Aquarium (Vann)

Book Reviews
Aquarium is a genuine departure for Vann, an authentically new direction…. Aquarium has a vastly different feel from Vann's other books, a tone and texture quite removed from the relentlessness of his Alaskan (and rural Californian) tales. It leaves more air and space for the reader, it dwells less on physical mechanics, and it has a softer touch, as befits its gentle child protagonist.
Lydia Millet - New York Times Book Review


Elegantly written and fiercely imagined...physically, this book is so gorgeous it enhanced my reading experience. I found myself turning pages slowly, then running my hand across each smooth page. The photographs throughout the text, along with the turquoise capital letters that begin each chapter and mark the author's name and book title on every creamy, thick page, reminded me that no electronic reader could provide this tactile and visual experience...suspenseful …at times, this is a painful novel, but its beauty propels it toward redemption.
Elizabeth Taylor - Chicago Tribune


Much like the waters of the Seattle tourist attraction at its heart, David Vann’s new novel, Aquarium, virtually bends light, plunging the reader into the relentless darkness of tormented souls in a splintered family.... His language hits the reader like shrapnel in a metalworker’s studio—fragmented and sharp-fitting for novels so packed with shattering turns.
Tyrone Beason - Seattle Times


Gripping, painful, but ultimately hopeful, Aquarium is a coming-of-age story that explores the limits of love and forgiveness. Vann submerges you so deeply in Caitlin’s world, you’ll be gasping for breath when you finally surface.
Isabella Biedenharn - Entertainment Weekly


If deprivation was to Larkin what daffodils were to Wordsworth, then David Vann’s daffodils are fish...Told bravely but persuasively.... The author has metamorphosed himself into a 12-year-old girl with startlingly brilliant results. Aquarium is as rich as good poetry and as addictive as a first-class detective novel.
Wynn Wheldon - Spectator


A triumph.
Daily Mail (UK)


A stirring tale that isn’t as simple as it first appears.
Esquire (UK)


This novel is arguably Vann’s brightest.... Caitlin’s tale with its many surface ripples proves immersive, the narrative propelling us along like a forceful current....Once again, and in contrast to many of his peers, Vann’s trademark limpid prose enables us to observe far more of what lies beneath.
Weekend Australian


Vann’s elegantly written, emotionally intense novel juxtaposes the contained world of undersea creatures with the life of a family forced beyond its self-protective isolation.... The conflict between mother and daughter...feels improbably extreme at times, it’s more than made up for by Caitlin’s emotional depth and nimble imagination.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) A 12-year-old's fragile world, mesmerizing innocence, and emerging adolescence are the heart of this alluring novel from Vann.... Caitlin juggles protective love for her mother with her irresistible need to seek out and embrace her roots.... [A] lovely, wrenching novel —Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Library Journal


By pulling no punches in this explicit exploration of family, forgiveness, duty, acceptance, parent-child relationships, and what constitutes abuse, Vann has outdone himself.
Booklist


(Starred review.) [A] kind of modern fairy tale, one laced with treachery and trials and the greatest demon of all to battle, the past.... Like all good heroines who make their ways out of the woods, Caitlin is clever and brave.... Vann's novels are striking, uncompromising portraits of American life; here is another exceptional example.
Kirkus Reviews