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Creatures
On the eve of Evangeline’s wedding, a dead whale is trapped in the harbor of Winter Island, the groom may be lost at sea, and Evie’s mostly absent mother has shown up out of the blue. From there, in this mesmerizing, provocative debut, Evie remembers and reckons with her complicated upbringing in this lush, wild land off the coast of Southern California.
Evie grew up with her well-meaning but negligent father, surviving on the money he made dealing the island’s world-famous strain of marijuana, Winter Wonderland. Although he raised her with a deep respect for the elements, the sea, and the creatures living within it, he also left her to parent herself. With wit, love, and bracing ashes of anger, Creatures probes the complexities of love and abandonment, guilt and forgiveness, betrayal and grief—and the ways in which our ability to love can be threatened if we are not brave enough to conquer the past.
Lyrical, darkly funny, and ultimately cathartic, Creatures exerts a pull as strong as the tides.
Evie grew up with her well-meaning but negligent father, surviving on the money he made dealing the island’s world-famous strain of marijuana, Winter Wonderland. Although he raised her with a deep respect for the elements, the sea, and the creatures living within it, he also left her to parent herself. With wit, love, and bracing ashes of anger, Creatures probes the complexities of love and abandonment, guilt and forgiveness, betrayal and grief—and the ways in which our ability to love can be threatened if we are not brave enough to conquer the past.
Lyrical, darkly funny, and ultimately cathartic, Creatures exerts a pull as strong as the tides.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 7, 2020
332 people are currently reading
14065 people want to read
About the author
Crissy Van Meter
1 book112 followersCrissy Van Meter is a writer based in Los Angeles.
She teaches creative writing at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the founder of the literary project Five Quarterly, and the managing editor for Nouvella Books. She serves on the board of directors for the literary non-profit Novelly.
Her debut novel Creatures is out now from Algonquin Books.
She teaches creative writing at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the founder of the literary project Five Quarterly, and the managing editor for Nouvella Books. She serves on the board of directors for the literary non-profit Novelly.
Her debut novel Creatures is out now from Algonquin Books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews
dnf
January 12, 2020You know what, I'm bailing on this one. Creatures is like a mash-up of Mostly Dead Things and Costalegre, neither of which I was a particular fan of. Of course, all three of these novels came out recently, so any similarities among them are no one's fault. But what is this book's fault (or its author's, editor's, publisher's) is that Creatures is dull and dreary, pivoting quickly from its interesting premise into seemingly endless, tedious backstory. Even the author blurbs on the cover can't seem to muster much enthusiasm: They all praise the book's themes. Its themes! Forgive me, but I can't help but think that you don't praise a novel's themes unless you can't come up with anything else to praise. And when it comes to fiction, interesting themes just aren't enough to carry the day.
Creatures is basically a standard coming-of-age tale in semi-rough circumstances (parents' divorce; alcoholic parent, that sort of thing), albeit in a somewhat unusual setting. But standard coming-of-age tales in semi-rough circumstances are everywhere and I personally have had my fill of them, at least for now. If I had known that's what Creatures was, I would have politely declined when a publisher representative offered me a galley. So thank you to the publisher; I may try again with this at some point, and if I do I'll revisit my opinion here. But at present I must be moving on.
Creatures is basically a standard coming-of-age tale in semi-rough circumstances (parents' divorce; alcoholic parent, that sort of thing), albeit in a somewhat unusual setting. But standard coming-of-age tales in semi-rough circumstances are everywhere and I personally have had my fill of them, at least for now. If I had known that's what Creatures was, I would have politely declined when a publisher representative offered me a galley. So thank you to the publisher; I may try again with this at some point, and if I do I'll revisit my opinion here. But at present I must be moving on.
January 26, 2020
My guess is this will either really resonate with people...or really not. (And if it doesn't resonate, you're lucky. I'm the child of two narcissists--my mother and the narrator's mother could be sisters--I know very, very well what it's like to have desperately needy parents and what it's like to choke down a scream because it's amazingly hard to be the mature one at, say, 10.)
Usually novels that deal with relationships like this leave me ugly crying or unable to finish; a childhood like the one depicted here isn't something easily revisited. The non-linear format and the author's (and/or editor's) cutting anything unnecessarily sentimental made it a lean, engrossing story.
(How engrossing? I forgot to pick up waiting groceries until five minutes before my pickup time ended.)
Usually novels that deal with relationships like this leave me ugly crying or unable to finish; a childhood like the one depicted here isn't something easily revisited. The non-linear format and the author's (and/or editor's) cutting anything unnecessarily sentimental made it a lean, engrossing story.
(How engrossing? I forgot to pick up waiting groceries until five minutes before my pickup time ended.)
June 24, 2020
Beautiful setting, gorgeous prose but a challenging format. Winter Island is where Evie's mother left her and her father. Evie had some security but often her father moved them from place to place on the island. She basically raised herself, often taking care of her father, the man who was supposed to be taking care of her. She manages the best she can, but relationships are difficult.
This story skips around and it is hard to follow at times. It does do a good job showing how the abandonment of a parent and an unorthodox upbringing, causes trust issues. This is something that will effect relationships, friendships and a true sense of self. The descriptions of the natural world are amazing and the facts on whales, interesting. This book is beautifully written, the author a true talent.
I just hope her next is easier to follow.
"We dip our feet into a thick carpet of ocean foam and sink our hands into holes filled with water. We touch the roughness of red and orange sea stars, and my mother gently pokes the center of an anemone with a stick. She collects stars and puts them in her pockets. The dogs are wet and shaking water into our pants, and I can't help but gaze past the rotted whale to the line of fishing boats that are far away but close enough to really see them.
We keep waiting for darkness."
This story skips around and it is hard to follow at times. It does do a good job showing how the abandonment of a parent and an unorthodox upbringing, causes trust issues. This is something that will effect relationships, friendships and a true sense of self. The descriptions of the natural world are amazing and the facts on whales, interesting. This book is beautifully written, the author a true talent.
I just hope her next is easier to follow.
"We dip our feet into a thick carpet of ocean foam and sink our hands into holes filled with water. We touch the roughness of red and orange sea stars, and my mother gently pokes the center of an anemone with a stick. She collects stars and puts them in her pockets. The dogs are wet and shaking water into our pants, and I can't help but gaze past the rotted whale to the line of fishing boats that are far away but close enough to really see them.
We keep waiting for darkness."
January 21, 2020
Evie is worried about her fiance who is late returning from his trip at sea. Liam is employed as a fisherman and spends weeks at a time outside of port. While Evie waits for her upcoming wedding day she reflects back on her dysfunctional childhood and her trust issues with long term relationships. Her parents were both negligent and Evie was forced to raise herself while building an emotional wall to keep out the pain.
Evie’s mother left her family while she was a young child. Her visits were infrequent and she would become inaccessible for months at a time. Her father was an alcoholic who made cash selling marijuana to seasonal tourists. Together they were often homeless or living with friends because he could not keep a steady job. As the date of the wedding approaches, Evie is forced to spend time with her mother which unleashes her suppressed issues.
This is a unique debut novel by Crissy Van Meter. It is beautiful yet also dark and complex. I am interested in seeing what this author will be writing next.
Evie’s mother left her family while she was a young child. Her visits were infrequent and she would become inaccessible for months at a time. Her father was an alcoholic who made cash selling marijuana to seasonal tourists. Together they were often homeless or living with friends because he could not keep a steady job. As the date of the wedding approaches, Evie is forced to spend time with her mother which unleashes her suppressed issues.
This is a unique debut novel by Crissy Van Meter. It is beautiful yet also dark and complex. I am interested in seeing what this author will be writing next.
did-not-finish
September 2, 2020
August 22, 2019
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
I'm sorry to give this book such a low rating, but Crissy Van Meter's Creatures just didn't hold me. While I wanted to find literary merit in the way the story was told, I had a difficult time justifying some of the authorial and editorial decisions that were made undoubtedly to push this work more towards the abstract. To me, this story doesn't need to be abstract in order to be "literary." The artfully crafted prose, married with the way the text raises questions about what it means to be loved or unloved/to be human or creature is enough for it to be considered "literary." I suppose, in the end, I think the book tries too hard to be something it already is.
One of my biggest hangups with this story is the jumpy timeline. Not only are the events of the story all twisted together so that every chapter takes on a different moment in Evangeline's life (and oftentimes boomerangs from present to past, from past to present), but the interspersed snippets of Evie's research break up the narrative even more. Instead of a sweeping, momentous novel about the various collisions between earth and sea life and the plethora of metaphors the author creates about the two, this story becomes a jumbled mess of time leaps that leaves the reader somehow simultaneously bored and exhausted.
The blurring together of meaning and boundaries Crissy Van Meter attempts within this novel does work, but is simply overdone. Because of the choice to tell the story in such a messy way, it seems like there are multiple, parallel timelines happening all at once, all about the same characters. Because of this, I had a really difficult time developing any attachment whatsoever to the protagonist and secondary characters - a sentiment I've seen mirrored in other reviews. The tragedy and absurdity of some of the more moving moments of this story fell flat because I didn't much care for or about any person in this book.
While I didn't find this novel particularly compelling in any way, I truly hope that other readers will enjoy it more than I did. In the end, it just wasn't my cup of seawater, but perhaps it will be someone else's.
I'm sorry to give this book such a low rating, but Crissy Van Meter's Creatures just didn't hold me. While I wanted to find literary merit in the way the story was told, I had a difficult time justifying some of the authorial and editorial decisions that were made undoubtedly to push this work more towards the abstract. To me, this story doesn't need to be abstract in order to be "literary." The artfully crafted prose, married with the way the text raises questions about what it means to be loved or unloved/to be human or creature is enough for it to be considered "literary." I suppose, in the end, I think the book tries too hard to be something it already is.
One of my biggest hangups with this story is the jumpy timeline. Not only are the events of the story all twisted together so that every chapter takes on a different moment in Evangeline's life (and oftentimes boomerangs from present to past, from past to present), but the interspersed snippets of Evie's research break up the narrative even more. Instead of a sweeping, momentous novel about the various collisions between earth and sea life and the plethora of metaphors the author creates about the two, this story becomes a jumbled mess of time leaps that leaves the reader somehow simultaneously bored and exhausted.
The blurring together of meaning and boundaries Crissy Van Meter attempts within this novel does work, but is simply overdone. Because of the choice to tell the story in such a messy way, it seems like there are multiple, parallel timelines happening all at once, all about the same characters. Because of this, I had a really difficult time developing any attachment whatsoever to the protagonist and secondary characters - a sentiment I've seen mirrored in other reviews. The tragedy and absurdity of some of the more moving moments of this story fell flat because I didn't much care for or about any person in this book.
While I didn't find this novel particularly compelling in any way, I truly hope that other readers will enjoy it more than I did. In the end, it just wasn't my cup of seawater, but perhaps it will be someone else's.
November 29, 2020
If you are not a fan of literary fiction then I would steer clear of this one. This was a very literary read, where (in my opinion), absolutely everything was planned out before hand, even down to how the table of contents were structured on the page. If I had read this in e-galley form, I'm sure some of that formatting would have been lost and thus the peek into how Ms. Van Meter saw the the pieces of this book come together.
There was so much creativity and thought put into the story of Evie, who lives on an island off the coast of California. A mother that comes in and out of her life and a free spirit father who works on boats and sells weed, make for a very interesting upbringing. All Evie wants is normalcy, but she never really finds it. I struggled to understand her love for her father, but I thought the author brilliantly wrote Evie’s relentless need to gain approval from a mother who turned her back on her more than once.
This is a story that isn’t told in linear fashion, but I throughly enjoyed how Van Meter put the story together and shared facts about different wildlife that inhabited the island. I felt the island was just as much a character as the living and breathing ones.
Timing will be everything with this book. I find I have to be in the right headspace to read something that makes me think this hard. Luckily, I read this at the right time.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and Crissy Van Meter for the opportunity to read and provide a honest review.
Review Date: 11/02/2020
Publication Date: 10/27/20
There was so much creativity and thought put into the story of Evie, who lives on an island off the coast of California. A mother that comes in and out of her life and a free spirit father who works on boats and sells weed, make for a very interesting upbringing. All Evie wants is normalcy, but she never really finds it. I struggled to understand her love for her father, but I thought the author brilliantly wrote Evie’s relentless need to gain approval from a mother who turned her back on her more than once.
This is a story that isn’t told in linear fashion, but I throughly enjoyed how Van Meter put the story together and shared facts about different wildlife that inhabited the island. I felt the island was just as much a character as the living and breathing ones.
Timing will be everything with this book. I find I have to be in the right headspace to read something that makes me think this hard. Luckily, I read this at the right time.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and Crissy Van Meter for the opportunity to read and provide a honest review.
Review Date: 11/02/2020
Publication Date: 10/27/20
October 25, 2020
Van Meter's debut novel, which an afterward makes clear is largely autobiographical, is one I initially was resistant to, since I tend to prefer straight-forward, plot heavy novels with clear, chronological time lines - and this was the exact opposite. But dang if it didn't eventually win me over, and I appreciated the craft that went into the gorgeous, shimmering, evocative prose, and the lyrical, dream-like quality of the writing. It also tackles some fairly heavy themes: addiction, abandonment, betrayal, redemption and forgiveness - but never gets heavy-handed, or preachy.
The elliptical structure is perfect for the material, and if the reader is not always clear about where one is in time, or what has or hasn't happened, or how characters relate (I was annoyed that a semi-major character, 'Tommy', is just popped into the narrative without explanation, and who he is, is not explicated till almost the end - but then when the penny drops at just the right time, one sees how beautifully Van Meter has control of her material) - it all eventually makes a quirky kind of sense.
Each character is carefully delineated - and if I could not personally relate to a lot of their lives (most suffer from some form of addiction), I could empathize and ultimately care about most of them. The setting becomes as much a character as any of the human ones, and I had to Google to see if Winter Island in Southern California was an actual place (...turns out there is no Winter Is. down south - it seems to be vaguely based on one of the Channel Is. - but surprisingly there IS one up north in Contra Costa County - where I have lived most of my life, but had never heard about!).
There are scenes in the book that are truly memorable, not least the beautifully rendered final chapter, and I will be eager to see what Van Meter writes in future.
My sincere thanks to Algonquin Books for the review copy, in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
The elliptical structure is perfect for the material, and if the reader is not always clear about where one is in time, or what has or hasn't happened, or how characters relate (I was annoyed that a semi-major character, 'Tommy', is just popped into the narrative without explanation, and who he is, is not explicated till almost the end - but then when the penny drops at just the right time, one sees how beautifully Van Meter has control of her material) - it all eventually makes a quirky kind of sense.
Each character is carefully delineated - and if I could not personally relate to a lot of their lives (most suffer from some form of addiction), I could empathize and ultimately care about most of them. The setting becomes as much a character as any of the human ones, and I had to Google to see if Winter Island in Southern California was an actual place (...turns out there is no Winter Is. down south - it seems to be vaguely based on one of the Channel Is. - but surprisingly there IS one up north in Contra Costa County - where I have lived most of my life, but had never heard about!).
There are scenes in the book that are truly memorable, not least the beautifully rendered final chapter, and I will be eager to see what Van Meter writes in future.
My sincere thanks to Algonquin Books for the review copy, in exchange for this honest and enthusiastic review.
January 13, 2020
Thank you so much Algonquin for my free copy.
Crissy Van Meter’s CREATURES is the Belletrist selection for January and I could not be more excited. When I saw the cover I was mesmerized and when I started reading I was captivated. And when I saw that Melissa Broder and Leni Zumas put their stamp of approval on this ravishing debut, I had no doubt I would love it.
Evangeline or “Evie” grew up on an island off the coast of Southern California. Her mom left her early on and seldom returned so her father raised her. He wasn’t conventional by any means as he was an alcoholic, drug addict, and never held down a steady job. Evie struggled through a very difficult childhood and this novel reveals what she went through and how it affected her.
The nonlinear timeline can be a bit tricky, but it really worked for me. The book’s sole narrator is Evie and it begins a few days before her wedding day. The narrative shifts from the present to the past, back and forth, much like the tides around the island. It’s an emotional, poignant, and provocative read that deeply explores a dysfunctional family – always an interest of mine.
Just like we are all creatures of our existence, Evie is a creature of hers - a creature of her mercurial upbringing and the island in which she was raised. CREATURES is a story filled with intricacies, heartbreak, and dry humor, written in a lyrical, poetic manner with a wildly beautiful island backdrop.
Crissy Van Meter’s CREATURES is the Belletrist selection for January and I could not be more excited. When I saw the cover I was mesmerized and when I started reading I was captivated. And when I saw that Melissa Broder and Leni Zumas put their stamp of approval on this ravishing debut, I had no doubt I would love it.
Evangeline or “Evie” grew up on an island off the coast of Southern California. Her mom left her early on and seldom returned so her father raised her. He wasn’t conventional by any means as he was an alcoholic, drug addict, and never held down a steady job. Evie struggled through a very difficult childhood and this novel reveals what she went through and how it affected her.
The nonlinear timeline can be a bit tricky, but it really worked for me. The book’s sole narrator is Evie and it begins a few days before her wedding day. The narrative shifts from the present to the past, back and forth, much like the tides around the island. It’s an emotional, poignant, and provocative read that deeply explores a dysfunctional family – always an interest of mine.
Just like we are all creatures of our existence, Evie is a creature of hers - a creature of her mercurial upbringing and the island in which she was raised. CREATURES is a story filled with intricacies, heartbreak, and dry humor, written in a lyrical, poetic manner with a wildly beautiful island backdrop.
January 3, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Seven Jane
Dream-like and lyrical, Creatures by debut author Crissy Van Meter is a story that ebbs and flows like the tide—delicate, inevitable, and mesmerising.
On the eve of Evie’s wedding, a storm has washed a dead whale into the harbour of Winter Island, a fictional and feral island off the Southern Californian coast. While her fiancé may be lost at sea, the storm has brought home Evie’s long-wandering mother. This pivotal moment serves as the starting point for a story that weaves through past, present, and future, pulling the reader along effortlessly as we traverse Evie’s lifeline. We learn that she was raised a child of the island, a creature perhaps of circumstance rather than upbringing while her father peddled drugs to tourists on the island, and we watch as Evie struggles at every turn to reconcile the lush wildness of the island that is her home—and in all its glorious complexities—the lush wildness that is herself. In the end, the journey of the tale is as wholly beautiful and provocative as any single moment, making Van Meter’s debut a powerful exploration of the complexities of human emotion and the lengths a heart will go to in order to love.
Written to mimic the tidal charts she studies, Evie’s story is told through alternating timelines that some readers may find confusing, but is not without merit; this disorientation is a requisite component of the story and skilfully and intentionally written. Reading Creatures is sort of like floating underwater, where we lose sense of what is now and real and find ourselves immersed in a world that is boundless and fluid, but no less deadly. This intersection of fact and fiction is rather like life itself, where boundaries blur and we must craft our own version of the truth from cobbled together information and experience.
A debut that is anything but ordinary, Creatures is subtle yet intentional in its symbolic connection to elements of the natural world. Still, it’s just as deliberately a story of the uniquely human condition. The cyclical nature of Evie’s journey—from child to adult, and in various degrees of wholeness between—is profound. At times heart wrenching and still darkly funny, there is poignancy even in Evie’s exposure to childhood traumas, from a neglectful mother to a toxic if well-meaning father, a best friend that is equal loyal and betraying. Like Evie, we are given the opportunity to explore concepts of grief and forgiveness, as much as for the self as for those who have wronged us.
And that’s what this reader thinks sets Creatures apart: it’s a reminder that, like Evie, we are all lush and wild creatures, beholden as much to the world around us and all its lovely juxtapositions as we are doomed to the same inevitability as the whale that washed up in the harbour of Winter Island on the eve of her wedding.
We have all known a woman like Evie’s mother. We have all known a man like Evie’s father. We’ve all had a friend like Rook. We’ve all loved someone like Liam. They are all water, moving in and out of our lives, sometimes coming, sometimes going, but always leaving their mark on our hearts.
In the end, though we may not yet realise it, we’ve all been Evie and her whale. We have all been ravaged by the water. We tumble, we float, we drown, and we resurface.
Dream-like and lyrical, Creatures by debut author Crissy Van Meter is a story that ebbs and flows like the tide—delicate, inevitable, and mesmerising.
On the eve of Evie’s wedding, a storm has washed a dead whale into the harbour of Winter Island, a fictional and feral island off the Southern Californian coast. While her fiancé may be lost at sea, the storm has brought home Evie’s long-wandering mother. This pivotal moment serves as the starting point for a story that weaves through past, present, and future, pulling the reader along effortlessly as we traverse Evie’s lifeline. We learn that she was raised a child of the island, a creature perhaps of circumstance rather than upbringing while her father peddled drugs to tourists on the island, and we watch as Evie struggles at every turn to reconcile the lush wildness of the island that is her home—and in all its glorious complexities—the lush wildness that is herself. In the end, the journey of the tale is as wholly beautiful and provocative as any single moment, making Van Meter’s debut a powerful exploration of the complexities of human emotion and the lengths a heart will go to in order to love.
Written to mimic the tidal charts she studies, Evie’s story is told through alternating timelines that some readers may find confusing, but is not without merit; this disorientation is a requisite component of the story and skilfully and intentionally written. Reading Creatures is sort of like floating underwater, where we lose sense of what is now and real and find ourselves immersed in a world that is boundless and fluid, but no less deadly. This intersection of fact and fiction is rather like life itself, where boundaries blur and we must craft our own version of the truth from cobbled together information and experience.
A debut that is anything but ordinary, Creatures is subtle yet intentional in its symbolic connection to elements of the natural world. Still, it’s just as deliberately a story of the uniquely human condition. The cyclical nature of Evie’s journey—from child to adult, and in various degrees of wholeness between—is profound. At times heart wrenching and still darkly funny, there is poignancy even in Evie’s exposure to childhood traumas, from a neglectful mother to a toxic if well-meaning father, a best friend that is equal loyal and betraying. Like Evie, we are given the opportunity to explore concepts of grief and forgiveness, as much as for the self as for those who have wronged us.
And that’s what this reader thinks sets Creatures apart: it’s a reminder that, like Evie, we are all lush and wild creatures, beholden as much to the world around us and all its lovely juxtapositions as we are doomed to the same inevitability as the whale that washed up in the harbour of Winter Island on the eve of her wedding.
We have all known a woman like Evie’s mother. We have all known a man like Evie’s father. We’ve all had a friend like Rook. We’ve all loved someone like Liam. They are all water, moving in and out of our lives, sometimes coming, sometimes going, but always leaving their mark on our hearts.
In the end, though we may not yet realise it, we’ve all been Evie and her whale. We have all been ravaged by the water. We tumble, we float, we drown, and we resurface.
January 14, 2020
So pretty, evocative, alive. Just the sort of book I love and want to read/reread. Beauty on a sentence level, raw emotion and clicked-on senses, immersive. This book feels like being afloat and letting the ocean take you (and take you) while telling you its story in storms and sun. I loved and loved it. A lot.
December 23, 2019
Thank you to Thomas Allen & Sons for the review copy!
I think literary fiction is either a hit or miss for many people, and for me, this was kind of a miss. I wasn't exactly enchanted by the story, or its characters, which is too bad because I really wanted to like this!
I think literary fiction is either a hit or miss for many people, and for me, this was kind of a miss. I wasn't exactly enchanted by the story, or its characters, which is too bad because I really wanted to like this!
November 1, 2020
Thank you to Algonquin Books for having me in this book tour for Creatures by Crissy Van Meter.
Set in a beautiful island off the coast of Southern California in a lush wild lands of Winter Island is the heart breaking story of Evie. In a series of unfortunate events occur in the eve of Evie's wedding with a dead whale trapped in the harbor, her fiancee late from returning from his trip out at sea, and her estranged mother shows up to complicate matters.
As all these issues are crashing down at Evie, she looks back at her dysfunctional up bringing from parents who were both neglectful - a mother who leaves Evie as a young child only to be left to an alcoholic father who peddles marijuana to tourists in the island.
The writing of this story is both poetic and lyrical - certainly a character driven story told in a very unique perspective. There are a lot of symbolisms and found the writing beautiful, very deep, sometimes dark but very much real and will touch your heart. I felt for Evie - my heart broke for her and her childhood. Every one who reads this will find something to relate to in this moving story.
I had an incredible time reading this fabulous story and glad to read a book set in Southern California.
Set in a beautiful island off the coast of Southern California in a lush wild lands of Winter Island is the heart breaking story of Evie. In a series of unfortunate events occur in the eve of Evie's wedding with a dead whale trapped in the harbor, her fiancee late from returning from his trip out at sea, and her estranged mother shows up to complicate matters.
As all these issues are crashing down at Evie, she looks back at her dysfunctional up bringing from parents who were both neglectful - a mother who leaves Evie as a young child only to be left to an alcoholic father who peddles marijuana to tourists in the island.
The writing of this story is both poetic and lyrical - certainly a character driven story told in a very unique perspective. There are a lot of symbolisms and found the writing beautiful, very deep, sometimes dark but very much real and will touch your heart. I felt for Evie - my heart broke for her and her childhood. Every one who reads this will find something to relate to in this moving story.
I had an incredible time reading this fabulous story and glad to read a book set in Southern California.
June 20, 2021
This was an absolute wonderful, poetic and lyrical book. Was intruiged by the cover and blurb but wasn't prepared for the greatness of the story. I'm so glad I've listen to it when I'm in a reading slump as it really showed me why I should keep trying to read and listen.
September 21, 2025
A few days before Evie’s wedding, a whale washes ashore on the island and triggers a wave of memories.
The surreal event unearths the pain of her mother's abandonment and the bleak aftermath shaped by her father's destructive lifestyle.
The surreal event unearths the pain of her mother's abandonment and the bleak aftermath shaped by her father's destructive lifestyle.
September 6, 2019
I just wanted it to end. So I ended it by refusing to finish it.
(Advanced copy picked up at ALA 19)
(Advanced copy picked up at ALA 19)
September 22, 2019
The descriptions in this book are lovely but that’s the descriptions of the surroundings. There was no in depth character descriptions that I could wrap my mind around.
Other than the main character having had long dark hair the only other thing I knew about her was an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. She wasn’t as beautiful as her Mother or as adventurous as her best friend. She definitely wasn’t as crazy as her Father. I do know she loved and was betrayed by them all and this book is filled not only with her pain but their pain too.
Sounds depressing? It was. The story jumps around in time and I found myself trying to figure out whether she was a teenager or an adult or back in her childhood. The time jumps were unclear enough that it was confusing.
This book is written more as a group of short stories about the main protagonist rather than in a single storyline. I love books that I can’t wait to pick up again but this just was not one of those books. I simply read it to finish it because I never had the ‘can’t wait to see what happens next feeling’. I’m giving it 3 stars because I can’t give it 2-1/2.
I won this book in a FirstReads giveaway. Thank you to Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing and Crissy Van Meter.
Other than the main character having had long dark hair the only other thing I knew about her was an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. She wasn’t as beautiful as her Mother or as adventurous as her best friend. She definitely wasn’t as crazy as her Father. I do know she loved and was betrayed by them all and this book is filled not only with her pain but their pain too.
Sounds depressing? It was. The story jumps around in time and I found myself trying to figure out whether she was a teenager or an adult or back in her childhood. The time jumps were unclear enough that it was confusing.
This book is written more as a group of short stories about the main protagonist rather than in a single storyline. I love books that I can’t wait to pick up again but this just was not one of those books. I simply read it to finish it because I never had the ‘can’t wait to see what happens next feeling’. I’m giving it 3 stars because I can’t give it 2-1/2.
I won this book in a FirstReads giveaway. Thank you to Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing and Crissy Van Meter.
January 28, 2020
I’m giving one of January 2020’s buzziest books only 3 stars because even at only 240 pages, it was too long. Oh the sadness. Oh the longing. Oh the abandonment issues and the alcoholism and its attendant dysfunction. I get it. The prose is fine. She can write. I enjoyed some of the ocean stuff. And the metaphors. Yes, I get it. Please stop beating me over the head with it now. I was ready for this book to be over around page 180. But I powered through to the end and you know what? I found out that she withheld optimism and hope until the end. No fair! Why couldn’t she have done that sooner?
I’m so glad it’s over. Now I read something I actually enjoy.
I’m so glad it’s over. Now I read something I actually enjoy.
October 16, 2020
The writing was so captivating!
The story itself was a little bit confusing but overall I loved the flowery prose and fell in love with the characters too. They all had such difficult lives but the story was told so well.
The story itself was a little bit confusing but overall I loved the flowery prose and fell in love with the characters too. They all had such difficult lives but the story was told so well.
June 19, 2020
Review to come.
December 25, 2019
Thanks to Algonquin and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the story at first and found the writing to be beautiful. The cover is stunning. The story follows a young woman, Evangeline, who grew upon an island not far from Los Angeles. Her mother left her and her father when she was a kid and she was raised by an alcoholic dad. She does research on the sea and the creatures in it which is infused in the story. She is about to get married. That is about the gist of the story and it seems like it could have been told in s clearer way. I kind of felt like there wasn’t a plot. I got irritated with the meandering story and by 75% I was skimming and not caring what happened.
This may be great for someone else, it just wasn’t for me.
I really enjoyed the story at first and found the writing to be beautiful. The cover is stunning. The story follows a young woman, Evangeline, who grew upon an island not far from Los Angeles. Her mother left her and her father when she was a kid and she was raised by an alcoholic dad. She does research on the sea and the creatures in it which is infused in the story. She is about to get married. That is about the gist of the story and it seems like it could have been told in s clearer way. I kind of felt like there wasn’t a plot. I got irritated with the meandering story and by 75% I was skimming and not caring what happened.
This may be great for someone else, it just wasn’t for me.
April 17, 2022
This is an interior & atmospheric novel about a young woman living on an island off the coast of Southern California. It’s told in nonlinear fashion with the moods of the characters reflecting the ebbs & flows of the tides. Creatures reminded me of Grove in that it is a novel that explores one’s place in the world while at the same time observing the natural world. Crissy Van Meter infuses her narrative with facts about sea life & sea creatures. But where Grove was a portrait of grief, Creatures explores family dysfunction & how to navigate life’s heartaches & disappointments.
May 25, 2020
beautiful, lyrical, haunting, and bittersweet.
May 2, 2020
Despite the sometimes crude and messy writing I found this book to be very unique, moving, and so beautiful at times! Very lyrical with some wonderful poetic sentences. I love how the author focused so much on nature, weather and sea creatures to tell a very human story.
November 9, 2019
There are some beautiful passages in Creatures, but the way the book is written was more irritating than interesting. The author jumps around in time, in a kind of stream of consciousness jumble of memories and emotions. Not just chapter by chapter but constantly, every paragraph, throughout the whole book. There seemed to be a real time story at the beginning, Evangeline is trying to get ready for her wedding, annoyed by her mother showing up unannounced and distracted that her fiance is out at sea and a storm is coming. The planned beach wedding is also put in jeopardy by a dead and very smelly beached whale. The first "creature." Different. Intrigued, I plowed on through pages and pages of introspection and memories. It was confusing because although scenes from Evangeline's childhood, back to about age 3, are dropped into the book in no particular order, many of the "memories" are of a time many years after the wedding.
Evangeline is a researcher and there are brief notes about whales and other marine life interspersed throughout. I'm sure they are meant to be profound and literary, but I found them to be useless clutter that I learned to skip over. I seldom give a three star review. Usually, if I don't like a book, I just quit reading and don't review at all. But this one kept me hanging one, hoping for something I never found.
January 21, 2021
"how can you know what it's like to lose the people you love when you are still trying to figure out how to love them?"
I'm really in awe of this book
how is no one talking about this??????
I absolutely loved the non-linear story telling with the whale excerpts scattered throughout. The characters are real and flawed, it absolutely broke me to see people I know reflected back to me. The writing felt direct and important, I found myself lulled by its effortless rhythm. This is a story about abandonment, narcissistic parents, betrayal, and forgiveness. Mostly this is book about how messy life is and how your parents shape you for the rest of your life. This is a book i will be coming back to.
I'm really in awe of this book
how is no one talking about this??????
I absolutely loved the non-linear story telling with the whale excerpts scattered throughout. The characters are real and flawed, it absolutely broke me to see people I know reflected back to me. The writing felt direct and important, I found myself lulled by its effortless rhythm. This is a story about abandonment, narcissistic parents, betrayal, and forgiveness. Mostly this is book about how messy life is and how your parents shape you for the rest of your life. This is a book i will be coming back to.
January 14, 2020
This book proves to me that I don’t have to be drawn to any of the characters to love a piece of work. The writing is so raw and just so....human. I wish I would have highlighted the sentences that struck me. Will definitely be rereading at some point.
September 14, 2019
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. It’s a very interesting... kinda weird book!
Read
July 18, 2021DNF @ 62%. Got lured in by that gorgeous cover, but the story itself felt like a chore to read. The writing isn’t bad or anything- just not my cup of tea!
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