Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

"The Diver" by Samsun Knight is a compelling exploration of grief, trauma, and the human psyche's intricate dance with the occult. The novel opens with a haunting scene that sets the tone for the rest of the narrative: Marta, the protagonist, is involved in a tragic accident that results in her husband's death at the bottom of Lake Michigan. This event plunges her into a spiral of sorrow and leads her to dabble in the occult in a desperate attempt to rectify her fatal mistake.

Knight's portrayal of Marta is nuanced and deeply human. Her journey is one of heartache and a relentless quest for closure, which resonates with anyone who has ever grappled with loss. The narrative deftly weaves Marta's personal tragedy with the broader themes of love and devotion, questioning the boundaries of our closest relationships.

Peter, a young paralegal drawn into Marta's orbit, serves as a mirror to her turmoil. His own struggles with his brother's suicide and the ensuing alienation from his world make him a sympathetic figure. His fixation on Marta and her story is both unsettling and understandable, highlighting the lengths to which people will go for connection and understanding.

The novel's genre-bending nature is one of its strengths, combining elements of noir, dark comedy, and legal intrigue. This mix creates a rich tapestry that is sometimes disturbing, sometimes humorous, but always thought-provoking. The prose is strong, and the dialogues are engaging, bringing to life the complex and often angry characters that inhabit this story.

However, the book is not without its flaws. Some readers may find the inclusion of animal cruelty and occult practices jarring, detracting from the overall experience. Additionally, the plot can feel busy at times, with subplots that may not seem to cohere fully with the main narrative thread.

In conclusion, "The Diver" is a dark and quirky tale that delves into the extremes of human emotion and the catastrophic events that can reshape lives. The story will linger with readers, challenging them to consider the catastrophic potential of love and the harrowing depths of grief. Knight has crafted a novel that is as much a portrait of intimacy as it is a commentary on the human condition. It's a worthy read for those who appreciate literary depth and are not afraid to confront the darker aspects of the soul.

Thank you to the University of Iowa Press and NetGalley.

It was apparent to me, almost immediately, that this was a product from an UI author. Knight is not afraid to push the bounds of literature in this text. The exploration between grief, trauma, and the want to get better versus the actuality of coping are examined throughout Knight's work. While this work may feel inaccessible to some, the artistry that was put into it was deeply appreciated by myself.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book, courtesy of the author and publisher, via Netgalley, for review consideration.

I got this book from NetGalley and University of Iowa Press,( thank you) but sadly I didn't like it at all. It took me forever, like 45 days, to finish it, and honestly, I didn't really get what it was about. The story was just all over the place.

There were two scenes of animal cruelty in the book, and both animals died horribly, which made the already tough world even worse.

The main character, Marta, accidentally kills her husband and then goes all occult trying to fix it. It's a messy plot with her dragging everyone into her mess, from her mother-in-law to private detectives.

Then there's Peter, dealing with his own issues after his brother's suicide. He gets tangled up with Marta's case and becomes obsessed with her. It's all very strange and not in a good way.

Overall, The Diver is supposed to be this deep exploration of love and relationships, but it just left me confused and kind of disturbed. I wouldn't recommend it.

not really for me,but i would recommend it anyways. The pace was a bit slowly for a thriller,and something in the characters didn"t have me interested enough. Thank you,net galley !

This was a very difficult book to get into, the opening scene is very distant feeling, very detached writing style I couldn't get into. The writing is beautiful but I was not able to finish this novel it's very strange to me.

𝑨 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈.

Finally catching up and despite fighting dizzy spells, I will prevail in writing my reviews. It’s my end of year goal. Marta Winters is on a deepwater dive of a shipwreck in Lake Michigan with her husband Robert when an accident occurs that ends in his drowning. She comes up out of the water alone, leaving him behind in her confusion. Hours later she is found run aground on their boat, in desperate need of medical attention. Ruminating over the event, Marta wonders if the miscommunication on his part caused her wild panic, leaving her drowning in guilt and grief thereafter. Or is it possible that, like her late husband’s sister believes, something far more sinister happened and she is a cold blooded monster?

Peter is a paralegal working for the firm hired by Evelyn Forrester, the late Rober’s sister, to stop Marta from taking more money from the family trust. Robert’s body has never been found, and even her mother believes the story Marta told the police, but Evelyn knows for a fact that she murdered her brother. Admittedly, Peter finds it strange that Marta has been withdrawing large sums of money every ten days since Robert’s death. More, that she skipped her late husband’s funeral, claiming to be too aggrieved to attend. Is her depression simply a performance? Peter’s boss, John Zell, commands him to go with the Garys,the firms on call private detectives, to dig up as much as he can about Marta. But Peter can’t stomach their methods and instead, he risks his job by warning Marta his firm is after her.

Peter has his own wreckage to deal with, a brother lost to suicide and a mother who can’t let go. She puts her faith in what he believes are charlatans, and he feels helpless in stopping her from what he perceives as foolish hope. Why he is risking his job for a woman he doesn’t even know is tangled up in his own pit of grief and anger. Maybe Evelyn is just jealous and needs a receptacle to place her blame, maybe Marta really is a victim. As Peter and Marta come together, the story descends into a mad spiral of desperation and denial of reality. Is it supernatural, is it horror or are Peter and Marta going insane? This is one of the weirdest stories I have ever read. When I started reading the first chapters I thought it was going to be a did she didn’t she do it tale, instead it morphs into the occult and trauma that may or may not be causing delusions. Or is Peter to believe his own eyes? Is he centered, solid, reliable enough to believe? Warning alert for dog lovers, this fiction may be something you cannot handle. I have an australian cattle dog (looks similar to an Australian Shepard) and I was raging at the pages, that aside, it is an interesting but gruesome read.

How far do we go for love? How mad can grief make us? What is real and true?

Creepy but there are deeper emotional moments to scratch at. It is an unsettling tale of horror for me that still left me confused at the end. It’s undeniably original.

Published November 10, 2023

University of Iowa Press

I'm an absolute SUCKER for a horror narrative and I am so thankful to University of Iowa Press, Samsun Knight, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this behemoth before it came out on November 10, 2023.

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where litfic and thrillers are popular.

I'm sure this will be a fine book, but I definitely will not have time to get to the story before the archive date happens, in which case I will not be able to give my feedback. That would negatively impact my response ratio, which is not good, as I already missed out on giving feedback on so many books because this year has been so absolutely busy and stressful that I have not had the time nor mental capacity to get to many of these books before they are gone forever! It is as upsetting for both sides. I apologize, but I will do better for the future! I am appreciative that I have been giving access to so many great new releases.

I just could not get into it. I do not know how many time scuba Diver was used in the first Pages alone. Just wasn't grabbing my attention and fell flat.

The beginning of this was so intense that I had to set it down and not open it for quite some time. It was just terrifying and sad and weird and not at all something I could relate to at all.
The prose was beautiful.
I was just traumatized by the beautiful and disturbing opening. I am clearly way too sensitive because I could not handle it. I imagine this will be someone else's favorite book of all time.

From the opening page I was submerged into a terrifying underwater world that left me feeling unsettled and aching for the next page like a breath of air to sustain me. But then the tone of this story changed and left me confused about what I was reading.

The Diver explores several themes, and mixes various genres, but it never fully comes into its own story.

Although the prose is gorgeous and haunting at times, this book was too disjointed for me to enjoy.

I've always loved deep sea horrors and this definitely gave a little taste of that. I loved the writing style which gave a lot of suspense and the book cover is creepy and aesthetic.

The best novel involving divers after "The Passenger." Samsun Knight has crafted something that is challenging to read and occasionally harsh on the senses, but that is not to say the writing is any less artistic because of it. I place it in the same vein as "Affliction" by Russel Banks and "Lluvia Fina" by Luis Landero. Go for it. You'll be in for a workout, but it's worth it.

I really tried to get through this, but there were just too many unnecessary words and unnecessary sections. DNF.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so well developed and the pace was perfect. I had a sense that I was in this underwater realm reading it. It felt like I was in a trance being pulled into this story and had no idea where it was going. I read a NetGalley version of this book. And highly recommend it.

Even after finishing this novel, it feels distant, or disaffected in some way. While I could tell you the plot, it is hard to say what this story is about. It explores grief and trauma, and what happens when desperate and broken people break others, without realizing it. There was a reality to our main character that I appreciated. As we learn more about him through the story my feelings towards him changed, which I thought was compelling writing. He felt lived in, but also hollow at the same time, a reflection of a person, stitched together by denial and inertia. The story was intriguing, forcing the reader to wonder what was real and who to believe, or believe in, as everything seems to fall apart. As the storyline weaves in and out of occult practices and possibilities you are left investigating what you want to be real, and that is an interesting position to put a reader in. Even as the story unravels and we get to the end there are moral questions about the nature of relationships and reality that are not tied up in a pretty bow, which I appreciate. I did finish feeling like there was more story to be told, though. Not in the ending, I thought where and how it ended was fine, but it felt like there was something missing on our way there, some more emotional catharsis or revelation or some sort of narrative tension that wasn’t quite there, but close. That said, the writing is mostly strong. Every once in a while there are some stylistic run-on sentences, mirroring a stream-of-consciousness, almost performative tone, and while these didn’t always work for me they often did, pushing us deeper into the characters’ experience, running us headlong into the same walls the characters were up against. I appreciated the overall vibe and feel of the writing, detached and yet intentional, it just felt a little loose in places, like it could use a little more editing (granted I read a pre-publish ARC). Similarly, there are some interwoven pieces, bits of articles or other ephemera, that come between chapters, and none of those felt very compelling to me at all, and they didn’t feel like they added to my experience.

Those quibbles aside, I enjoyed the novel quite a bit. The writing style matched the overall tone of the story, and it was a different portrait of grief than one often displayed. The book is a little bit of a slow burn, it takes its time and gets a little lost, here and there, so if you are hoping for quick action and clean answers you may be disappointed. There are also some brief but graphic depictions of violence that may be triggering. The scenes feel important to our character’s journey and don’t feel exploitative or like they’re there just for shock value, but some folk might want to be aware of them before jumping in. I wouldn’t say I recommend this book to everyone, it does feel a little distant and slow, and while its an engaging sort of character study I’m not sure, yet, what fruit is yielded from the discomfort of the journey. But I did enjoy it. I think if you’re interested in this character study of grief and listlessness, and how pain, not appropriately addressed, just continues to simultaneous plant deeper roots and radiate outward, if that is the kind of contemplative journey you enjoy taking, there is certainly something here for you.

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher University of Iowa Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A unique novel with a real focus on character and atmosphere. It’s literary, emotionally evocative, heavy at times, and strong work.

DNF - I adored the prologue of this book. Alone, it promised a stunning story. Unfortunately, I did not find myself enjoying this book. I struggled to connect with the way the writing seemed to want to do everything without really touching on the essence of what could have been there. I found the story tedious to follow & it truly felt as though the promising prologue went out the window.

This book seemed to try to be a lot of things at once - true crime, family drama, and some existential ramblings mixed in made for a disjointed and difficult to follow storyline. Multiple scenes seemed to not entirely make sense in the flow of the writing (I found myself skimming back a few pages to make sure I didn't miss anything). I'm not sure how it made it through stages of editing.

The initial 10% of the book was super promising. The rabbit holes the "plot" went down after that were superfluous, sometimes brutal, and disconnected.

Thank you Net Galley & University of Iowa Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.