DNF at 59%

This book just didn’t grasp me. I can’t remember the characters’ names and I have no motivation to go back to it after putting it down.

In theory, a struggling relationship between a high school teacher and his flighty intellectual girlfriend is an appealing premise for a literary novel, but this was poorly written and honestly quite boring.

A really interesting concept, but I felt a little lost at times. Parts of it felt over-written, while other parts felt underdeveloped. Not for me.

This is a very interesting book about a subject which is so mysterious yet so fascinating - cults. How people become entrapped within a cult, how they are eventually extracted - these are situations and concepts which are, fortunately, so mysterious to many readers. At time the book was a bit hard to follow and had a complexity which made it slightly less enjoyable to read but it is worth sticking with it.

I'm a huge fan of cult novels, so this one appealed to me based on the description. I found it a little scattered and while I appreciated the back stories of the families, it was too much detail and "in the weeds" detracting from the cult removal aspect that I was drawn to. Very descriptive writing, I felt like I really knew everyone, but at the same time would have preferred more focus on the main events to keep things going. Thankful for the ARC!

Cults are always a fascinating subject, and that is no different here with this novel. It is character driven, and makes you think as hard as the intellectual, if narcissistic, main character. The novel as a whole works on some level, but it is not the best cult-focused novel of the year. It loses the reader in parts, though I would recommend it.

The Narrows is a human drama of errors and beliefs. It is not a routine thriller, inspite of elements of cult and a rescue mission. It is an interesting character study, but it also offers an insight into the changing face of cultural parameters in the 1970s in the US.

Larry Brown, the protagonist is a school teacher and an intellectual. He comes across as a little narcissistic and eccentric. He has his own issues - his attached detachment with his family, the pressures of his job and a cheating girlfriend, who dominates him. He has a best friend he relies on and things start changing when he learns that one of his cousins has joined a religious cult.

Cults are fascinating subjects for novels. It never ceases to amaze me that people blindly believe in these establishments, but when we think a little more, we understand that people are desparate for a way to deal with the failings and disappointments in life. And there is always that existentialist question which the cults capitalise on - What is life? This book makes a great attempt to understand what cults are and how people are hoodwinked.

The conversations and the writing are delightful. I always tend to enjoy books that are character/ dialogue-driven and I had fun reading all the humourous and deep interactions of the characters. The people of the story make you smile, they also frustrate you with their bad choices, but they are all interesting and real. That’s where the author wins. But I did wish some plot points could’ve been rounded up in a better way and I wanted a little more structure to the chapters and the story at times.

A newer updated version of "When Mermaids Sing" is currently up for re-release under the title "The Narrows". That is the version I have just read. I enjoyed the story and thought the author's writing kept me going even when I wasn't clear exactly what the point was he was trying to convey. I found myself identifying with the narrator, Larry Brown, because he also seemed to struggle with how he should feel about his cousin Bradley and the cult. I wasn't really sure whether the author was trying to warn against cult indoctrination or defend it. Maybe that was intentional.

I would definitely read other books by this author and would recommend "The Narrows" as a though provoking read.

This book was a little difficult for me to get into and read which was a little disappointing because I was so juiced when I saw it was about cults and helping someone escape from one! Character development was a little lacking for me, and it was hard to finish. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.