The Marsh King's Daughter

The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne is set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Helene Pelletier had an unconventional childhood growing up in an isolated area where her only human contact was her mother and father. That all changed when she was twelve years old. Helene discovered that her mother had been kidnapped by Jacob, her father, when she was only fourteen years old. Thanks to a stranger who got lost, Helen and her mom were able to escape. Helene's father, Jacob Holbrook was captured and has been serving time in the local maximum-security prison. Helene counts herself very lucky that she now has a wonderful husband and two little girls. But then Helene hears that Jacob has escaped while being transported. She is afraid for her little girls. Stephen, her husband, is unaware of Helene's past, but is quickly brought up to speed when the police arrive on their doorstep. Helene knows that the police will never be able to find her father. He can easily disappear into the marshland and never be found. Jacob taught Helene all the necessary skills to survive and how to track. If anyone can locate Jacob, it will be Helene. She knows this is the only way to ensure her families safety. On the trail of her father, Helene reminisces about early years and what happened when she returned to civilization with her mother. Helene knows she is on her father's trail when she finds objects he left for her. But is Helene hunting Jacob or is Jacob drawing her in?

The Marsh King's Daughter has an interesting premise, but the final product did not live up to the summary on the book. I read The Marsh King's Daughter, but I did not get into the story. It never captured my attention. I particularly disliked Helene. Her admiration for her father was disconcerting, and Helene's dislike of her mother was upsetting (the poor woman had been kidnapped, raped, belittled, tortured). I could not understand Helene living on her paternal grandparent's property (she inherited it). Personally, I would have sold the land to the highest bidder and moved to a different state (far, far away). Jacob raised Helene to be like him and think like him (she hunts, fishes, tracks). It makes me really question if this woman should be allowed around children (and glad that she is a fictional character). I give The Marsh King's Daughter 2 out of 5 stars. I found the pace of the story to be glacial and key details are repeated throughout the whole novel (like how Helene is the only person who can find Jacob). There is no suspense and little action (yawn). The story is told more in a "matter of fact" fashion. The Marsh King's Daughter plays out exactly as I thought it would (predictable). The "twist" was no surprise to me. I could see it coming based on Helene's personality. For those of people who love animal (like me), there is bear hunting in the story. My favorite character (I actually liked one) was Iris, Helene's eldest daughter (a sensitive child). The youngest, Mari sounded like a holy terror. The one good quality of The Marsh King's Daughter was its ability to help me drift off to sleep (I suffer from insomnia).

"Before I dropped off the supermarket tabloid grid, people used to ask me what was the most incredible/amazing/unexpected thing I discovered after I joined civilization. As if their world was so much better than mine. Or that it was indeed civilized. I could easily make a case against the legitimate use of that word to describe the world I discovered at the age of twelve: war, pollution, greed, crime, starving children, racial hatred, ethnic violence - and that's just for starters"

The Marsh King's Daughter is the fourth novel by American author, blogger and reviewer, Karen Dionne. On her way home to her school-age daughter, with her three-year-old in the car, Helena Pelletier catches the end of a news report that chills her to the bone. Jacob Holbrook has escaped from jail, killing two guards in the process. Helena is the daughter of a kidnapped girl and her captor, known as The Marsh King. Jacob Holbrook is The Marsh King.

"… I was a child. I loved my father. The Jacob Holbrook I knew was smart, funny, patient and kind. He took care of me, fed me and clothed me. Taught me everything I needed to know not only to survive in the marsh, but to thrive". Because she spent the first twelve years of her life with this man, in the marshes of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, exposed to his Ojibwa legends, his theories, his discipline, Helena knows he can easily evade the manhunt now taking place. She knows where he's headed and that she will have to be the one to find him. Dionne alternates the narrative between three main time periods: the present day, Helena's twelve years in the cabin in the marsh, and the period after Helena and her mother left the marsh. The sections of cabin narrative are preceded by quotes from a translation of Hans Christian Andersen's folk tale of the same title, and parallels between the stories are immediately apparent.

This is a thoroughly gripping tale, a true page-turner. Dionne expertly builds up the tension, then halfway through, hits the reader with a real gut punch, before racing to a heart-stopping climax. At the same time, she explores some interesting topics: the effect of being born and raised in captivity; the power of psychological coercion; and society's resistance to the unconventional, to mention a few. As a bonus, Dionne's descriptive prose is often exquisite.

Dionne's characters are complex and well rendered. Her extensive research into the flora and fauna of the marshes, the seasonal changes that occur there, Indian customs and folklore, and primitive lifestyles are all abundantly evident in every chapter, but this wealth of information is presented so subtly the reader is barely aware of the knowledge assimilated. Dionne gives the reader a thriller that is thought-provoking and exciting in equal measure. This is a brilliant read.