Thaw – Fiona Robyn

You may remember Thaw from the blog splash at the beginning of the month. In order to promote the book an impressive number of bloggers posting the first chapter of Thaw on their blogs. Fiona Robyn is now posting the entire book, a chapter at a time, on the Thaw blog.  So head over there and read the book for FREE!

Thaw is the diary of Ruth, a 32-year-old woman who is considering suicide. The diary spans the three month period before her 33rd birthday as she decides whether or not to take her own life.

The book is beautifully written and all the characters felt realistic. I was pulled into Ruth’s depressing world and in a desperate bid to discover what happened to her I read the whole book in a single sitting. It was a quick, easy read, but I’m can’t say that it was a pleasurable experience. The life of a depressive isn’t exactly fun:

I find a drawing pin or a safety pin and hold the spike close to my skin – teasing, pulling it across the surface. Pushing it in, just underneath, just inside. Never deep enough to bleed.

The book accurately reflects the struggle of daily life and the complexity of relationships, but I wasn’t moved by the book. Some might think this is plus point, but I like to become emotionally attached to characters, feeling their pain. I felt quite detached from Ruth, passively observing her problems instead living through them myself.

Overall it was good, but not the emotional roller-coaster I expected.

Are you reading Thaw each day?