Marked it as read, but this will remain one of the few books I decided actually not to finish. I expect some kind of introspective fantasy, but got rambling of delusional woman on literal chase of ghost on brick of her own mental breakdown. I tried hard, really hard to read it through and get myself into mind and way of thinking of the main character, but I found it too boring and too tiresome. For me, the main driver of the main character has been fully exploited by the middle of the book, but she kept coming to it and there was nothing to intrigue me to continue reading. Sorry, not my cup of tea. There was so much I loved about this book. To start with, I ADORE unreliable narrators, and Imp is definitely one of these! Due to her schizophrenia, we're never quite sure that what Imp says happened is truly what happened. And really, with Imp's carefulness to separate "truth" from "actuality", she makes it apparent that even SHE isn't sure what's real or not, but as long as it's real to her, has meaning to her, then it should be good, right? It is for me! But if you're one of those people who like definite answers and conclusions to your novel, this one isn't for you! We can GUESS at what really happened, but we'll never truly know.And I love how she referred to her obsessions as "hauntings" -- If you can't get a story out of your mind, it may as well be a ghost following you around, couldn't it? And how would Imp tell the difference anyway? I also loved the little bits of other stories and folklore worked into this book - out outright retellings but references to characters and plot-lines that just worked well.And finally, I think the relationship between Imp and Abalyn was absolutely wonderful and believable. Abalyn herself is one of the best transgender characters I've ever read (Male to female, post-op).It may not be your typical horror novel, but it deserves every one of it's awards and nominations - even the Bram Stoker one.
What do You think about A Menina Submersa (2014)?
Very difficult book to get through. It never grabbed my attention and I found it painfully slow.
—benjaminfdavis57
Fascinating story, well told. Deep, deep art/philosophy connections. Great summer read.
—JenJen
simply fabulous technique. really stayed with me
—Hayley
