It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Polite Act of Drowning by Charleen Hurtubise.
About the Author
Charleen Hurtubise has lived in Dublin, Ireland for over 25 years, having moved from Michigan, USA. She is a teacher and artist as well as a writer, and her short fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in various publications. She holds an MFA Creative Writing from University College Dublin (UCD) where she has also facilitated creative writing modules. Follow @CharliSolo on Twitter, Visit charleenhurtubise.com
About the book
Michigan, 1985. The drowning of a teenage girl causes ripples in the small town of Kettle Lake, though for most the waters settle quickly. For sixteen-year-old Joanne Kennedy, however, the tragedy dredges up untold secrets and causes her mother to drift farther from reality and her family.
When troubled newcomer Lucinda arrives in town, she offers Joanne a chance of real friendship, and together the teenagers push against the boundaries of family, self-image, and their sexuality during the tension of a long, stifling summer. But the undercurrents of past harms continuously threaten to drag Joanne and those around her under...
Joanne, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood and in the midst of discovery of self. Her coming-of-age journey isn't just identifying her sexuality, to whom she may or may not be attracted - it's also about redefining the nature of all her relationships.
When sibling rivalry takes on a secondary role as the loyalty towards her parents is questioned, as generational family disputes and trauma threaten to sever loosely threaded ties. The way Joanne moves from child to more mature thinking and engagement becomes more evident as the story evolves, whether that is via the painful teenage moments of humiliation or those moments of clarity when the adults in her life are seen as more than the position they retain in the family dynamic.
Simple mistruths and facts are re-evaluated as buried secrets give better insight into the people she calls parents. Mother is suddenly seen as traumatised child, the guilt-laden sister, the scarred young woman and then the fragile adult who is barely holding on to life. Father is seen as the young man torn between warring families, and the man who is helpless when it comes to comprehending his wife and her struggles.
It's a siren's song of sisterhood in the form of a mother and daughter, sister and sister, girl and female friendship, and it even reflects the more damaging aspects of women's relationships with each other. Nothing is quite so sharp as the knife wielded by the person who should be able to understand you the most.
I absolutely loved it. It's an intricately woven web of emotional despair and yet it simultaneously echoes how small a drop of water we are in the ocean, and how often it's also just that tiny drop that weighs us down and pulls us under.
In the right hands with enough vision this has the potential to be award-winning screen material. It's a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that takes place in the midst of family dysfunction and generational trauma. Hopefully this will be recognised for the gem it is.
Buy A Polite Act of Drowning at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Eriu, pub date 6th April 2023 - Hardback, eBook and Audio, £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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