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essjay1's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I could not engage enough to really care about any of the characters - possibly my fault, rather than that of the author. The predatory behaviour towards the lead character was so predictable it just made me want to give up. And the ending was lame - the easy way out I felt. But on the other hand, the writing is so good that I couldn't put it down, so perhaps I am as unreliable as opium-addled Katerina.
biblioph1le's review
4.0
It is the eve of 1939. Europe is about to explode into another big war and a mother and daughter are on board the Aquitania returning from South America against the advice of the husband/father. The mother is slightly deranged and the daughter is a precocious 17 year old who has probably seen too much for her tender age. We see a snapshot of their life over a 24 hour(ish) period with many references to what has gone before. No chick-lit novel, this one! A little challenging but somewhat intriguing. Survived to the end at 280 pages.
kez91's review
5.0
4.5* This book is very dark, and sort of hauntingly beautiful. Not a whole lot happens in terms of plot, and the book essentially just concerns Katarina over the course of a day and night aboard the Atlantic, but I was so absorbed in her character, her unreliable narration, and the descriptive language that I was completely engrossed. There was a sense of uneasiness throughout the book that worked really well and I'll definitely be reading more from this author.
emilypaull's review
4.0
Some absolutely exquisite writing, if a little bit surreal. More of a character driven book than a plot driven one. The protagonist, Katerina, is a bit of an enigma though, and I found some of her actions perplexing. Truthfully, while I enjoyed reading it, I couldn't actually say what went on for sure. It all felt a little like an hallucination.
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