Drowning Ruth - (Oprah's Book Club) by Christina Schwarz (Paperback)

About the Book

An Oprah Book Club selection and bestseller in hardcover, "Drowning Ruth"--now in paperback--is a stunning portrait of the ties that bind sisters together and the forces that tear them apart. Schwarz's first novel explores themes of family love, sibling rivalry, duty, loyalty, and a possible murder.

Book Synopsis

"POWERFUL . . . SUSPENSEFUL . . . RICHLY TEXTURED . . . [A] CHILLING, PRECOCIOUSLY GOOD START TO A BRIGHT NEW NOVELIST'S CAREER."
-The New York Times

"[A] gripping psychological thriller . . . In the winter of 1919, a young mother named Mathilda Neumann drowns beneath the ice of a rural Wisconsin lake. The shock of her death dramatically changes the lives of her daughter, troubled sister, and husband. . . . Told in the voices of several of the main characters and skipping back and forth in time, the narrative gradually and tantalizingly reveals the dark family secrets and the unsettling discoveries that lead to the truth of what actually happened the night of the drowning. . . . Schwarz certainly succeeds at keeping the reader engrossed."
-FRANCINE PROSE
Us Weekly

"DEFT AND ASSURED . . . [WITH] STRONG CHARACTERS AND A PLOT LONG ON TENSION AND SURPRISES."
-Time

"A strong sense of portent and unusually vivid characters distinguish this mesmerizing first novel about horrifying family secrets and nearly annihilating guilt. Drowning Ruth is a complex and rewarding debut."
-ANITA SHREVE
Author of The Pilot's Wife

"RIVETING . . . A VERY SUSPENSEFUL TALE, ONE THAT WILL KEEP READERS UP SHIVERING IN THE NIGHT."
-USA Today

Review Quotes

"Gripping . . . A story of deep family rivalries . . . A remarkable debut."
-The New York Times Book Review

"COMPELLING . . .The immediately impressive thing about Drowning Ruth is not the author's talent, though that is apparent within the first few pages, but the ambitious narrative scheme she's devised to tell her tale."
-San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

"Schwarz pays meticulous attention to her characters. . . . Drowning Ruth offers tender gifts-the shore, the lake, the island, all keeping their own mysteries."
-The Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Christina Schwarz grew up in Wisconsin. She and her husband live in New Hampshire, where she is at work on her second novel.