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The Polite Act of Drowning  By  cover art

The Polite Act of Drowning

By: Charleen Hurtubise
Narrated by: Ina Marie Smith
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Publisher's summary

The luminous debut novel from one of Ireland's finest storytellers

Michigan, 1985.

The drowning of a teenage girl causes ripples in the small town of Kettle Lake, though for most the waters settle quickly. For sixteen year old Joanne Kennedy, however, the tragedy dredges up untold secrets and causes her mother to drift farther from reality and her family.

When troubled newcomer Lucinda arrives in town, she offers Joanne a chance of real friendship, and together the teenagers push against the boundaries of family, self-image, and their sexuality during the tension of a long, stifling summer. But the undercurrents of past harms continuously threaten to drag Joanne and those around her under...

©2023 Charleen Hurtubise (P)2023 Bonnier Books UK
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

Critic reviews

'The Polite Act of Drowning is a beautiful and captivating novel, lyrical and sensuous, a precise and faithful evocation of the tumult and trauma of family life, and of emergence into adulthood, and the confrontation of truths about ourselves and the people we love' - Donal Ryan

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