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Drowning Practice: A Novel
Profoundly moving, filled with tenderness, and brought to life by a curious, sprawling imagination, Drowning Practice is the story of a mother and daughter trying to save each other’s lives at what could be the end of the world One night, everyone on Earth has the same dream—a dream of being guided to a watery death by a loved one on November 1. When they wake up, most people after Halloween, the world will end. In the wake of this haunting dream and saddled with its uncertainty, Lyd and her daughter, Mott, navigate a changed world, wrestling with how to make choices when you really don’t know what comes next. Embarking on a quixotic road trip filled with a collection of unexpected and memorable characters, Lyd and Mott are determined to live out what could be their final months as fully as possible. But how can Lyd protect Mott and help her achieve her ambitions in a world where inhibitions, desires, and motivations have become unpredictable, and where Mott’s dangerous and conniving father has his own ideas about how his estranged family should spend their last days? Formally inventive and hauntingly strange, Drowning Practice signals the arrival of a singular new voice in Mike Meginnis, who writes with generosity and precision, humor and sorrowfulness. Stirring and surprising at every turn, Drowning Practice is literary speculative fiction at its best and with a pulsing a mother and daughter trying to decide how they should live out what might be the final months of their—or anyone’s—life on Earth.
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2022
37 people are currently reading
3954 people want to read
About the author
Mike Meginnis
8 books68 followersMike Meginnis is the author of Drowning Practice (2022, Ecco) and Fat Man and Little Boy (2014, Black Balloon). His short fiction and essays have appeared in Hobart, PANK, The Lifted Brow, Recommended Reading, Booth, The Pinch, The Collagist, The Sycamore Review, Fanzine, American Book Review, and Writer's Digest. His story "Navigators" appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012. He lives and works in Iowa City.
Mike also cohosts the podcast Gift Horse with his partner, Tracy Rae Bowling.
Mike also cohosts the podcast Gift Horse with his partner, Tracy Rae Bowling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
May 1, 2023
March book of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club
The beginning of this novel about the world as we know it coming to an end (cue the R.E.M. song) was great: the setup, the tension, the various ways characters react to the knowledge of a specific end-date, which is only months away. The depiction of a controlling spouse, how hard it can be to break away and stay away when the partner has other issues, is first-rate, one of the best I've come across.
But somewhere in the middle of the book, during a road trip to escape the ex-husband, who has powerful resources, I found certain elements had become repetitive and the details and dialogue were increasingly not doing it for me. Counterintuitively, I was dreading the end of the book, thinking it would be a letdown. But the last chapter was rather good, pointing toward our lack of care for each other and our planet, as well as being the coda for an admittedly selfish mother’s unconditional love for her teenaged daughter.
The beginning of this novel about the world as we know it coming to an end (cue the R.E.M. song) was great: the setup, the tension, the various ways characters react to the knowledge of a specific end-date, which is only months away. The depiction of a controlling spouse, how hard it can be to break away and stay away when the partner has other issues, is first-rate, one of the best I've come across.
But somewhere in the middle of the book, during a road trip to escape the ex-husband, who has powerful resources, I found certain elements had become repetitive and the details and dialogue were increasingly not doing it for me. Counterintuitively, I was dreading the end of the book, thinking it would be a letdown. But the last chapter was rather good, pointing toward our lack of care for each other and our planet, as well as being the coda for an admittedly selfish mother’s unconditional love for her teenaged daughter.
March 19, 2022
In some respects I really don’t know what the hell I just read. As I attempt to lay this out in the most general terms I can’t even preface this by saying the standard, “the less you know the better”, simply because the journey to the end is so appropriately dreamlike in its execution I don’t even know what I know. If you know what I mean.
One night everyone has the same dream: They are with someone they trust who leads them to a watery death. Starting with the month of May, the book counts down to the fateful day in November that has now been prophesied as the end of humanity. The reactions are varied from suicide, to denial, to a hopeful reinvigoration of life and attempting to accomplish all those tasks that were put off for another day.
Into this we follow Lyd and Mott, a mother and daughter on the run from a possessive and abusive husband, David. David holds a government job that allows him to spy on citizens in an effort to find traitors in the states. Obsessed with the loss of his wife, he spends his days living in a sprawling house with a growing number of his ‘children’-disaffected and wandering young people living a bacchanalian existence fueled with sex, drugs and an increasing penchant for anarchy and vandalism.
Meanwhile Mott’s mother Lyd has her own issues, the primary being her alcoholism coupled with her crushing dependency on her thirteen year old daughter. She tells her more than once she would die if Mott ever left her.
It’s a cornucopia of awful parenting that had me constantly wondering how far Mott would be put in serious danger. And it was one of the things that made me question so many times why I wasn’t stopping this, and yet for the life of me I was entirely under its twisted spell. This is not going to be a book for everyone and at the same time I want somebody else to read it simply to be able to discuss. And despite the at times meandering story and pace, and a plot I had absolutely no clue where it was headed, the books final pages are hauntingly beautiful, deeply affecting and highly satisfying.
One night everyone has the same dream: They are with someone they trust who leads them to a watery death. Starting with the month of May, the book counts down to the fateful day in November that has now been prophesied as the end of humanity. The reactions are varied from suicide, to denial, to a hopeful reinvigoration of life and attempting to accomplish all those tasks that were put off for another day.
Into this we follow Lyd and Mott, a mother and daughter on the run from a possessive and abusive husband, David. David holds a government job that allows him to spy on citizens in an effort to find traitors in the states. Obsessed with the loss of his wife, he spends his days living in a sprawling house with a growing number of his ‘children’-disaffected and wandering young people living a bacchanalian existence fueled with sex, drugs and an increasing penchant for anarchy and vandalism.
Meanwhile Mott’s mother Lyd has her own issues, the primary being her alcoholism coupled with her crushing dependency on her thirteen year old daughter. She tells her more than once she would die if Mott ever left her.
It’s a cornucopia of awful parenting that had me constantly wondering how far Mott would be put in serious danger. And it was one of the things that made me question so many times why I wasn’t stopping this, and yet for the life of me I was entirely under its twisted spell. This is not going to be a book for everyone and at the same time I want somebody else to read it simply to be able to discuss. And despite the at times meandering story and pace, and a plot I had absolutely no clue where it was headed, the books final pages are hauntingly beautiful, deeply affecting and highly satisfying.
November 7, 2022
The premise of this book had SO much potential, and the first and last chapters were fantastic. However, literally every single one of the characters were insufferable and passive aggressive (or in the case of David, an abusive rapist who was also passive aggressive) and the attempts at talking about writing and books fell flat. Such a disappointment.
April 10, 2022
The Nervous Breakdown Book Club selection for March, 2022, begins, "Not everyone believed the would would end that year." This is a story about how people might react if they thought the world was going to end on a specific day. Everyone has had the same dream and mostly a combination of apathy and insanity ensues.
Mott and her mother are living in semi-hiding from David, divorced husband and all around despicable guy. He is a surveillance expert who has placed cameras all throughout their apartment. The mother has figured out, mostly, how to foil that.
I found Drowning Practice one of the weirdest novels I have read. I like weird and so does the Nervous Breakdown, but this one sometimes went beyond some level of tolerance I have.
I did admire Mike Meginnis's imagination. The mother/daughter relationship is fascinating if a bit cracked; well more than a bit.
What struck me most was the story's exploration of how humans react to the threat of no future. After two years and counting of a pandemic, the news that we are not winning the climate change challenge, and the evermore visible outbreaks of unrest around the world, Drowning Practice is a worthy thought experiment.
Mott and her mother are living in semi-hiding from David, divorced husband and all around despicable guy. He is a surveillance expert who has placed cameras all throughout their apartment. The mother has figured out, mostly, how to foil that.
I found Drowning Practice one of the weirdest novels I have read. I like weird and so does the Nervous Breakdown, but this one sometimes went beyond some level of tolerance I have.
I did admire Mike Meginnis's imagination. The mother/daughter relationship is fascinating if a bit cracked; well more than a bit.
What struck me most was the story's exploration of how humans react to the threat of no future. After two years and counting of a pandemic, the news that we are not winning the climate change challenge, and the evermore visible outbreaks of unrest around the world, Drowning Practice is a worthy thought experiment.
March 19, 2023
This was a fresh take on the apocalyptic genre. This novel projects an almost surreal feel, paired with a great deal of tension. So, not only is the premise of how the world is ending unusual, the atmosphere while it is ending is singular as well, like gritting your teeth through a dream.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot, except to say that the author focuses on two major themes: how much control we have over our lives when the world is crashing, and what will be most important to us at the end.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot, except to say that the author focuses on two major themes: how much control we have over our lives when the world is crashing, and what will be most important to us at the end.
March 27, 2022
Everyone in the world had the same dream one night: The world was ending. They were dying- drowning, really, on November 1. Obviously, there were folks who refused to believe it, which makes sense, but the world as a whole was pretty convinced that this was The End. Which, as you'd imagine, sends things... spiraling. Interestingly, things didn't get quite as bad as quickly as I'd assumed, but that made sense too. Humans are, by and large, good at denial. The whole "let's not think about it and it will go away" applies fairly often.
In the story, we follow young teen Mott, her mom Lyd, and her crappy father David. Actually strike that- David is straight up an abusive ass. Lyd and Mott have sort of gotten away from him, but he still tracks them and spies on them and it's really creepy. Lyd is basically a hermit at this point, letting Mott pick up all the slack outside the house. But that all changes when she realizes that David is back on his bullshit and wants to get to them before the end. So, Lyd snaps out of her stupor, and they go on the run.
The story itself is fairly quiet, as the women go from city to city, building their relationship back up and evading David. We see from David's perspective how twisted he really is. He has been.. collecting young folks? That's the best way to explain it, I suppose, to live in his house and keep him company/make him feel needed. It's weird, but so is he. And he seemingly will stop at nothing to recapture Mott and Lyd. Not because he loves them, but because he feels some sort of entitlement to them. Sick, really.
Meanwhile, Lyd and Mott don't just have to deal with this jerk hunting them down, but with the ramifications of the end of the world looming in front of them. There's a lot of quiet character exploration, which I really enjoyed, especially with the mother-daughter relationship at the forefront. I am also always here for ideas about how mankind would act when facing its imminent demise. I have no idea why, but it fascinates me and is incredibly thought-provoking. The author did a great job of making the atmosphere appropriately desolate and eerie.
The ending.. the ending was a little weird for me? I didn't hate it, but nor did I love it? But, it too is incredibly thought-provoking, so I can't be mad.
Bottom Line: A quiet, family centered exploration on how humanity would react if they knew the end was coming- and exactly when and how.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
In the story, we follow young teen Mott, her mom Lyd, and her crappy father David. Actually strike that- David is straight up an abusive ass. Lyd and Mott have sort of gotten away from him, but he still tracks them and spies on them and it's really creepy. Lyd is basically a hermit at this point, letting Mott pick up all the slack outside the house. But that all changes when she realizes that David is back on his bullshit and wants to get to them before the end. So, Lyd snaps out of her stupor, and they go on the run.
The story itself is fairly quiet, as the women go from city to city, building their relationship back up and evading David. We see from David's perspective how twisted he really is. He has been.. collecting young folks? That's the best way to explain it, I suppose, to live in his house and keep him company/make him feel needed. It's weird, but so is he. And he seemingly will stop at nothing to recapture Mott and Lyd. Not because he loves them, but because he feels some sort of entitlement to them. Sick, really.
Meanwhile, Lyd and Mott don't just have to deal with this jerk hunting them down, but with the ramifications of the end of the world looming in front of them. There's a lot of quiet character exploration, which I really enjoyed, especially with the mother-daughter relationship at the forefront. I am also always here for ideas about how mankind would act when facing its imminent demise. I have no idea why, but it fascinates me and is incredibly thought-provoking. The author did a great job of making the atmosphere appropriately desolate and eerie.
The ending.. the ending was a little weird for me? I didn't hate it, but nor did I love it? But, it too is incredibly thought-provoking, so I can't be mad.
Bottom Line: A quiet, family centered exploration on how humanity would react if they knew the end was coming- and exactly when and how.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
August 14, 2022
What book was everyone else reading? Seemingly not the same one as I read. "Profoundly moving and filled with tenderness"? I don't think so. It would be accurate to describe it as “a darkly comic story that rejects conventional realism". A dystopian novel? Well, it is sort of about about the world ending, but for most purposes that's more of a metaphor for the mental states of the leading characters, who were busily practicing drowning long before everyone had the same dream about the imminent end of the world. A novel about the relationship between mother and daughter? Now we are getting closer to home, but it's different from any parent child releationship that I know in the real world and in many ways Lyd and Mott are just mirror images of the same character as we learn from Mott's novel.
There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in this book, and I don't claim that I have completely figured it out or even that it is coherent enough to be figured out or that there is a single correct reading, but it's certainly intriguing and very different from what most of the reviews suggest.
The best part of the story from my point of view was the characters. Mott is in some ways a standard precocious teenager, though she has her quirks, but Lyd and David are weird and original, not quite like any characters or people I have ever encountered. They are both beyond imbalanced, but rational enough, smart enough and loving enough that you can't help liking them despite their insanity, though admittedly there are points where you can't really like David. And Mott's friend, Meredith, is another nutty original, as is Lyd's friend, Emily, who seems sane at first, but clearly isn't. And these characters are not just products of a world that is about to end. It's the opposite. The world has to end because people have gotten this way.
There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in this book, and I don't claim that I have completely figured it out or even that it is coherent enough to be figured out or that there is a single correct reading, but it's certainly intriguing and very different from what most of the reviews suggest.
The best part of the story from my point of view was the characters. Mott is in some ways a standard precocious teenager, though she has her quirks, but Lyd and David are weird and original, not quite like any characters or people I have ever encountered. They are both beyond imbalanced, but rational enough, smart enough and loving enough that you can't help liking them despite their insanity, though admittedly there are points where you can't really like David. And Mott's friend, Meredith, is another nutty original, as is Lyd's friend, Emily, who seems sane at first, but clearly isn't. And these characters are not just products of a world that is about to end. It's the opposite. The world has to end because people have gotten this way.
January 23, 2022
A very different type of book... I picked up Drowning Practice due to the end of the world theme. The sotry goes that one night EVERYONE on Earth has the same dream - a water death by a loved one on November 1st.
It's eight months out and there is a variety of reactions to the upcoming end of the world. The majority of the story is told via Lyd and her 13 year old daughter Mott. Lyd is contacted by her ex-husband David who is an unpleasant character. She believes fleeing is all she can do to keep Mott safe.
Lyd and Mott take a road trip about the United States that seems more like an odyssey. Fueled by Lyd's paranoia, the two mix with a variety of strange, kind and sundry characters. As the novel moves to the foretold cataclysmic end, Mott begins to mature and forces Lyd to see her as an individual. We also learn what powers Lyd's fear of David and I for one, could not stand the man. Part odyssey, part literary genius and part sad and realistic depiction of obsession, this story will stay with you for a long time.
if you like beautiful literature, stories of mother and child, experimental plots and of course end-of-world experiences, this novel is for you! #Drowning Practice. #Ecco #netGalley
It's eight months out and there is a variety of reactions to the upcoming end of the world. The majority of the story is told via Lyd and her 13 year old daughter Mott. Lyd is contacted by her ex-husband David who is an unpleasant character. She believes fleeing is all she can do to keep Mott safe.
Lyd and Mott take a road trip about the United States that seems more like an odyssey. Fueled by Lyd's paranoia, the two mix with a variety of strange, kind and sundry characters. As the novel moves to the foretold cataclysmic end, Mott begins to mature and forces Lyd to see her as an individual. We also learn what powers Lyd's fear of David and I for one, could not stand the man. Part odyssey, part literary genius and part sad and realistic depiction of obsession, this story will stay with you for a long time.
if you like beautiful literature, stories of mother and child, experimental plots and of course end-of-world experiences, this novel is for you! #Drowning Practice. #Ecco #netGalley
July 12, 2022
No. No no no no no no noooo🥲 I personally feel this book had a lot of potential if the author didn’t scramble to put the actual good shit in the last chapter. Literally LAST CHAPTER. Aghhhhh! It’s a decent read but definitely not going to re read ever, it was super hard for me to pull through this book because it was very bland and repetitive from the beginning. I don’t like leaving crap reviews but dang I’m just a little disappointed ☹️ it made me feel like the author didn’t even realize where his story was headed until the very end. In other words the storyline didn’t seamlessly blend together like I would have expected?
February 24, 2022
This one will be sticking with me for a while. I have to remind myself daily that the world isn’t ending in November, that it’s just a book…
April 15, 2022
I've been a fan of Meginnis's work since the first time I read "Navigators," (which, to this day, remains one of my favorite short stories of all time). I like Drowning Practice even more. This novel taps into some very real, very strange feelings happening in our culture right now, but does it in surprising, fresh ways. Every feeling in this book is profoundly felt, and every idea held and examined with just the right amount of attention. Of course, the reason it's all so effective is that Meginnis has done a phenomenal job of developing the story's world (so close to our own, but still so radically different), and some of the most vivid characters I've encountered in a while. This is a beautiful and sad novel, brilliantly executed. I can't recommend it enough!
August 14, 2022
Maybe it's a 4....dragged a little about 2/3 in, but I still found all of these characters interesting, and of course the question of WHAT IS GOING ON carried me through. The book was vivid and I think it will remain so. Lots to think about.
My take is that this book, like Mandel's The Sea of Tranquility, is among the few I know of to take seriously the idea, seriously proposed, and I think with some evidence--though not conclusive--that we are living in a simulation.
What happens when there's a software upgrade?
How much of our lives is performative? And does anyone rate the performances? In Xtianity, those living in the last days are judged on how good they are during this in extremis period. In Drowning Practice, not so much.
My take is that this book, like Mandel's The Sea of Tranquility, is among the few I know of to take seriously the idea, seriously proposed, and I think with some evidence--though not conclusive--that we are living in a simulation.
What happens when there's a software upgrade?
How much of our lives is performative? And does anyone rate the performances? In Xtianity, those living in the last days are judged on how good they are during this in extremis period. In Drowning Practice, not so much.
February 27, 2022
This reminded me of the strange and wicked desperation of the series The Leftovers crossed with the quirky brilliance of character that Wes Anderson brings to each of his films. Needless to say, I loved this odd, dreamy and unsettling story about a mother and daughter and the impending end of the world. Very original and left me with a swollen heart and a tear choked throat. A great read for conspiracy theorists and fanatics of apocalyptic tales.
December 9, 2024
Mostly this book moved very slowly and was much like trudging through mud. The characters were very flawed humans, which was one of this books redeeming features, yet unlikeable still. There was just no space for me to actually believe these characters were real, let alone relatable. Even now, as I just finished this book, it is hard to write a review that is fair to the author and his hard work so I will leave that to others.
April 16, 2022
I am a big fan of dystopian fiction but I have to admit after getting about a third of the way through this one, I flipped to the last chapter to find out whether the world ends....
More about messed up relationships than anything.
More about messed up relationships than anything.
May 18, 2022
No. Just. No. Couldn't get into it. Found it boring and repetitive. Not my thang.
March 12, 2022
*** 3.5 stars ***
A novel in anticipation of the end of the world, tipping into the timeline of post-apocalyptic, where the exact date of when the world will end has been made known to everybody through a prophetic dream.
When I think end-of-world books, I think fast-paced, frenzied, characters doing anything they can to survive, maybe a zombie here and there. In Drowning Practice, Mike Meginnis slows down time and turns the focus towards relationships, inwards instead of outwards. Beautiful depth of characters - as the book progresses, we see below paranoia and trauma to the humans below. The end of the world manifests itself differently in each character, and we see individuals coping through substance use, novel writing, book reading, continuing their education, vandalizing, among many other strategies. I can't say whether this book was slow- or fast-paced. There wasn't "action" in the traditional sense, where the reader is taken through a rollercoaster of a plot. This is not to say that it wasn't ominous and eerie - throughout the book, I was haunted by a feeling of paranoia that reached out from the characters themselves. I do wish that there were more sprinklings of plot-driven action, because while I loved delving deep into the characters and their own lived experiences, I found myself dragging through the novel at some times. Overall a beautiful book that looks at the end of the world through a unique lens.
Thank you to Ecco for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
A novel in anticipation of the end of the world, tipping into the timeline of post-apocalyptic, where the exact date of when the world will end has been made known to everybody through a prophetic dream.
When I think end-of-world books, I think fast-paced, frenzied, characters doing anything they can to survive, maybe a zombie here and there. In Drowning Practice, Mike Meginnis slows down time and turns the focus towards relationships, inwards instead of outwards. Beautiful depth of characters - as the book progresses, we see below paranoia and trauma to the humans below. The end of the world manifests itself differently in each character, and we see individuals coping through substance use, novel writing, book reading, continuing their education, vandalizing, among many other strategies. I can't say whether this book was slow- or fast-paced. There wasn't "action" in the traditional sense, where the reader is taken through a rollercoaster of a plot. This is not to say that it wasn't ominous and eerie - throughout the book, I was haunted by a feeling of paranoia that reached out from the characters themselves. I do wish that there were more sprinklings of plot-driven action, because while I loved delving deep into the characters and their own lived experiences, I found myself dragging through the novel at some times. Overall a beautiful book that looks at the end of the world through a unique lens.
Thank you to Ecco for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
July 18, 2025
Not what I thought it would be but interesting. Plot itself keeps you wanting more but the characters are hard to want to read about… The teenage girl sounds like shes regressing or just is like that as a result of the moms obsessive parenting choices, and the mom is the worst pushing her to do what the mother wants her to, and taking away anything that didn’t keep her in ultimate control of the daughter’s small amount of life that’s left before ‘November.’ Besides the neurotic tendencies of the mother, this book and the end of the world premise coupled with what could be if we were better people to our surroundings was neat.
April 14, 2022
3.5 stars - Such a strange and dark book... an interesting end of the world take and the ending was just bizarre. I can't say I really liked any of the characters (except maybe Mott who was far too responsible for a 12 year old) as all of the relationships were very toxic and a little hard to read about. I think it drew me in because I was just really curious on what this take on the end of the world would be.
June 13, 2022
Loved this weird and wicked book. It was a bit too strange even for me at some points — it was hard to keep track of the plot even though I realize a lot of the nonsense was purposeful — but the gorgeous language always roped me back in. The story of an anxious mother and precocious daughter at the end of the world was lovely to me also. The relationship felt weird, though the character of young Mott did seem to be a bit younger than she was supposed to be at times, though she was conveniently brilliant. It didn't always check out. But I loved Lyd, and I loved the evil of David, and I loved that this story rarely takes the easy way out.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC.
June 9, 2024
Weird dystopian, the characters were never quite clearly developed for me, I think because book begins after the event so we never see the characters ' normal', they were just weird and it almost lost me midway but the ending was redeeming.
May 12, 2022
The plot is absurd,
points taken but blurred.
Practice to drown, so clever;
Love is boiled down, forever.
Was Lyd in existential wrath,
David inflicted psychopath?
Be reborn on the playground
of Dystopia to sever,
let Mott's genius endeavor
escape the devils around...
Run till out of magic in each word,
Count days to the end when I'm barely stirred.
points taken but blurred.
Practice to drown, so clever;
Love is boiled down, forever.
Was Lyd in existential wrath,
David inflicted psychopath?
Be reborn on the playground
of Dystopia to sever,
let Mott's genius endeavor
escape the devils around...
Run till out of magic in each word,
Count days to the end when I'm barely stirred.
June 20, 2022
4.5 ⭐️
July 15, 2022
Pls read pls read pls read
May 11, 2022
Almost finished reading 10% in because the characters were so unlikable, but Goodreads reviews alluded to a payoff at the end. Not good enough to justify reading the whole book unfortunately. Maybe would have been more interesting as a series of short stories about how people handled the aftermath of the dream — those snippets were the best parts of the book.
March 18, 2022
There was a part in the book when Mott (the daughter) asked another character “when you finish reading something, how does it make you feel?”
Well, Mott, here’s how I felt after finishing Drowning Practice: Grateful. Grateful that I and the rest of the world didn’t wake up and know that our lives would end on November 1st.
That’s the main plot point of the book. HOWEVER, this book isn’t just about that (in my opinion). This is a book about a mother and daughter escaping the world they used to know, to a new world that is ending.
I kept thinking “what if that was us? Me? My family?” Like, getting my children ready for a future that was no longer theirs. The story to me, is about what can happen to people when there is no hope.
This book was SO well written. I loved the characters that I hated (weird but true). They were so detailed it was like I knew them personally.
Well, Mott, here’s how I felt after finishing Drowning Practice: Grateful. Grateful that I and the rest of the world didn’t wake up and know that our lives would end on November 1st.
That’s the main plot point of the book. HOWEVER, this book isn’t just about that (in my opinion). This is a book about a mother and daughter escaping the world they used to know, to a new world that is ending.
I kept thinking “what if that was us? Me? My family?” Like, getting my children ready for a future that was no longer theirs. The story to me, is about what can happen to people when there is no hope.
This book was SO well written. I loved the characters that I hated (weird but true). They were so detailed it was like I knew them personally.
September 26, 2021
This book will mess with your mind. That said, this wasn’t really my cup of tea for casual reading. With all that’s going on in our world, I chose to read about the Apocalypse. This was (to me) a very, very long read that could have been shortened considerably. I wasn’t fond of any of the characters. I have often read excellent books with undesirable and unlikable characters. This read wasn’t one of those. The premise begins with everyone the world over having the same dream at the same time, of drowning. The characters are either drunk, drugged, crazed, depraved, mentally ill, or all of the above. The months and months it takes to see what happens when the clock runs out, felt like the readers also had to go through the same excruciating process. There was nothing pleasing or enjoyable whatsoever in my opinion. I don’t know how to even classify this book - horror, comedy, mystery, it just defied any expectations of what to expect. I felt knocked off my center. It was a well-written story, and I know there will be an audience for a read like this. Unexpected, keeps you guessing, and questions about family and what it means to you.
Thank you to Netgalley, Mr. Meginnis and Ecco for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Netgalley, Mr. Meginnis and Ecco for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
January 4, 2026
This story is told from the point of view of three characters, and it does a deep and poignant study of the apocalypse from their points of view (and especially two of them). The ending isn’t quite as satisfying as I’d personally prefer, but that’s personal preference and the stories are woven together with delicate and intentional word pictures. The characters feel almost creepily real while still maintaining some stereotype/caricature/analogy that makes them both relatable and not, likely based on your own experiences and worldview.
The codependency throughout is at times touching and at time gut-wrenching, sometimes both. Not necessarily my normal read, but I appreciated it and it made me think.
The codependency throughout is at times touching and at time gut-wrenching, sometimes both. Not necessarily my normal read, but I appreciated it and it made me think.
April 13, 2022
This is not a book about the end of the world.
This is a book about an abusive marriage that plays out in real time as the world is changing in the background. It's also (yet another) "subtle" allegory for the experience of living in 45's America.
As a human who is under a weird moral obligation to finish every book I start (because I obviously hate myself), I did finish this one...but it was a slog. Bleh.
This is a book about an abusive marriage that plays out in real time as the world is changing in the background. It's also (yet another) "subtle" allegory for the experience of living in 45's America.
As a human who is under a weird moral obligation to finish every book I start (because I obviously hate myself), I did finish this one...but it was a slog. Bleh.
January 31, 2023
Not sure the part about the world ending really has any meaningful bearing on the rest of the book.
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