Something Rising

Haven Kimmel is a good writer and she creates interesting characters. Nonetheless, for some reason I never got caught up in Something Rising (Light and Swift). I think part of the reason is that most of the characters are not all that likable… they’re just a little strange. The central character, Cass, grows up surrounded by family members who aren’t all there, either literally (her father is only an occasional presence in her life) or emotionally (her mother and sister are both what I might call borderline personalities). So it isn’t that surprising that there are some emotional holes in Cass’s make-up. But does it make her angry, sad, or lonely? I'm not quite sure. She develops a strong personality herself in order to survive, but there is still a curious lack of emotionality. Understandable under the circumstances, I guess, but just not all that compelling.

Despite my lukewarm reaction to this book, I think Kimmel has a lot of talent and I’m actually looking forward to reading another of Kimmel’s books, either her well-received memoir, A Girl Named Zippy, or the novel The Solace of Leaving Early.