The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

"Once there was a father who thought he could protect us."

King has sequestered his wife and 3 daughters in a large house by the ocean. Their aim is to be kept separate and safe from the rest of any place off their property where men and civization are toxic. The parents have strange ideas about raising Grace, Lia and Sky and they are subjected to all sorts of strange therapies and treatments -- including "the water cure." The notions and fallacies forced upon the girls by their parents shape them into creatures devoid of most female tendencies and bereft of true knowledge about themselves and the world at large. It is the worst kind of dystopia and their formative years spent in this place have warped them. When King goes off to obtain provisions and never returns, the girls and Mother are ill-equipped to continue on. Then, one day, 2 men and a little boy appear on the shore. Nothing has prepared them for this invasion. NO SPOILERS.

This has to be, without a doubt, one of the weirdest books I've ever read. I don't even know if I liked it but only that I was so glad when I finally finished. It was confusing, rambling, and hard to follow as the narrators changed and sometimes I wasn't sure whose voice I was hearing. The girls had some very peculiar thoughts, obviously warped by their upbringing and all so extremely odd. I didn't know whether to pity them or root for them not sure at all where this was all going. The underlying theme seemed to be that women should be very wary of all men who only meant them harm. Also that love was a dangerous feeling and the sisters had no way of understanding themselves without a barometer with which to measure themselves. I don't think this was the book for me but I've no doubt that others will find something profound within the pages that just escaped me. I can't enjoy working this hard to enjoy a book and this was a difficult read because of the subject and the strangeness of the lives the girls led. I don't know who I could recommend this book to. The characters were all messed up and no wonder with what they had endured by their parents in the name of protection and under the guise of love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and not part of any series.