Waterwoman

WATERWOMANLenore HartBerkley BooksISBN: 0-425-18471-4$21.95 Hardcover 241 ppJune 2003Eastern Shore of Virginia in the 1920sWATERWOMAN is the poignant and bittersweet story of two sisters growing up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia between the two world wars. Annie Revels's father is a waterman pronging for oysters and putting out pots for crabs making a living for his family. Annie being older than her sister Rebecca loves going out on the boat with her father and sometimes wishes she could be working with him everyday. Her mother was ill and had to be looked after, and of course, she has to look after little Rebecca too. I loved the way Ms. Hart presents the different viewpoints of the family members, sometimes revealing the private and shocking thoughts that they have about one another. When Annie's father suddenly dies she takes over going out on the water and providing for the family as her father did. Wearing his old clothes, working in the broiling sun doing backbreaking work day after day she realizes what her father had to do to keep them all alive. Annie has always felt Rebecca was the beautiful one, while she can only aspire to the life of a waterwoman. All changes in her life the day she meets Nathan Combs, a handsome guide working for the Cobb's brothers who takes out rich folks for fishing and hunting. Nathan is a veteran of the First World War and had a lot of ghosts of his own to bury. Annie and Nathan become friends and something more, but the lack of committing how they feel about one another brings about its own chaos. Ms. Hart weaves a tale of love and relationships that is powerful, compelling and a must read. This is a rare gem of a book that you will be thinking about long after you read the last page. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling it isn't over yet! I can't wait to read the next book from this talented author. Suzanne Coleburn, Reader To Reader Reviews

I read Lenore Hart's "Waterwoman" with great interest, as she set her story in a region of the country that my ancestors have lived and worked - as watermen - for 300 years. She beautifully depicted the life of the people of the barrier islands off of the coast of Virginia - it could have been my grandmother's story! Hart's characters's dialog, motivations, and actions were dead-on, and yes, you weep for Annie's losses in the end. But! Hart knows what she is doing - she writes what she knows to be true to the characters she has created so close to "the real thing."

I just finished this book today and I could not put it down. From the very beginning you know that something rather tragic happens but I had no idea what was to come. I really felt the characters and was crying for the last 20 pages or so. I thought the writing was great and would definitely recommend it.

At last, a writer who knows how to use the first-person narrator, opens with a great first line, and does not disappoint the reader with either the craft of story-telling or writing.

This is one of the most intriguing book I had read. I tend to lean more toward mystery (Janet Evanovich) and fantasy (Tamora Pierce). This story talks about Anne, a woman with very normal feelings, who is percieved by many people as a selfish woman. Hart tells Anne's story and the events that she goes through. She writes about the selfish acts that Anne believe she goes through, yet in reality, most of her acts are unselfish. A book that reflects about life and the what ifs that shrouds around many of us.