The Drowning People

Richard Mason

Okay, so I finished The Drowning People by Richard Mason a couple of nights ago. It's not a bad book. However, it's not a good book either. It meanders around way too much, it repeats itself constantly, and it never ends up delivering much of a punch. That Mason wrote this in college -- his age seems to be somewhat disputed, I've heard 18 years old and 21 years old -- is quite an accomlishment. I think as he develops as a writer and gets to the point where he doesn't fall in love with his prose so much that he can't edit out the superfluous, he has the potential to be very good. His sense of the gothic and of the power of suspense, will certainly serve him well. I'll happily give him another chance in the future, but as far as The Drowning People goes, I just can't recommend it.