Mary M. (emeraldfire) -
For Jean Janes, a photographer with the local newspaper, a century-old crime has held her spellbound for the longest time. In 1895, a crime of passion caused the deaths of two women and the temporary disappearance of another. Jean plans to write an article for her newspaper about the murder case, complete with photographs of the island where the bodies of the women were eventually found, and where the survivor was discovered cowering in a cave along the shore.
Posing the question to her readers: "If you take a woman and push her to edge, how will she behave?", Jean sets out to write her article. In 1995, she arrives on Smuttynose Island, off the coast of Maine and immerses herself in the details of the case. Deciding that she will make a vacation of the time she spends researching the case; Jean, her husband Thomas and their five-year-old daughter Billie plan to go sailing with Thomas' younger brother Rich and Rich's new girlfriend Adaline.
So Jean immerses herself in Maine of the late nineteenth-century and in the grisly details of the most shocking crime of the century. Although for some strange reason, she just can't shake the feeling of history repeating itself. Jean herself is entering some truly precarious emotional territory: suspicion and jealousy. The niggling suspicion that her husband Thomas is having an affair quickly flares into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately propels Jean to the verge of actions she had not known herself capable of - actions with horrific consequences.
In this riveting and deeply moving story of irresistible emotions and irrevocable actions, Anita Shreve takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the farthest extremes of emotion. I must say that I have always enjoyed Anita Shreve's writing, and The Weight of Water is no exception. Ms. Shreve writes detail driven and emotional storylines, and I found myself completely immersed in this story immediately. I loved this book and give it an A+!
Posing the question to her readers: "If you take a woman and push her to edge, how will she behave?", Jean sets out to write her article. In 1995, she arrives on Smuttynose Island, off the coast of Maine and immerses herself in the details of the case. Deciding that she will make a vacation of the time she spends researching the case; Jean, her husband Thomas and their five-year-old daughter Billie plan to go sailing with Thomas' younger brother Rich and Rich's new girlfriend Adaline.
So Jean immerses herself in Maine of the late nineteenth-century and in the grisly details of the most shocking crime of the century. Although for some strange reason, she just can't shake the feeling of history repeating itself. Jean herself is entering some truly precarious emotional territory: suspicion and jealousy. The niggling suspicion that her husband Thomas is having an affair quickly flares into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately propels Jean to the verge of actions she had not known herself capable of - actions with horrific consequences.
In this riveting and deeply moving story of irresistible emotions and irrevocable actions, Anita Shreve takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the farthest extremes of emotion. I must say that I have always enjoyed Anita Shreve's writing, and The Weight of Water is no exception. Ms. Shreve writes detail driven and emotional storylines, and I found myself completely immersed in this story immediately. I loved this book and give it an A+!
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