Thank you Tin House / Zando, #partner for the advanced e-copy and finished copy of Immersions in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Tin House
Published: May 5, 2026
Summary:
Taut and spellbinding, Immersions follows the aftermath of a celebrated dancer’s abrupt decision to quit her company and join an enclosed convent in France, and her younger sister’s obsessive conviction that her sister’s ex-husband is responsible.
Frances’s older sister Charley was a star of the modern dance world. But just as she was ascending, she fell in love with Johnny, an enigmatic trust fund artist, and married him. A few years into their turbulent marriage, Charley mysteriously leaves her dance company and joins an enclosed convent in Provence. Much to the shock of her family, she changes her name to Sister Anne and cuts off contact with the outside world.
Frances, a dancer herself, grew up in the shadow of her brilliant sister and is suddenly unmoored without her. From their first uneasy meeting, Frances has distrusted Johnny. Now, she is certain he had something to do with her sister’s abrupt abandonment of her art and family. When Frances discovers that Johnny has returned to New York, she reaches out to him, looking for answers and seeking confrontation. The two plunge into an ambiguous intimacy—diving ever deeper, as each tries to unlock the other’s secrets. A slender and twisted tale of sexual coming-of-age and of the deep bonds of lust and loyalty, Immersions asks how we are made—and unmade—by desire.
My thoughts:
As soon as I heard about this book, I had to read it…and boy was I glad I did. It’s not an easy read by any means, but one that is deeply unsettling yet also thought-provoking. I love books that take the uncomfortableness of decisions and really lean into them. This one does a deep dive into obsessive love and sisterly rivalry – something I always seem to gravitate towards, having two sisters of my own.
I loved this character-driven novel. It’s dark and haunting, and the beautiful prose pulled me in right from the beginning. While at times it feels like nothing is happening, at the same time, there is so much going on…you just have to be paying attention. It’s definitely a book that is worthy of a reread or two because I am sure I missed something this first time through.
Frances has always lived in her older sister’s talented shadow. She isn’t as tall or as lithe as Charlie is and so when Charlie leaves dancing after marrying Johnny and decides to join a convent, Frances becomes obsessed with knowing the reason why. She is certain Johnny knows more than he is letting on and becomes obsessed with getting answers from him but winds out finding more than she was looking for.
There is a sense of foreboding underlying this story and that, along with the uncomfortableness that hangs over the story makes it feel heavy. It’s definitely the type of read that gets under your skin and I felt as if I was in a trance reading this – I was obsessed myself! I could not think of anything else but this book. It’s not often I have hangovers from books, but I definitely did with this one.
For those who like stories that ask how far we would go for those we love and stories that are dark, uncomfortable and filled with slightly unhinged characters, this is for you!
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