The Shape of Water

Magda's life is slowly bursting into flames, as it changes for the worst. The ones most important to her are departing from her life. First it's her mother who passes away. Then it's her best friend, Julia, who moves away, and then her father is slowly becoming disconnected as he tries to move on. For Magda it is just too soon, but her father has quickly found someone else to fill her mother's shoes. The only thing Magda finds solace in is by setting fires in the woods right next to her home. This action is the introduction for the reader to decide whether Magda has become unstable. We must further question her sanity as the appearances of two fish, who converse in Magda's head, are made throughout the story. Can Magda overcome all of these tragedies, find her identity, and discover the secrets she's been looking for? Or will it all just push her over the edge? Right off the bat, THE SHAPE OF WATER looks like your typical novel where the main character is hit with numerous tragedies and must face her emotions and the future. However, Anne Spollen weaves an intricate and poetic novel that flows right from the very first word to the very last. Magda is a character full of many levels, and as the story progresses the reader is able to understand her actions and her thoughts. What seems crazy at first becomes enticingly beautiful in the end. THE SHAPE OF WATER is a novel full of thought and sorrow that will take the reader on a journey that will leave a lasting impression. Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

The Shape of Water was just a little difficult to get into--it opens with a huge chunk of descriptive babble that seems to make absolutely no sense. It took a while to understand what the book was about, and even now, it's a little hard to explain. The Shape of Water lacks a solid plot, everything about it, the wording and the structure, is fluid and always moving and changing. I really enjoyed the dialogue; it was highly realistic. I think the main character's need to set fires could and should have been explored in more depth, as it was pretty much the closest thing to a plot that the book had. It took a while to understand the Fishes, and like everything else in this book, I still don't think it's possible to fully understand, but everything gradually began coming together and making more sense. I found parts of the book intriguing (fortune teller), parts very predictable (sibling), but parts unexpected (Andrew). I'd like to talk about that last one a little more. I really liked that something Andrew was going through, something that would ordinarily separate people, brought them together in such a unique way. It's a strange book, not like anything else I've read, but I'm glad I did. Rating: 4/5 "We're in the process of unknowing one another."

Some of the most amazing imagery I've ever run across in anything; it had me hooked from the first paragraph. Ms. Spollen takes concepts I was only vaguely aware of before(different qualities of silence, the subtleties of water and atmosphere) and has painted them so vividly that, after reading the book, I found myself looking at things in entirely new ways. It felt like growing up speaking a language with words for only "light" and "dark", and then having someone introduce the colors to me. The actual plot is a fairly simple one, and it feels almost incidental; the real story is the heroine (Magda, Maggie, Lena, Magdalena; depends on who's talking to her) learning how to deal with her far-from-normal (??) mind, and how to live in a normal world in spite of herself.

This book is exceptional. The prose is out of this world and the way Spollen handles her main character, Magda, is really effective. Not only do we get to follow Magda on her journey through the grief of losing her mother, and her father's new love interest, and his subsequent move away from their family home and their old family life, but we also follow, through the fish in her head, what her parents had been through before her mother's death. The layers here are deep. It's just really too amazing to summarize. I read this book slowly because the writing was so fabulous, but during the day, I would think about it deeply, and really look forward to coming back. I'd give it ten starts if I could.

This is a book I read when I really didn't feel like reading. This girl, Magda, grew up on a beach and after her mother dies, she goes a little bit crazy. She starts setting fires in the woods around her house and these two fish move into her head (like they talk and have birthday parties and stuff). I didn't expect this book to be so good because I got it because I liked the title and the cover. I thought it would be ok, but when I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I didn't want to read it fast because I liked the way the story was written, and I really liked the girl in the story. She seems crazy,but it's like when you are reading it, you sort of get her craziness. I definitely recommend this for summer reading and for anyone who wants a really good story.