Floating
Grade : D-

Floating was the winner of the MTV fiction contest. From this we can only assume that the other 400 entries out there were worse. The book is the debut of MTV books. MTV, btw, is owned by media conglomerate Viacom, which, in turn, owns Simon & Schuster, which owns Pocket books. This, apparently, is an example of "synergy," and much is being made of Robin Troy's pedigree as a recent Harvard graduate. If this is how synergy works, I don't like it. Essentially, Floating is The Bridges of Madison County stripped of its charming characters and quaint setting. We're left with a book about infidelity between extremely unlikeable characters.

Ruby lives in Whitticker, Arizona, population 641. Her husband Carl got drunk and held up a convenience store. Now he's in jail. Carl calls his brother, Sean, to come take care of his beloved horse, Evelyn. Ruby is immediately attracted to Sean. Will she give in to her desires?

Yes! As soon as possible! There is no agonizing wait, since Ruby starts hitting on Sean as soon as she sees him, before she even knows who he is. They quickly end up sneaking into the motel where Ruby works for clandestine meetings, even though they also sleep together at home in front of Ruby's eight-year-old son. Keep in mind, Carl is only in jail for about six weeks. Will Ruby leave Carl for his brother? We never know. Personally, I hoped so, because I thought Ruby and Sean deserved each other.

That's pretty much it. Every so often while I was reading Floating I would find myself staring into space. I'd realize that I was asking myself the question again, which was "Which of these characters do I hate the most?" Usually the answer was Ruby, the protagonist. To refer to her as a "heroine" would imply that she had heroic qualities; the most heroic thing she does is cheer for her son at his swim meet. When I read the synopsis on the back of the book, I thought I might be more sympathetic to her. After all, her husband is in jail. Once I got acquainted with her stuck-up personality and propensity for adultery (the brother wasn't even the first!), I decided that if I were married to Ruby, I would also get drunk and hold up a convenience store. Although Carl was a loser who sat around swilling beer and watching tv all day, he still deserved better than Ruby. Ruby is the worst, but the other characters aren't much better. Sean and Brian, Ruby's son, are also irritating. Sean takes over Carl's ranching job and spends some time there, but we don't here much about it. Instead we here about his nightly trip to the town's only bar, and how all the women fawn over him. Supposedly he loves Ruby, but the author never shows why. Actually, he never says the words either; the only indication of his deep feelings is when he trashes the stables the night before his brother comes home. I wanted to like Ruby's son Brian, but even he managed to get on my nerves. Several people tell him how old he is for his age, but it goes beyond that; he is supposed to be eight but his thoughts usually sound like those of an adult. It just didn't ring true. Carl is probably the best character, and I did feel pretty sorry for him. But then why did he fall for Ruby in the first place? And why couldn't he just leave her without robbing the convenience store?

The actual writing is not that bad, and there are some really good descriptive passages. My favorite was about an elephant painted on the prison wall. But in order for a book to be engaging, you really have to have some interest in the characters, or at least care what happens to them. This is one of those books without an ending; we are left wondering whether Sean will stay, or if Ruby will leave with him, or if Sean will just leave alone. Except I wasn't wondering really, because I didn't care by that point. There was no one in this book I wanted to spend more than three minutes with except maybe the horse, Evelyn. This book is not a romance, so my expectations for it were different. But any work of fiction is only as good as its characters. Don't waste your time reading about any of these people.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : D-
Book Type: Fiction

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date : September 16, 1998

Publication Date: 1998

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Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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