Suzie Grogan's Reviews > Swell

' With each long cut, a curl of freckled skin dropped onto the pages of a newspaper she had spread on the draining board and with every third or fourth curl, she dipped the knife into the sink, half filled with browning water...'

Crumbs, what a book. From the beginning the reader has the feeling they are being hoodwinked at every turn. The language is poetry, each description, of even the smallest action, is described with lyrical reality, if such a thing is possible. The quote above refers to the peeling of a potato, but as you read this often disturbing story you wonder if Rivenrod is describing something quite different.

I would give it five stars, but I know there is a revised second edition out now, and I read this last year. I am sure it has even more to offer to any reader who loves language, is happy to be challenged and who dares to spend a few hours in the mind of an extraordinary writer.