The Weight of Water

Especially Shreve’s depiction of Billie. Couldn’t put this book down!

Anita Shreve did a magnificent job with "The Weight of Water." She combined a very compelling storyline with terrific writing and came up with a spellbinding book any woman should be able to relate to and love.The year is 1995 and Jean Janes, a photographer, arrives on Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals, just off the coast of New Hampshire (with her poet husband, Thomas and five year old daughter, Billie in tow) to research a double murder that took place more than 100 years ago. Together with Thomas' brother, Rich and his seductive lover, Adaline, Jean sails to Smuttynose and attempts to piece together the facts of the crime. As Jean delves deeper and deeper into what could have really happened, her own personal life takes a nosedive.Jean begins to suspect her own husband of having an affair and she thus become prey to the very negative emotions of jealousy and mistrust...emotions that will eventually have far-reaching and devastating effects on her life and on the lives of those around her.The Smuttynose murders are historical fact, Shreve did not make them up. On March 5, 1873, Norwegian immigrants Karen Christensen and her sister-in-law Anethe were brutally murdered with an ax in the home of their sister, Maren and her husband. Although Maren was a witness to the murders, she somehow escaped becoming a victim. And, even though Maren did name the murderer and he was tried and hanged, speculation still abounds. Did Maren name the actual murderer? Was she protecting someone else instead? And if she was, why?In "The Weight of Water," Shreve (who previously wrote a short story about the murders), seemlessly weaves the historical story of Maren with the fictional one of Jean. The result is a wonderfully engrossing book about what happens when a woman is pushed to the extremes of emotion...extremes she may not be able to handle.This is a very atmospheric book. Shreve has done a masterful job in recreating the New England shore and she uses it to great advantage. The book also has a very claustrophobic feel to it. Much of it takes place on board Rich's sailboat where the four principals, caught up together in rather small confines, begin to experience tensions that simmer so much we know they're going to have to erupt. They only question is: What will happen when they do?Both of the stories are interesting and engrossing. Maren's story of the past can't help but hold our attention; it is, after all, a real life mystery and one that many believe has never been properly solved. Although this book doesn't really contribute to the historical debate about the murders, it does whet one's appetite and make him or her want to know more.The fictional story of Jean is no less intriguing. It simply seethes with emotion, emotion that lies just below the surface, strong emotion that constantly threatens the characters involved, Jean in particular.I thought Shreve did a wonderful job cutting back and forth between the past and the pres

In this disturbing pair of tales, Anita Shreve shows her gift for building and sustaining suspense. If that were all she had to offer, the book would still be a good read. But her real strength lies in her ability to show the puzzling, often maddening, duality of the human heart. Whether we admit it or not, most of us live--or try to live--in a state of balance between our baser urges and our more civilized selves. Jean's and Maren's stories show how easily that delicate balance can be disrupted. Shreve shows how a misinterpretation here, a slight falsehood there, a chilling suspicion, an impulsive disloyalty, a moment's hesitation, can upset the equilibrium, sometimes beyond repair. Jean, as narrator, and Maren, via written account, offer two distinct and varied voices. Born to different times and cultures, they share a gift for clear-minded observation and a reasonable tone that serves to accentuate by contrast the insensibility of what is to come. As Shreve builds our rapport with these deep-feeling women, she is, at the same time, delineating the slow, subtle deconstruction of their circumstances and the way little choices--the kind that torment ever after--can generate drastic consequences. And therein lies the horror. No one in her right mind sets out to court disaster but who among us hasn't experienced moments of doubt or jealousy regardless of their justification? What struck me throughout this haunting book was the understandable progression Shreve laid out for both stories. She made the consequences seem preventable and inevitable at the same time--a terrifying concept. Initially, I was put off by the combining of the two accounts without benefit of line break or label. But once I understood the style, it presented no obstacle. The context was clear enough and the juxtaposition heightened the parallels between the two stories. If I were to suggest a change, it would be a slightly longer denoument that addressed not only the parallels but the differences as well. Guilt vs. innocence. Accident vs. intention. Punishment vs. escape. Shreve's style--and her ability to speak so convincingly in several voices--is lovely and lyrical, sophisticated and yet solid. The descriptions of life in Norway, the immigrant accounts, and the passages relating to the islands and the storm are vividly and believably drawn. On an emotional level, Shreve managed to convey the diminished affect of someone--two someones--crushed by grief, guilt, and resignation without letting the story itself go flat, an impossible task in the hands of a lesser talent. If there is a cautionary aspect to these interwoven tales, it is that the little choices count. I am far less frightened by extraordinary tales and supernatural villains than I am by the more believable stories of ordinary people who are confronted with the fault lines of their own fallen nature.

This was my first time reading something from Shreve, and I will read her again. I like how she goes back and forth between the story lines, with simultaneous climaxes of both stories. You can feel the oppression of the women as you read. Very absorbing, I highly recommend it.

Anita Shreve writes hauntingly beautiful books about important moments in our lives. The Weight of Water is a bewitching tale that most probably rings a bell in every woman's life.Hasn't every woman imagined her loved one having an affiar - seen the signs and been absolutely sure but been wrong (we hope)? Anita weaves these feelings in amidst a haunting tale of murder and intrigue from the 1800's.I have read all of Anita's books but this was definitely one of my favorites. I found it hard to put down and I also responded to many of the main characters emotions - many times I wished I could reach into the book and shake her.Shreve is destined to be one of this generations best novelists!

We just returned from a trip to southern Maine and Portsmouth, NH (where I bought this book)-- I loved the challenge of being on your toes to know which story the author was referring to at times. If you judge a book by its ability to pull you into the plot(s), then this is just top notch -- loved the writing style!! I'm sorry I finished.