally thought it was an absorbing read!
One thing to note - I found this book in the "teen fiction" section of my library, which is completely inaccurate! This book features characters in college with the adult language, behaviour, and issues to match.
One thing to note - I found this book in the "teen fiction" section of my library, which is completely inaccurate! This book features characters in college with the adult language, behaviour, and issues to match.
February 2, 2024
maybe 3.5 bc of some of the ending but interesting components 👍
June 12, 2014
How I Came To Read This Book: I got a free copy from the publisher.
The Plot: This book is essentially a fictional re-imagining of the Amanda Knox story; told from the perspective of Meredith Kercher, the victim in that unfortunate crime. The story imagines ‘Tabitha’ as a bit of a quiet outsider, who is whisked away by a classmate from her home University and swept up into a group of mysterious, wealthy, beautiful girls that coin themselves the B4 once Tabitha joins. As Tabitha learns more of the girls’ self-destructive streaks, her roommate Claire, a pretty yet quirky American girl warns her against them, suggesting they aren’t quite what they seem. Meanwhile, Tabitha gets caught up in a fraught love square, all while marching to a surprising and untimely end.
The Good & The Bad: This book kind of hoodwinked me. It took me a long while to get into it, and I was never really...enthralled...but yet having finished it, I have to say I found it interesting. Some people might suggest it’s exploitative, given it’s capitalizing quite heavily on a very well-known murder case, but by the same token, by positioning the story as Meredith’s (aka Tabitha’s), it’s also kind of shedding light on who the real victim in this situation was.
At the very beginning I thought the story had been flipped so that Tabitha would be the murderer instead of the murdered, simply because she was narrating, but about a third of the way through I knew that wasn’t the case. Despite knowing the inevitable ending, it was interesting to see which of Tabitha’s acquaintances would make her meet her end. Would it be the clique of brutal mean girls she was running with? Her aggressive Italian lover? The mysterious British man she keeps on bumping into? Her moon-faced roommate that professes her love for her? Or someone else entirely?
If you know the Amanda Knox case, then you’ll have heard who the probable murderer truly was – this book just sheds light on one of the many ways it could have down, one that is quite sympathetic to the Amanda (“Claire”) character and interweaves a bit of fantastical mythology into the story. It’s that mythology that ultimately kind of dampens the ending – it could have presented an almost-plausible account for how things went down, but alas, instead it just feels overly fantastical.
Despite the interest in seeing how the final pages would unfold, the rest of the story is a little bland. It’s a weird juxtaposition of Tabitha being a part of this group and trying to understand why she’s been chosen and what they’re up to, as sort of the crux of the first 250 pages, only to have this undercurrent of knowing Tabitha will die and wondering when it’s going to happen already, and how. I guess it’s meant to be a portrait of what these years abroad are like at this age, given Tabitha didn’t know at the time that she was going to die, and it is that, but it possibly could have been better structured if you didn’t have that inevitable murder waiting for you at the end. I also felt like the big reveal for why the other three girls were so tortuously bound together was a bit of a letdown – their stories never quite synced up the way I imagine the author hoped they would.
Still, kind of an interesting story – it’s got a lot of mystery and tension throughout, and probably particularly of interest to those who followed the case in any way shape or form.
The Bottom Line: Although frequently bland, this story ultimately succeeds at making you guess, even when you already know the ending.
Anything Memorable?: Nope. I’d potentially advise you to read a bit about Amanda Knox if you’re not familiar. Or maybe not, maybe this will be your entre into that particular case.
60-Book Challenge?: Book #30 in 2014
The Plot: This book is essentially a fictional re-imagining of the Amanda Knox story; told from the perspective of Meredith Kercher, the victim in that unfortunate crime. The story imagines ‘Tabitha’ as a bit of a quiet outsider, who is whisked away by a classmate from her home University and swept up into a group of mysterious, wealthy, beautiful girls that coin themselves the B4 once Tabitha joins. As Tabitha learns more of the girls’ self-destructive streaks, her roommate Claire, a pretty yet quirky American girl warns her against them, suggesting they aren’t quite what they seem. Meanwhile, Tabitha gets caught up in a fraught love square, all while marching to a surprising and untimely end.
The Good & The Bad: This book kind of hoodwinked me. It took me a long while to get into it, and I was never really...enthralled...but yet having finished it, I have to say I found it interesting. Some people might suggest it’s exploitative, given it’s capitalizing quite heavily on a very well-known murder case, but by the same token, by positioning the story as Meredith’s (aka Tabitha’s), it’s also kind of shedding light on who the real victim in this situation was.
At the very beginning I thought the story had been flipped so that Tabitha would be the murderer instead of the murdered, simply because she was narrating, but about a third of the way through I knew that wasn’t the case. Despite knowing the inevitable ending, it was interesting to see which of Tabitha’s acquaintances would make her meet her end. Would it be the clique of brutal mean girls she was running with? Her aggressive Italian lover? The mysterious British man she keeps on bumping into? Her moon-faced roommate that professes her love for her? Or someone else entirely?
If you know the Amanda Knox case, then you’ll have heard who the probable murderer truly was – this book just sheds light on one of the many ways it could have down, one that is quite sympathetic to the Amanda (“Claire”) character and interweaves a bit of fantastical mythology into the story. It’s that mythology that ultimately kind of dampens the ending – it could have presented an almost-plausible account for how things went down, but alas, instead it just feels overly fantastical.
Despite the interest in seeing how the final pages would unfold, the rest of the story is a little bland. It’s a weird juxtaposition of Tabitha being a part of this group and trying to understand why she’s been chosen and what they’re up to, as sort of the crux of the first 250 pages, only to have this undercurrent of knowing Tabitha will die and wondering when it’s going to happen already, and how. I guess it’s meant to be a portrait of what these years abroad are like at this age, given Tabitha didn’t know at the time that she was going to die, and it is that, but it possibly could have been better structured if you didn’t have that inevitable murder waiting for you at the end. I also felt like the big reveal for why the other three girls were so tortuously bound together was a bit of a letdown – their stories never quite synced up the way I imagine the author hoped they would.
Still, kind of an interesting story – it’s got a lot of mystery and tension throughout, and probably particularly of interest to those who followed the case in any way shape or form.
The Bottom Line: Although frequently bland, this story ultimately succeeds at making you guess, even when you already know the ending.
Anything Memorable?: Nope. I’d potentially advise you to read a bit about Amanda Knox if you’re not familiar. Or maybe not, maybe this will be your entre into that particular case.
60-Book Challenge?: Book #30 in 2014
August 19, 2015
Full disclosure - Katie Crouch was in my writing workshop with Tom Parker several years back - she was one of the best writers in the class. This is the first book I've read, but I'll go back now and read "Girls in Trucks."
This book dangerously borders on chick lit for twenty somethings but to her credit, Crouch adds gravitas by adding the theme of mercy killings. No more said - no spoilers - but the historical addition added an important and very literary sub plot.
Her characters are for the most part well drawn, quirky, and the setting of a small Italian university town is delicious. Drawn from the headlines, Crouch embroiders her own tale of love, lust, betrayal, manipulation, and truth seeking.
This book dangerously borders on chick lit for twenty somethings but to her credit, Crouch adds gravitas by adding the theme of mercy killings. No more said - no spoilers - but the historical addition added an important and very literary sub plot.
Her characters are for the most part well drawn, quirky, and the setting of a small Italian university town is delicious. Drawn from the headlines, Crouch embroiders her own tale of love, lust, betrayal, manipulation, and truth seeking.
October 22, 2015
Review also published at The Founding Fields!
Abroad by Katie Crouch instantly intrigued me. The premise of this novel is similar to that of the real life murder mystery involving Amanda Knox, accused of killing her roommate while studying abroad in Italy. In this novel the story is not told from the murderer’s perspective, but the victim’s. Abroad takes place in Grifonia, Italy; a city known as the party town for the students studying at the college. Grifonia is a true Italian city, with brick streets, cafes on every corner, a castle only a few hours away, and some dark history. The story is, predominantly told in the current timeline, but sprinkled through the novel are short stories told throughout history. These stories tell the tales of girls that died an “honorable death”. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious, but very lush, especially in its depiction of Grifonia. You feel as if you are walking with Tabitha A.K.A Taz, the victim, down the streets of Italy. If you haven’t wanted to visit Italy before, the description in this novel alone will make you want to go there.
Everyone in this book is suspicious; the snobby rich girl clique that call themselves B4, the attractive TA and the druggie neighbor boys. The characters are fleshed out and original enough that you get a sense of them and their story, but their storylines are not immediately obvious. I felt like these characters were people that one would expect to find in a situation like this, they very much fit their descriptions. The character that you see develop the most is Taz, you get the story of her life in Ireland and then see how her move to Italy changes her. She goes from the girl next door to a privileged insider to an unsuspecting victim. When it comes to B4 (Jenny, Anna, and Luka) they don’t develop by the end of the story, but you get more of their background, which helps explain how their characters came to be who they are. Claire, Taz’s American roommate, would be the second most developed character. As events occur in the novel you get a look into her psyche and how she feels about Taz and the others she has met in Grifonia. But it is some of the more underdeveloped characters that make the largest impact in the novel, which I enjoyed, as it was quite unexpected.
The story, while I knew the premise intrigued me, as a bit slow to start. It starts off with Taz telling her story, much like Quentin Tarantino. You know the end: she dies. But how did that happen? She then goes back and starts from the beginning. The slowest part was setting the scene, getting all the little background details that needed to be told for the story to work. Once that was all said and done, the novel kicked in, full swing. Especially once Katie Crouch added the little short tales of the girls that had previously died in what is modern day Grifonia. This instantly caught my attention and had me questioning what on earth was going on and how that connected to the story of Taz. I do think this novel was a bit different than I anticipated. I thought it would start off after Taz died and have her maybe narrating what was going on with the investigation and having flashbacks. I did not expect to get the whole story from the beginning, all from her point of view. I really enjoyed that it was written this way, but it took some getting used to. I did not fully understand why I was reading everything about her trip to Grifonia, but in the end it all tied together. Without Taz’s entire story the novel would not have made any sense.
I really enjoyed this novel. It is not the typical book you will find on the shelf nowadays. It is unique and goes about telling a story in a different way, which I think may take some readers by surprise. Abroad is similar in theme and atmosphere to a few of my favorite novels: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Raising and Feathered by Laura Kasischke, and Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas (a Young Adult thriller). If you like those novels, or that type of book, I highly recommend Abroad. This was the first of Katie Crouch’s novels that I read and I’m very glad that it was. I have recently read the first novel in a YA series of hers, and while I enjoyed it, it was not as good as this one. This book intrigued and surprised me, I got a lot more than I was expecting, which for me is the mark of a great novel.
Katie Crouch is the author of two standalone novels set in Charleston, South Carolina; a YA series entitled The Magnolia League set in Savannah, Georgia; and Abroad, her first foray into a non-Southern setting. She received her MFA from Columbia University and did not really get going into books until she was 29. She is on Twitter (@katieacrouch) and has favorited and retweeted my Tweets about Abroad, which had the fangirl in me squealing. You can find her novels at Barnes & Noble or any other major book retailer, as well as at your local library, which is where I obtained mine!
If you are looking for a new and different novel, this is it. I’m looking forward to reading more of what Katie Crouch writes in the future.
Abroad by Katie Crouch instantly intrigued me. The premise of this novel is similar to that of the real life murder mystery involving Amanda Knox, accused of killing her roommate while studying abroad in Italy. In this novel the story is not told from the murderer’s perspective, but the victim’s. Abroad takes place in Grifonia, Italy; a city known as the party town for the students studying at the college. Grifonia is a true Italian city, with brick streets, cafes on every corner, a castle only a few hours away, and some dark history. The story is, predominantly told in the current timeline, but sprinkled through the novel are short stories told throughout history. These stories tell the tales of girls that died an “honorable death”. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious, but very lush, especially in its depiction of Grifonia. You feel as if you are walking with Tabitha A.K.A Taz, the victim, down the streets of Italy. If you haven’t wanted to visit Italy before, the description in this novel alone will make you want to go there.
Everyone in this book is suspicious; the snobby rich girl clique that call themselves B4, the attractive TA and the druggie neighbor boys. The characters are fleshed out and original enough that you get a sense of them and their story, but their storylines are not immediately obvious. I felt like these characters were people that one would expect to find in a situation like this, they very much fit their descriptions. The character that you see develop the most is Taz, you get the story of her life in Ireland and then see how her move to Italy changes her. She goes from the girl next door to a privileged insider to an unsuspecting victim. When it comes to B4 (Jenny, Anna, and Luka) they don’t develop by the end of the story, but you get more of their background, which helps explain how their characters came to be who they are. Claire, Taz’s American roommate, would be the second most developed character. As events occur in the novel you get a look into her psyche and how she feels about Taz and the others she has met in Grifonia. But it is some of the more underdeveloped characters that make the largest impact in the novel, which I enjoyed, as it was quite unexpected.
The story, while I knew the premise intrigued me, as a bit slow to start. It starts off with Taz telling her story, much like Quentin Tarantino. You know the end: she dies. But how did that happen? She then goes back and starts from the beginning. The slowest part was setting the scene, getting all the little background details that needed to be told for the story to work. Once that was all said and done, the novel kicked in, full swing. Especially once Katie Crouch added the little short tales of the girls that had previously died in what is modern day Grifonia. This instantly caught my attention and had me questioning what on earth was going on and how that connected to the story of Taz. I do think this novel was a bit different than I anticipated. I thought it would start off after Taz died and have her maybe narrating what was going on with the investigation and having flashbacks. I did not expect to get the whole story from the beginning, all from her point of view. I really enjoyed that it was written this way, but it took some getting used to. I did not fully understand why I was reading everything about her trip to Grifonia, but in the end it all tied together. Without Taz’s entire story the novel would not have made any sense.
I really enjoyed this novel. It is not the typical book you will find on the shelf nowadays. It is unique and goes about telling a story in a different way, which I think may take some readers by surprise. Abroad is similar in theme and atmosphere to a few of my favorite novels: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Raising and Feathered by Laura Kasischke, and Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas (a Young Adult thriller). If you like those novels, or that type of book, I highly recommend Abroad. This was the first of Katie Crouch’s novels that I read and I’m very glad that it was. I have recently read the first novel in a YA series of hers, and while I enjoyed it, it was not as good as this one. This book intrigued and surprised me, I got a lot more than I was expecting, which for me is the mark of a great novel.
Katie Crouch is the author of two standalone novels set in Charleston, South Carolina; a YA series entitled The Magnolia League set in Savannah, Georgia; and Abroad, her first foray into a non-Southern setting. She received her MFA from Columbia University and did not really get going into books until she was 29. She is on Twitter (@katieacrouch) and has favorited and retweeted my Tweets about Abroad, which had the fangirl in me squealing. You can find her novels at Barnes & Noble or any other major book retailer, as well as at your local library, which is where I obtained mine!
If you are looking for a new and different novel, this is it. I’m looking forward to reading more of what Katie Crouch writes in the future.
April 9, 2020
The trajectory this novel was taking (well, the one I thought it was taking) felt dark and delicious and drew me to believe that it was going somewhere secretly thrilling. In the end, that promise was a hollow one – the actual murder reveal was disappointing to say the least. What's more, the 'beyond the grave' narration got a little hammy and many characters suffered from underdevelopment (in a bizarre but timely turn of events it's the men who lack dimensionality here).
But it's the disparate nature of the relationships Taz forges first with the B4 and then the bracingly intense Claire that I am inclined to remember. It's the social cues and interactions between women, and particularly the differences between these friendships, that I relished. And I realise it's the deft unease with which these are portrayed that originally chilled me.
I admittedly have a very basic understanding of the Amanda Knox case, and by all accounts Crouch's book is only very loosely inspired by it. But without the need the ground herself to a pre-existing scenario, I have no doubt Crouch's storytelling would improve. I would be keen to read something else she's written.
But it's the disparate nature of the relationships Taz forges first with the B4 and then the bracingly intense Claire that I am inclined to remember. It's the social cues and interactions between women, and particularly the differences between these friendships, that I relished. And I realise it's the deft unease with which these are portrayed that originally chilled me.
I admittedly have a very basic understanding of the Amanda Knox case, and by all accounts Crouch's book is only very loosely inspired by it. But without the need the ground herself to a pre-existing scenario, I have no doubt Crouch's storytelling would improve. I would be keen to read something else she's written.
June 21, 2014
Abroad Thank you to Knopf Canada/Random House Canada for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book to review.
I will say with rather fair certainty this book will end up being one of the most – if not THE MOST – memorable books of this whole year. I didn’t know what to expect from it exactly, not even after reading the summary and already being extremely curios about what’s inside. I was even scared of being disappointed. That, gladly, didn’t happen; it was much the opposite.
“Abroad” luckily doesn’t lie in its summary. Tabitha (Taz) Deacon arrives in Grifonia, Italy with the hopes of being someone different, someone besides who she was back in her small town in Ireland, to break through and join the crowd and meet Italian boys. All of this happens but in a way that I found rather pleasant.
Events unfold at the perfect pace. We get to know our main heroine and from the beginning of the book Crouch uses a strategy which I think made this book a winner: Tabitha is talking about herself but from a time period that occurs after the final event of the storyline. It’s not really a foreshadowing per say, and doesn’t take up that much of the book, but appears at key moments such as in the beginning when she talks about the contents of her own suitcase or about her friend Claire. The contrast between the in-the-moment-Taz and her “current” state when she’s telling the story itself gave the book an interesting flavour that definitely sets it apart from the rest.
The writing isn’t Shakespeare, I’ll say this now. And to anyone who’s expecting some witty, literary-prize-worthy prose I warn to drop that expectation. Some of the previous reviewers even addressed this before and said it’s too simple, they found, and doesn’t depict the accuracy/wit of a young adult in their twenties. The writing style is just what this book needed. The writing is simple, yes, (and most likely because this was the uncorrected proof there were several grammatical/typing errors I found), but it eases you into Taz’s mind. The book is a new adult, I would think, based on the context of the book and some of the details/themes touched upon inside, although the main scope of the idea can easily touch different age groups. The dialogue isn’t something filled with philosophical discussion or even that much logical pondering. But that’s how life is, and how teens and even young adults are, and I’m so glad that this book captured that idea and didn’t pretend to be something witty and overly-intelligent to the point of becoming absurd.
The one downfall I did notice was the fact that the book did partially suffer from a slightly misguided summary (at least in my opinion). I wouldn’t say that Claire and Taz’s love over the same boy is really that big of a plot twist/turning point in the story, although it definitely altered the dynamic into making the story end up at the point it eventually did. The whole story was much on the same level when it comes to unexpectedness. There were hardly any unforeseen turns and the mystery behind the whole story and several details aren’t that mindboggling once they’re revealed over the course of the novel, but it’s the right amount of suspense and intrigue to have gripped my attention. The stories of the dead women also seemed bizarre at first, especially how sparsely they appeared throughout the story, but all questions were left answered in the end so it was a complete cycle.
The book is quite a mini-whirlwind of emotion. The characters each had their bright moments and all of them annoyed me on several occasions, and I felt completely alright with that, because this book got across its message of life and fitting in and adulthood. I was moved and haunted by the entire scenario and the characters. I didn’t really think about the Amanda Knox case while reading this and that’s probably not necessary as the book does a fantastic job as being a standalone and at the same time having a universal quality to it that many readers will be able to appreciate. I was left with a melancholy yet deeply satisfied feeling once I closed this book; “Abroad” is a winner.
I will say with rather fair certainty this book will end up being one of the most – if not THE MOST – memorable books of this whole year. I didn’t know what to expect from it exactly, not even after reading the summary and already being extremely curios about what’s inside. I was even scared of being disappointed. That, gladly, didn’t happen; it was much the opposite.
“Abroad” luckily doesn’t lie in its summary. Tabitha (Taz) Deacon arrives in Grifonia, Italy with the hopes of being someone different, someone besides who she was back in her small town in Ireland, to break through and join the crowd and meet Italian boys. All of this happens but in a way that I found rather pleasant.
Events unfold at the perfect pace. We get to know our main heroine and from the beginning of the book Crouch uses a strategy which I think made this book a winner: Tabitha is talking about herself but from a time period that occurs after the final event of the storyline. It’s not really a foreshadowing per say, and doesn’t take up that much of the book, but appears at key moments such as in the beginning when she talks about the contents of her own suitcase or about her friend Claire. The contrast between the in-the-moment-Taz and her “current” state when she’s telling the story itself gave the book an interesting flavour that definitely sets it apart from the rest.
The writing isn’t Shakespeare, I’ll say this now. And to anyone who’s expecting some witty, literary-prize-worthy prose I warn to drop that expectation. Some of the previous reviewers even addressed this before and said it’s too simple, they found, and doesn’t depict the accuracy/wit of a young adult in their twenties. The writing style is just what this book needed. The writing is simple, yes, (and most likely because this was the uncorrected proof there were several grammatical/typing errors I found), but it eases you into Taz’s mind. The book is a new adult, I would think, based on the context of the book and some of the details/themes touched upon inside, although the main scope of the idea can easily touch different age groups. The dialogue isn’t something filled with philosophical discussion or even that much logical pondering. But that’s how life is, and how teens and even young adults are, and I’m so glad that this book captured that idea and didn’t pretend to be something witty and overly-intelligent to the point of becoming absurd.
The one downfall I did notice was the fact that the book did partially suffer from a slightly misguided summary (at least in my opinion). I wouldn’t say that Claire and Taz’s love over the same boy is really that big of a plot twist/turning point in the story, although it definitely altered the dynamic into making the story end up at the point it eventually did. The whole story was much on the same level when it comes to unexpectedness. There were hardly any unforeseen turns and the mystery behind the whole story and several details aren’t that mindboggling once they’re revealed over the course of the novel, but it’s the right amount of suspense and intrigue to have gripped my attention. The stories of the dead women also seemed bizarre at first, especially how sparsely they appeared throughout the story, but all questions were left answered in the end so it was a complete cycle.
The book is quite a mini-whirlwind of emotion. The characters each had their bright moments and all of them annoyed me on several occasions, and I felt completely alright with that, because this book got across its message of life and fitting in and adulthood. I was moved and haunted by the entire scenario and the characters. I didn’t really think about the Amanda Knox case while reading this and that’s probably not necessary as the book does a fantastic job as being a standalone and at the same time having a universal quality to it that many readers will be able to appreciate. I was left with a melancholy yet deeply satisfied feeling once I closed this book; “Abroad” is a winner.
July 26, 2014
I really liked this book. It's been a while since I've read something where I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters yet compelled by their stories, and this one fits the bill. More complete review to come.
Full review:
As someone who went a long stretch with reading primarily young adult novels, it's surprising how many parallels there are between young adult books and adults books, the major difference being the tone. I mention this because, in so many ways, Taz, the main character in the story, doesn't differ all that much from YA characters. At heart, her primary goal is to feel accepted and validated by others. Some spoilers to follow.
One of the strong threads running through this book is the struggle for self-determination and the liberation travel offers as it provides people with the sent that they can be someone other than who they are. Taz chafes against her own definition, reaching for a life that's something different from what she's always known. She's so desperate to feel alive, like part of something bigger, that she engages in a lot of just plain stupid behavior. This aspect may make the novel difficult for some readers to enjoy, but even though I wasn't very fond of Taz and often wanted to shake my head at the foolishness of her actions, I could still understand where she was coming from. What Taz wants most is to shake her sense of dissatisfaction, and she's eager to grab hold of and cling to whatever she thinks may help her rid herself of it.
At heart, this novel is a study of the human character. The strength of it lies in the diversity of its characters and their varied motivations for what they're doing. Each of them struggles to define him or herself, and most of the tension in the novel comes about when the varying wants of the characters collide. This is obvious when Taz's and Jenny's wants are incompatible with those of their professor, when Claire's wants cause a rift between her and Colin, when Taz's wants collide with Colin's, etc. None of the characters are particularly good at looking outside of themselves and empathizing with others, and it is this that ultimately leads to tragedy for some while others come out relatively unscathed.
I'm a big fan of the atmospheric book, and this one certainly qualifies. Grifonia felt vaguely threatening to me throughout the course of the novel, maybe because it represents that dark side of those conflicting human wishes. Even as Taz is exploring this wonderful, ancient, and amazing new place, something about it feels ominous. Like Taz's relationship with many of the other characters, on the surface Grifonia seems promising and beautiful, but underneath are buried many terrible secrets.
Though this isn't what I'd call a traditional mystery novel, there is some mystery to it. It's pretty obvious early on what's going to happen to Taz, so most of the plot of the novel revolves on the convergence of events that lead to the ending. This isn't a whodunit, it's a character study, which means most of the drama lies not in action scenes but in what the characters do and say. It's a solid literary work that stuck with me, drawing me into its pages and not letting go, even after I'd finished reading.
Full review:
As someone who went a long stretch with reading primarily young adult novels, it's surprising how many parallels there are between young adult books and adults books, the major difference being the tone. I mention this because, in so many ways, Taz, the main character in the story, doesn't differ all that much from YA characters. At heart, her primary goal is to feel accepted and validated by others. Some spoilers to follow.
One of the strong threads running through this book is the struggle for self-determination and the liberation travel offers as it provides people with the sent that they can be someone other than who they are. Taz chafes against her own definition, reaching for a life that's something different from what she's always known. She's so desperate to feel alive, like part of something bigger, that she engages in a lot of just plain stupid behavior. This aspect may make the novel difficult for some readers to enjoy, but even though I wasn't very fond of Taz and often wanted to shake my head at the foolishness of her actions, I could still understand where she was coming from. What Taz wants most is to shake her sense of dissatisfaction, and she's eager to grab hold of and cling to whatever she thinks may help her rid herself of it.
At heart, this novel is a study of the human character. The strength of it lies in the diversity of its characters and their varied motivations for what they're doing. Each of them struggles to define him or herself, and most of the tension in the novel comes about when the varying wants of the characters collide. This is obvious when Taz's and Jenny's wants are incompatible with those of their professor, when Claire's wants cause a rift between her and Colin, when Taz's wants collide with Colin's, etc. None of the characters are particularly good at looking outside of themselves and empathizing with others, and it is this that ultimately leads to tragedy for some while others come out relatively unscathed.
I'm a big fan of the atmospheric book, and this one certainly qualifies. Grifonia felt vaguely threatening to me throughout the course of the novel, maybe because it represents that dark side of those conflicting human wishes. Even as Taz is exploring this wonderful, ancient, and amazing new place, something about it feels ominous. Like Taz's relationship with many of the other characters, on the surface Grifonia seems promising and beautiful, but underneath are buried many terrible secrets.
Though this isn't what I'd call a traditional mystery novel, there is some mystery to it. It's pretty obvious early on what's going to happen to Taz, so most of the plot of the novel revolves on the convergence of events that lead to the ending. This isn't a whodunit, it's a character study, which means most of the drama lies not in action scenes but in what the characters do and say. It's a solid literary work that stuck with me, drawing me into its pages and not letting go, even after I'd finished reading.
July 28, 2014
I received by copy of Abroad through the Goodreads First Read program.
An absolutely phenominal book, Abroad had my head spinning for all that I did not see coming, despite the "writing on the wall". For much of the book I felt like Tabitha must have, seduced by the extravagance, the parties, the culture, the people, too innocent to put it all together.
Leaving her small Irish town, Tabitha Deacon sets out for a year abroad to study at a university in Grifonia, Italy. Determined to make the most of the experience, she shuns the exchange student residence program and finds a humble but comfy cottage to share with three other girls, two native Italians and one odd-duck American. Eager to make new friends, have new experiences and become someone different, Taz Deacon accepts the friendship of the B4, a group of three other British girls, refined, seemingly wealthy, connected, and led by the domineering and image-conscious Jenny. In the company of Jenny, Luka and Anna, Taz attends crazy private parties, enjoys the luxuries that the other girls' wealth can afford, premier treatment in pubs, fine meals and liquour. While the B4 claim that they are one for all and all for one, Taz seems to the left on the periphery, as through there is an inner secret that she has not been let it on. The mystery of the B4's decadence is countered with the friendly, motherly companionship of her flatmates and the oddly burgeoning intimacy with the American girl, Claire.
As a counterbalance to these decadent Italian experiences, Tabitha makes an attempt to learn the Italian culture, attends museums and cathedrals, reads the classics and takes a class in Etruscan history/culture. It is through linking these cultural experiences with the "whory" exchange student culture, that I felt the author's abilities were truly able to shine. The beauty of the Grifonia landscape, the dirty student population, the wealth of culture and heritage, the shallowness of the B4, are juxtaposed, just as the goodness of Tabitha, Claire are offset by the sinister undertones of Jenny's B4. To compliment this double-sided view are small vignettes of the lives and sad deaths of young girls, sweet souls, filled with promise and light, overcome by the evils of the world. How do they all relate? At first it was not clear, but the mysteries of Grifonia, Colin, Clair, the B4, the Etruscans, a secret society and the "ghostly apparitions" Taz comments on seeing all seem to be coverging, barrelling towards a bizarre, yet fated ending.
An absolutely phenominal book, Abroad had my head spinning for all that I did not see coming, despite the "writing on the wall". For much of the book I felt like Tabitha must have, seduced by the extravagance, the parties, the culture, the people, too innocent to put it all together.
Leaving her small Irish town, Tabitha Deacon sets out for a year abroad to study at a university in Grifonia, Italy. Determined to make the most of the experience, she shuns the exchange student residence program and finds a humble but comfy cottage to share with three other girls, two native Italians and one odd-duck American. Eager to make new friends, have new experiences and become someone different, Taz Deacon accepts the friendship of the B4, a group of three other British girls, refined, seemingly wealthy, connected, and led by the domineering and image-conscious Jenny. In the company of Jenny, Luka and Anna, Taz attends crazy private parties, enjoys the luxuries that the other girls' wealth can afford, premier treatment in pubs, fine meals and liquour. While the B4 claim that they are one for all and all for one, Taz seems to the left on the periphery, as through there is an inner secret that she has not been let it on. The mystery of the B4's decadence is countered with the friendly, motherly companionship of her flatmates and the oddly burgeoning intimacy with the American girl, Claire.
As a counterbalance to these decadent Italian experiences, Tabitha makes an attempt to learn the Italian culture, attends museums and cathedrals, reads the classics and takes a class in Etruscan history/culture. It is through linking these cultural experiences with the "whory" exchange student culture, that I felt the author's abilities were truly able to shine. The beauty of the Grifonia landscape, the dirty student population, the wealth of culture and heritage, the shallowness of the B4, are juxtaposed, just as the goodness of Tabitha, Claire are offset by the sinister undertones of Jenny's B4. To compliment this double-sided view are small vignettes of the lives and sad deaths of young girls, sweet souls, filled with promise and light, overcome by the evils of the world. How do they all relate? At first it was not clear, but the mysteries of Grifonia, Colin, Clair, the B4, the Etruscans, a secret society and the "ghostly apparitions" Taz comments on seeing all seem to be coverging, barrelling towards a bizarre, yet fated ending.
July 3, 2014
Great novels don't draw attention to the artifice of character, setting and plot. Instead, they just are. This seamless quality is how we can fall down the rabbit hole, giving up our identity to inhabit another. The success of the storytelling in Katie Crouch's latest is even more impressive given it is built off of incendiary and dynamic current events.
July 29, 2014
This has been my favorite read this summer. Thrilling without taking itself too seriously, with time dedicated to female friendships and the whirlwind that is college life, this was impossible to put down. I found myself staying up late (which I rarely can do due to my Morning Person Problem) to see what happened next.
June 28, 2016
Reads like a high school girl's prose. Why was this published?!
May 14, 2017
A little creepy, but completely engrossing.
I am unbalanced -- but I am not made with snow.
I am mad the way young girls are mad,
With an offering, an offering. . .
- Anne Sexton
"The Etruscans... a savage people... life cheap and extinguishable... yet unheard-of-sophistication... mysterious, complete disappearance... an aqueduct we could use even today..."
Iphigenia. Stabbed as a sacrifice to Artemis.
Agamemnon killed a deer in Artemis' sacred forest, so she stole his wind when he sailed to Troy. A prophet said the only way to start the wind again was to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia. And so they slit neck on the rock.
The greatest sacrifice.
To please the gods?
Young women of the sort I was are most content when they feel secure.
When she dances, she hovers inches from her partner, looking into his (or her) eyes with just the right sort of challenge and promise. But at that point in life, it was all too intimate for me.
The Italian boys patrolled the floor, always in pairs, never endearingly awkward like the English and American boys, but instead smooth and treacherous as rising water.
Minerva, goddess of war.
To the Etruscans, goddesses were every bit as important as the male gods. From what we can find, men and women were nearly equals. Equal burial rights, equal representation int heir artistic renderings. Women in Etruria were -- the coolest.
The Claire I knew was just a girl with the same simple desire I had -- to be loved by as many people as possible.
The Etruscans built a house for the next life, where they would just keep on existing. But other than in Tarquinia, there aren't many artifacts as evidence of that theory. It's just an idea. The Etruscans looked forward to death, whereas the Romans feared it. The Etruscans killed one another more freely. They really didn't fear death, because they were just going somewhere else.
I wonder if you have ever been kissed by an Italian.
I thought about loneliness. The sweet, sickening nature of it. How it tugged one downward so insistently, even when the day was sunny or your grades were good or everyone in your family was healthy. Then, just like that, you had someone with you, and it became inconceivable that you could ever experience the affliction again.
Misericordia. Et ego duncam te. Iam ut relinquamus. Ut in aeternum dormias.
Mercy. I'll take you. I will now make us leave. In order to go to sleep forever.
I am unbalanced -- but I am not made with snow.
I am mad the way young girls are mad,
With an offering, an offering. . .
- Anne Sexton
"The Etruscans... a savage people... life cheap and extinguishable... yet unheard-of-sophistication... mysterious, complete disappearance... an aqueduct we could use even today..."
Iphigenia. Stabbed as a sacrifice to Artemis.
Agamemnon killed a deer in Artemis' sacred forest, so she stole his wind when he sailed to Troy. A prophet said the only way to start the wind again was to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia. And so they slit neck on the rock.
The greatest sacrifice.
To please the gods?
Young women of the sort I was are most content when they feel secure.
When she dances, she hovers inches from her partner, looking into his (or her) eyes with just the right sort of challenge and promise. But at that point in life, it was all too intimate for me.
The Italian boys patrolled the floor, always in pairs, never endearingly awkward like the English and American boys, but instead smooth and treacherous as rising water.
Minerva, goddess of war.
To the Etruscans, goddesses were every bit as important as the male gods. From what we can find, men and women were nearly equals. Equal burial rights, equal representation int heir artistic renderings. Women in Etruria were -- the coolest.
The Claire I knew was just a girl with the same simple desire I had -- to be loved by as many people as possible.
The Etruscans built a house for the next life, where they would just keep on existing. But other than in Tarquinia, there aren't many artifacts as evidence of that theory. It's just an idea. The Etruscans looked forward to death, whereas the Romans feared it. The Etruscans killed one another more freely. They really didn't fear death, because they were just going somewhere else.
I wonder if you have ever been kissed by an Italian.
I thought about loneliness. The sweet, sickening nature of it. How it tugged one downward so insistently, even when the day was sunny or your grades were good or everyone in your family was healthy. Then, just like that, you had someone with you, and it became inconceivable that you could ever experience the affliction again.
Misericordia. Et ego duncam te. Iam ut relinquamus. Ut in aeternum dormias.
Mercy. I'll take you. I will now make us leave. In order to go to sleep forever.
December 30, 2023
I was convinced to read this by a review which said the book ‘had me miss an appointment, hide in the bathroom to escape guests and read a few more pages’. I agree. I surprisingly read this in 20 hours, and I slept for 8 of that, went out shopping and did some work for a few hours so it was less than that. Immersive writing which kept me hooked when I haven’t devoured a book that quickly in so long. I hesitated giving it 5 stars because it’s not perfect but I couldn’t identify anything wrong with it other than I was a bit confused with one aspect of the ending, but then again, why should the author spell it out for me? I was also unfamiliar with the Amanda Knox story prior to reading this but I would say this made into my top 5 books of the year.
January 29, 2020
I actually loved this book. It takes a lot to get me completely enthralled in a book these days but this one did it. I did forgo dinner to read all evening and finish.
Crouch mastered the slow reveal and the interspersed historical accounts within the story helped to keep my mind guessing at where the story was going. I did study abroad in Italy at the same time as the Amanda Knox events occurred and then went back to school there during the peak of the trial period and attended seminars and talks discussing the case so I do have a personal interest in the subject but felt that this fictional novel really added something new and fresh and interesting to think about.
Crouch mastered the slow reveal and the interspersed historical accounts within the story helped to keep my mind guessing at where the story was going. I did study abroad in Italy at the same time as the Amanda Knox events occurred and then went back to school there during the peak of the trial period and attended seminars and talks discussing the case so I do have a personal interest in the subject but felt that this fictional novel really added something new and fresh and interesting to think about.
May 27, 2019
This was an ok book...I was actually quite enjoying the storyline and characters etc until the end, when it just kinda dropped off. It was awkward and weird how abruptly I feel it ended :(
September 13, 2024
Far better than I expected. I loved the little “mini history stories” throughout.
January 27, 2023
I found this book at value village and I had no idea what it was about other than the fact that it’s compared to the secret history by Donna Tartt. I must say… I quite enjoyed this book!!! I’m glad I found it at the thrift store :)
September 27, 2015
For Taz (Tabitha), a college student from Ireland, her year abroad in Italy starts innocently enough. As part of the Enteria program she'd chosen Grifonia for her year of foreign study. Her Italian is passable - not great, but enough to get by - and the city seemed a bit of a better choice than either Rome or Florence. Safer. Unfortunately for Taz her time in Grifonia will end in tragedy as her year abroad evolves into something quite different from the learning adventure she'd expected.
I'm finding it really difficult to piece together my thoughts on Katie Crouch's latest. It is a fabulous book - an emotionally draining book, but a fabulous one nonetheless. The story is inspired by the Amanda Knox trial - something Crouch admits to having become a bit obsessed with in this essay from 2011.
Last October, in my review of Jennifer duBois's CARTWHEEL - yet another book based on the case - I admitted that I really didn't know anything much about the trial. My curiosity about ABROAD stemmed mostly from realizing it was a new direction of sorts in Crouch's writing (much of her other books are set in the South and aren't exactly what I'd describe as mysteries).
The story is told from Taz's perspective and as the doomed narrator there is a tension in simply waiting for her story to build to it's inevitable tragic end. She's a normal girl in every way. She craves acceptance, love, and friendship. She gets involved with a questionable crowd, but otherwise doesn't make any terrible decisions or go crazy in her year away from home. Instead, she explores the city and enjoys the freedom of being a young twenty-something in a college town.
But the town's history is one that's filled with tragedy. Crouch borrows a real group called the Compagnia della Morte to help build a backstory in which the women of Grifonia have never truly been safe. Profiles of other Compagnia assisted deaths are sprinkled throughout the book as Taz catches glimpses of these very same women throughout her story. They are heralds of Taz's fate, though it takes some time for that to become clear.
Ultimately Taz's story is one of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pieces of the story and the people involved all come together in a whirlwind of circumstance that seemingly can't be stopped.
ABROAD has to go down as a favorite of mine this year. It was a powerful read, one that I found myself truly unable to tear myself away from. I apparently got a little too wrapped up in Taz's tale, too, considering how incredibly unsettled I felt upon turning the final page.
I'm finding it really difficult to piece together my thoughts on Katie Crouch's latest. It is a fabulous book - an emotionally draining book, but a fabulous one nonetheless. The story is inspired by the Amanda Knox trial - something Crouch admits to having become a bit obsessed with in this essay from 2011.
Last October, in my review of Jennifer duBois's CARTWHEEL - yet another book based on the case - I admitted that I really didn't know anything much about the trial. My curiosity about ABROAD stemmed mostly from realizing it was a new direction of sorts in Crouch's writing (much of her other books are set in the South and aren't exactly what I'd describe as mysteries).
The story is told from Taz's perspective and as the doomed narrator there is a tension in simply waiting for her story to build to it's inevitable tragic end. She's a normal girl in every way. She craves acceptance, love, and friendship. She gets involved with a questionable crowd, but otherwise doesn't make any terrible decisions or go crazy in her year away from home. Instead, she explores the city and enjoys the freedom of being a young twenty-something in a college town.
But the town's history is one that's filled with tragedy. Crouch borrows a real group called the Compagnia della Morte to help build a backstory in which the women of Grifonia have never truly been safe. Profiles of other Compagnia assisted deaths are sprinkled throughout the book as Taz catches glimpses of these very same women throughout her story. They are heralds of Taz's fate, though it takes some time for that to become clear.
Ultimately Taz's story is one of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pieces of the story and the people involved all come together in a whirlwind of circumstance that seemingly can't be stopped.
ABROAD has to go down as a favorite of mine this year. It was a powerful read, one that I found myself truly unable to tear myself away from. I apparently got a little too wrapped up in Taz's tale, too, considering how incredibly unsettled I felt upon turning the final page.
September 18, 2014
I really enjoyed this book on audio, even though the reader struggled at times with the multiple accents that she needed to pull off the read. The American one was terrible, unless that's how people outside of the US view that that is the way in which Americans speak and act. Who knows? There is also quite a bit of heavy foreshadowing that seemed to be overdone and unnecessary.
In spite of these flaws, I thought that this was a great book. Crouch did an excellent job of developing her characters, and her writing is top notch. I became completely invested in this story, nodding my head about the insights that she presented in regard to friendships among women, female independence, unrequited love, the adventure of studying in a foreign land, and the steady influence of drugs and drug usage in the university setting. There is also a violent undertone in the book, particularly by men against women that says much about how the more things change in this regard, the more they stay the same.
The book is loosely based upon the Amanda Knox case in Italy. Anyone familiar with the tragic circumstances surrounding that case will also likely feel the heavy foreshadowing. Even so, I highly recommend this book.
P.S. My audio book had a hideous cover that may turn off potential readers. I completely judge a book by its cover, but I would ask readers don't in regard to this book.
In spite of these flaws, I thought that this was a great book. Crouch did an excellent job of developing her characters, and her writing is top notch. I became completely invested in this story, nodding my head about the insights that she presented in regard to friendships among women, female independence, unrequited love, the adventure of studying in a foreign land, and the steady influence of drugs and drug usage in the university setting. There is also a violent undertone in the book, particularly by men against women that says much about how the more things change in this regard, the more they stay the same.
The book is loosely based upon the Amanda Knox case in Italy. Anyone familiar with the tragic circumstances surrounding that case will also likely feel the heavy foreshadowing. Even so, I highly recommend this book.
P.S. My audio book had a hideous cover that may turn off potential readers. I completely judge a book by its cover, but I would ask readers don't in regard to this book.
December 23, 2014
Darkly mesmerizing, seductive, and based on the Amanda Knox case, Abroad is a trifecta of eerie perfection.
Gone to Italy to spend a semester studying language, Tabitha "Taz" finds the friends she thinks she has always wanted. Popular, poised, and moneyed, the group of three take Taz into their fold, using her as their interpreter and using her, one suspects, for something more, something unclear at first to our naive narrator. Despite her new friends, their endless parties, the whirlwind of experience--all of which should comprise the best time in her life--Taz can't overcome a frightening ache of wanting. She is a lonely character, an isolated one, a young woman whose wanting is so well-written and painful, the reader feels the agony and the confusion seeping from every page. Taz soon becomes torn between her party-girl clique and her beautiful, uninhibited American roommate. As the pages wind sinuously toward a dark end, the reader becomes as captivated and as sullied as Taz herself. Seldom has an author so perfectly captured the fragile time in a woman's life, a time of young adulthood, sexual confusion, experimentation, loneliness. And while most escape unscathed from these days, the reader follows Taz down the ancient streets of Grifonia with mounting dread as the tale of Taz's life takes a disastrous turn, from which there is no going back.
Highly recommended.
Gone to Italy to spend a semester studying language, Tabitha "Taz" finds the friends she thinks she has always wanted. Popular, poised, and moneyed, the group of three take Taz into their fold, using her as their interpreter and using her, one suspects, for something more, something unclear at first to our naive narrator. Despite her new friends, their endless parties, the whirlwind of experience--all of which should comprise the best time in her life--Taz can't overcome a frightening ache of wanting. She is a lonely character, an isolated one, a young woman whose wanting is so well-written and painful, the reader feels the agony and the confusion seeping from every page. Taz soon becomes torn between her party-girl clique and her beautiful, uninhibited American roommate. As the pages wind sinuously toward a dark end, the reader becomes as captivated and as sullied as Taz herself. Seldom has an author so perfectly captured the fragile time in a woman's life, a time of young adulthood, sexual confusion, experimentation, loneliness. And while most escape unscathed from these days, the reader follows Taz down the ancient streets of Grifonia with mounting dread as the tale of Taz's life takes a disastrous turn, from which there is no going back.
Highly recommended.
March 22, 2014
I picked up the book because the storyline appealed to me: a young woman decides to spend a year to study abroad. That’s a great opportunity for character development. Moreover, our protagonist, 21-year-old Tabitha Deacon called Taz, chooses to go to Umbria, Italy. And what’s not to love about Italy!?
The opening page revealed another twist: the book is narrated in the first person by Taz and it seems like she will die in this story and tells it as a flashback describing how her death came to pass.
But after that first page it went downhill for me because the promise of the storyline was not carried by the writing style. It was much too simplistic to me as if written by a high school student, and not a very gifted one at that. I would have loved to see some of the poetry of the Italian landscape and its people reflected on the page.
That doesn’t mean I expected elaborate and poetic dialogues throughout but definitely a bit more than three-word-sentences in the dialogue and not much longer sentences in the prose. Does this really reflect how young people think and talk today? Not in my experience. And it definitely doesn’t work for me as a reader.
The opening page revealed another twist: the book is narrated in the first person by Taz and it seems like she will die in this story and tells it as a flashback describing how her death came to pass.
But after that first page it went downhill for me because the promise of the storyline was not carried by the writing style. It was much too simplistic to me as if written by a high school student, and not a very gifted one at that. I would have loved to see some of the poetry of the Italian landscape and its people reflected on the page.
That doesn’t mean I expected elaborate and poetic dialogues throughout but definitely a bit more than three-word-sentences in the dialogue and not much longer sentences in the prose. Does this really reflect how young people think and talk today? Not in my experience. And it definitely doesn’t work for me as a reader.
January 2, 2024
This was fun to read because I also studied abroad in Italy during college. However, this story was very slow and dragged out for too long. You know at the beginning something very tragic happens but nothing really happens the whole book to lead up to the tragic event until the very end, it was very anti-climatic. The very tragic thing happens at the very end, after your pretty much begging for it/questioning if the book will EVER explain the tragic event at all. Barely any explanation of the aftermath either which I was expecting based on the beginning of the book (when it describes the father receiving her empty suitcase).
June 21, 2014
How someone could render the story of Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher so uninteresting is really a feat. Ugh. My least favorite kind of contemporary novel, like the author stole ingredients from ten novels more original than this one, shook them up with a bizarre true crime story, and this was the result, a waste. Disappointing but can't understand why I stuck with it to the end. No, it didn't get any better.
January 25, 2015
WOW! A lot of drinking and smoking going on here! Not until the last few pages does the story finally move forward and then its not by much because if you paid attention you know the narrator and how this ends. So other than a fast paced read not much going on here. The characters are OK although how they spend their time is quite repetitive and dreadful; they are young so if you go with the flow, its predicitable.
June 18, 2014
A gripping novel that succeeds on many levels: psychological thriller, coming of age, historical inquiry, and a modern riff on the time-honored theme of American innocents abroad. There is a surface story, and something much darker and deeper, illuminated by moments of simply beautiful writing.
September 1, 2014
Lovely Bones meets modern media-- an attempt to fictionalize and thus explain the life and murder of Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox's involvement. Does a good job mirroring how Kercher became a victim but not the why. But maybe the why is unknowable and inconceivable.
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