The novel is set in 1930s America, a time of villains, politics, violence and darkness, if Drowning City is anything to go by. It is set over the course of one night, as Fontana, a lucrative bootlegger, embarks on a mission of mystery to find out who is trying to ruin his business.
Atkins' writing style is not all bad - some of his phrasing is genuinely engaging. Sentences such as ''I tried the door. The handle twisted and clicked. It was an unhealthy sound, like a little bone snapping,'' or ''Wayright and I left this mist of our conversation lingering in the garden,'' are lovely to read.
Unfortunately, most parts of the novel do not compare with these moments.
My biggest problem is the protagonist Fontana, who is advertised again and again as being ''the silent type'', without actually proving it in any way. In fact, he never truly shies away from any conversation. Though he frequently will enact an ''I don't want to talk about it'' routine, he always relinquishes this quickly.
Fontana dislikes weapons and violence, yet seems to end up with a gun more often than not.
The plot itself did not intrigue me much and I honestly did not even know the storyline had started until I was halfway through. I kept waiting for something big to happen that never eventuated, and the twist at the end did not come as a shock.
I like the idea of this novel - a film-noir antihero in a dark and rich period of American history, taking down a corrupt system of illegal alcohol distribution that has up until then been his life, while realising along the way he may not be the man everyone believes him to be, and left facing questions of who it is he could turn into.
With a little more consistency I think Drowning City could have been really great, but the execution leaves much to be desired.
- Fiona Glasgow is a Master of Information Studies student in Dunedin.
