Discussion for High Tide by Inga Abele

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Start discussion here for High Tide by Inga Ābele.

[katie]

My copy just arrived from Powell's Books yesterday, but I'm finishing another book at the moment. Can't wait to get started, this one sounds fascinating!

[Missy J]

I'm also looking forward to this! Just need to finish two books before I can dedicate all my focus on "High Tide." Wonder how a "reverse" narration works.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

I just started it last night.

[Sarah]

I read this straight through today. It's extremely well done and I loved it. I have a question but I'm going to wait until more people have read it.

[Calzean]

I found it to be a very bleak book. The writing gives an atmosphere of hopelessness.
Some people have commented on the structure but I thought this worked well as Ieva, her husband and lover stories unfold.

[Missy J]

I have read 25% of the book and I'm still trying to make sense what's going on. The writing is very bleak indeed! I started reading this book a month ago, but gave up and read A Prayer For Owen Meany instead. Now I'm back to this and it strikes me as very depressing.

[Sarah]

I had to let go of trying to understand what was going on and assume the answers would come. I'm not good at this but it was good for this book.

I didn't think of it as bleak. It was more like ordinary people under a great deal of stress to me. It's not uplifting but I never noticed it was bleak. I can see it now that it was mentioned.

[Missy J]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I had to let go of trying to understand what was going on and assume the answers would come. I'm not good at this but it was good for this book.

I didn't think of it as bleak. It was more like ord..."

Eventually I also let go and just went with the story. It was a very sad story. I think the author employed the reverse narration technique to highlight how a person's trouble is sort of a culmination of everything they go through. Some troubles can be solved, but in Ieva's case they turned out to be things that she had to live with for the rest of her life.

I read this on the kindle and I think that I would've had a more enjoyable reading experience if I had the actual book, so that I could flip back and forth if I was confused. Also, some reviewers noted that one could start this book from the end and work one's way back to page 1! I thought that was a good idea! Definitely worth a re-read.

[Laurie]

I am 35% into this right now and it's a struggle. It doesn't make much sense and I don't like the characters. But I will keep reading and see what my reaction is at the end.

[Sarah]

There was one thing that I thought was really brilliant about the narration style but I don't want to affect anyone's read of it so I'm waiting.

I also really want to know who that first person narrator was.

[Missy J]

You can use "spoilers" to ask your question, so that not everyone will have to see it.

[Laurie]

It took me forever to read this book partly because I didn't really like the characters and partly because I've been watching the Olympics instead of reading. But in the end, I didn't care much for this novel. The backwards timeline did not work for me because I was confused about what was going on for the first half of the book. I think if I had read it back to front, I would have enjoyed it more.

I never related to Ieva as a character or really to any of the other characters either. I felt bad for Andrejs but that's about as much emotion as I felt for anyone. I'm not entirely sure why I felt so distance from each character, but it definitely took away from my enjoyment of this novel. I feel like I need to go back and read the first half of the novel since I now know Ieva's background and see if things make sense.

For the review challenge:
Read this book from August 1-12
2 stars

[Sarah]

I'm going to add a spoiler tag because there was something I thought was genius about the way this was written but I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone.

(view spoiler)[I found the reverse chronological thing confusing and somewhat irritating at first but as it progressed I actually became totally fascinated. I loved the fact that because I started at the end of her life I thought I knew everything that was going on. Ieva was a sweet old lady who was being abused by her daughter, Andrejs had murdered Aksels, Andrejs was a jealous, cruel bastard, etc. But then as it progressed we found out that these things were not accurate. Basically my assumptions made the book unfold in ways that completely surprised me. I don't think this would have worked as well if it had been told in chronological order. I honestly didn't like the style when I started the book but after a few surprises I started to really admire it. (hide spoiler)]

[Laurie]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm going to add a spoiler tag because there was something I thought was genius about the way this was written but I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone.

[spoilers removed]"

I agree that the reverse chronology works to create suspense, if you will. What I mean is that once I knew that (view spoiler)[Aksels was dying from cancer, I realized that the whole murder scenario that I assumed happened due to jealousy might not be accurate. (hide spoiler)]. I almost didn't make it that far in the book though because of my confusion about what was going on, I seriously considered quitting. And the sole reason for my confusion was the backwards timeline.

[Sarah]

I totally agree about the confusion. I had to force myself to just go with it, assuming that it would clear up later. This is not something I'm usually good at. I want things to be clear and direct and linear. This was not that :) In the end, though, i decided I'd like to reread it at some point. I think knowing what happens would help me understand it better.

[katie]

I haven't finished yet, I am only just over half way, but so far I am loving the way the story is structured. I like the feeling of thinking I've finally figured out the situation and then she surprises me again with another twist! And I enjoy her writing style as well, it's kind of spare, lacking in a lot of flowery extra words. And I feel like I'm getting a good sense of what Latvia and that part of the world is like. I'll have to see what I think when I get to the end, I'll let you all know!

[Sarah]

Can anyone tell me who the first person narrator was? I think it was towards the middle of the book and he/she told Aksels that he/she wouldn't be there right now if she (I'm assuming Ieva) wasn't remembering him at that moment. I didn't understand that scene.

[katie]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm going to add a spoiler tag because there was something I thought was genius about the way this was written but I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone.

[spoilers removed]"

I agree with you, Sarah Anne, I liked the reverse chronology because of the surprises. I loved that feeling. It was exciting when I got to the end and finally found out where it all started.

I see why many people felt the story was 'bleak' .. but I feel like the meaning of telling time in reverse could mean many different things. It could mean: Don't judge someone when you first meet them, everyone is fighting a hard battle you know nothing about. Ieva seems unlikeable and mean when we first meet her, but then we find out about all of these things she has been through, even since she was a teenager.

Or it could mean: we cannot escape our past. We are all a product of the things that have happened, and by telling the story backwards, there is no way for it to turn out differently in the end. The characters are doomed from the beginning.

Which do you think the author meant? Or is there another way to see it?