Match Book
The Boatman's Daughter
Andy Davidson
2020 · 403 pages · Literary fiction
How it reads
The Boatman's Daughter is literary fiction (southern gothic literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a rural setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are family, survival and nature. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 403 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something dark
- you want something to chew on
- you like finding books before everyone else
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy, heartwarming or funny
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- literary fiction
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- debut
- Setting: place
- rural
- Setting: time
- contemporary
- Mood / feeling
- dark
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- hidden gem
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Ending style
- bittersweet
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Of Cattle and MenAna Paula MaiaShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, set in rural
- We Ate the DarkMallory PearsonShares: dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace, set in rural
Perv - A Love StoryJerry StahlShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace- My Absolute DarlingGabriel TallentShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, contemporary setting
The WhispersAshley AudrainShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, contemporary setting- Bastard Out of CarolinaDorothy AllisonShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, bittersweet ending
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.