WETLANDS (Charlotte Roche) - March 12/15

Ummm I'm not really sure what to make of this one. The majority of the "story" occurs at a hospital where the central character is recovering from an operation, with the narrative focused primarily on her memories and flashbacks and opinions. Most of these opinions are cringe-inducing. (I had to scan over certain especially graphic sections.) But more than anything, Roche is unable to transform her protagonist into a wholeheartedly compelling figure. There's some interesting stuff involving her relationship with her parents (and her mother's attempt to murder herself and her brother years earlier), but mostly Roche is going for a shock-value type of vibe here. ** out of ****