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The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
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Reviews of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
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A newspaper photographer, Jean, researches the lurid and sensational ax
murder of two women in 1873 as an editorial tie-in with a brutal modern
double murder. (Can you guess which one?) She discovers a cache of
papers that appear to give an account of the murders by an eyewitness.
The plot weaves between the narrative of the eyewitness and Jean's
private struggle with jealousies and suspicions as her marriage teeters.
A
rich, textured novel. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this
title
The New York Times Book Review, Susan Kenney
If ever a work of fiction earned the description "a riddle wrapped in a
mystery inside an enigma," this is it, and more ... --This text refers
to the
hardcover edition of this title
Buy The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve at Amazon by clicking here.
From Booklist , January 1, 1997
Shreve, an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction, has crafted
a
tour de force that will beguile readers with its depth, passion, and power.
Jean a professional photographer, is hired to shoot a photo-essay about
a
tragic murder that took place in 1873 on Smuttynose Island, off the New
Hampshire coast. Two women were brutally hacked to death, and a third
barely survived to identify the killer, who was hanged for the crime. Jean
persuades her husband, her five-year-old daughter, her brother-in-law,
and his girlfriend to accompany her to Smuttynose to photograph the
house where the murder was committed. She soon becomes completely
absorbed by the sensational case, learning from trial records, newspaper
clippings, and the victims' personal journals how the murder wreaked
emotional havoc, shattered lives, and destroyed a family forever. But a
parallel tragedy, horrifyingly similar to the one in 1873, is about to
occur.
Just as the murder survivor found that a single moment changed her life
forever, so Jean finds that a single action alters everything for her.
Shreve's story is at once powerfully affecting and indescribably sorrowful,
exploring the tenuous nature of happiness, the frailty of the human psyche,
and the catastrophe of unthinking impulse. A masterfully written, riveting
must-have for all collections. Emily Melton
Copyright© 1997, American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
From Kirkus Reviews , October 15, 1996
Though she fumbles slightly at the close, Shreve (Resistance, 1995, etc.)
deftly juxtaposes a strained modern marriage and a century-old double
murder. Jean is assigned to take photographs for a magazine piece about
an ancient crime on the granite island of Smuttynose, off the coast of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She makes the journey to the island by
sailboat, sharing the claustrophobic quarters with her five-year-old
daughter Billie, her high-strung poet husband Thomas, his brother Rich,
and Rich's girlfriend of a few months, Adaline. In 1873, two women were
hacked to death on the island, and a third, apparently a survivor of the
attack, was found hiding in a remote cave; a Prussian itinerant was
convicted of the killings. In an uncatalogued archive in Portsmouth, Jean
finds a pencil-written translation of the diary kept by Maren, the woman
who survived, and, in a fit of pique caused by seeing her husband
engrossed in conversation with attractive Adaline, she pockets it. And
thus two dramas unspool side by side: On board, Jean focuses on the
easy interaction between her husband and Rich's girlfriend and muses on
the estrangement in her marriage. Maren's diary, meanwhile, describes
her childhood in Norway and her incestuous love for her brother Evan.
Married off to a taciturn fisherman, Maren settles on desolate
Smuttynose, soon to be joined by her bad-tempered sister Karen and,
later, by Evan and his new wife Anethe. Tortured by jealousy, Maren
dutifully maintains her remote household, until, the diary tells us, her
long-repressed rage is unleashed. The ending, however, feels
unnecessary--a sort of cheap shot. The emotional losses depicted in the
parallel stories are ultimately more haunting. Nonetheless, a highly
readable yarn and a complex, convincing exploration of the ramifications
of jealousy. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates,
LP.
All rights reserved. --This text refers to the hardcover
edition of this
title
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Book Description of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
More than a century after someone murders two people on a small island
off the coast of New Hampshire, a photographer comes to shoot a
photo-essay about the famous crime. As she investigates the bleak,
isolated lives of the victims, she comes to identify with their spiritual
loneliness. For her own marriage is falling apart, crumbling into nights
of
heavy drinking and terrible silences. Incited by the chaotic forces that
blasted the island years ago, this modern woman is drawn inexorably
toward the violence of the past, toward choices that will destroy all she
has ever valued. With exquisitely stylish prose and arresting psychological
insight, Anita Shreve captures one woman's journey into the farthest
extremes of emotion. "A stunning tale . . . . There is plenty for the reader
to ponder and savor in this accomplished inquiry into the ravages of
love." (Los Angeles Times) --This text refers to an out of print or
unavailable edition of this title.
Synopsis of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
Enthusiastically embraced by critics, readers, and booksellers across the
country, this powerful novel of obsession and betrayal is now available
in
paperback. When a photographer researches a legendary crime that took
place a century earlier, she immerses herself in the details of the
case--and finds herself caught in the grip of an uncontrollable emotion.
Buy The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve at Amazon by clicking here.
Synopsis of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
A riveting and deeply involving story of irresistible emotions and
irrevocable actions, by the author of Eden Close. A century after two
women were murdered in a fit of passion on a small island off the coast
of
New Hampsire, another woman goes to the island to shoot a photo essay
about the crime--and finds herself gripped by uncontrollable passions of
her own. Film rights bought by Oliver Stone Author readings. --This text
refers to the hardcover
edition of this title
Synopsis of The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
Enthusiastically embraced by critics, readers, and booksellers across the
country, this powerful novel of obsession and betrayal is now available
in
paperback. When a photographer researches a legendary crime that took
place a century earlier, she immerses herself in the details of the
case--and finds herself caught in the grip of an uncontrollable emotion.
--This text refers to the hardcover
edition of this title
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
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