Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written - a REAL story!!!
Review: I found this book much more "realistic" than "Midwives" I could relate to it! In fact, I was caught between reality and the book while I was reading it on a recent June visit to my daughter's in VT!! I actually kept forgetting that VT was NOT experiencing a drought while I was visiting!! Caught myself turning off the water while brushing my teeth, looking at the Winooski River for low levels, and observing the countryside in general for signs of "drought"!!Chris Bohjalian is a master story teller in a "kinder and gentler" way!! His beautiful descriptions of the VT countryside, the numerous SMALL towns, and the life these people lead are exactly what I have encountered on my numerous visits to the state! But the really compelling story he tells is of the encroachment of business, homes, development on our beatiful and old New England towns. I live in one of these in CT. We have no beautiful catamounts as in Bohjalian's story, but the deer and bear in our area are being squeezed out by development! This is the case in a lot of New England. I could certainly relate to this story, but even people in inner-cities would certainly hate to see what little is left of our beautiful "country" destroyed! Where would they go on weekends to get OUT of the city? Bravo, Chris, for a beautiful story!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: water witches review
Review: I found Water Witches to be a surprisingly engaging story. No over-the-top midwives or larger-than-life heroes here: the tale is populated by a bunch of ordinary people trying to do the right thing as best they can. Even the magic is low-key. Thus, the story isn't really just about the conflict between environment/development -- it's an extended character study of a man who has to make decisions that can't please everyone. Bohjalian propels the narrative along a little unevenly, but that only adds to the small-town, real-life feel of it. This was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: Quietly engaging fiction
Review: I found Water Witches to be a surprisingly engaging story. No over-the-top midwives or larger-than-life heroes here: the tale is populated by a bunch of ordinary people trying to do the right thing as best they can. Even the magic is low-key. Thus, the story isn't really just about the conflict between environment/development -- it's an extended character study of a man who has to make decisions that can't please everyone. Bohjalian propels the narrative along a little unevenly, but that only adds to the small-town, real-life feel of it. This was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: Unique!
Review: I love reading Chris Bohjalian. It is so much fun! And I seem to learn things in the process as well. A bonus. Every one of his books is about something so different & unique! This book has a little bit of everything, human struggle, morals, faith, love, hope, tragedy, confusion....I don't think this book, or any of Bohjalian's will let you down!
Rating:
Summary: Unique!
Review: I love reading Chris Bohjalian. It is so much fun! And I seem to learn things in the process as well. A bonus. Every one of his books is about something so different & unique! This book has a little bit of everything, human struggle, morals, faith, love, hope, tragedy, confusion....I don't think this book, or any of Bohjalian's will let you down!
Rating:
Summary: Subtle and engaging . . . .
Review: I'm not interested in expansion of a ski resort and not an environmentalist, so I don't really know why I read this novel, but I'm glad I did. Bohjalian's characters are very well-drawn against the peaceful backdrop of scenic Vermont. Some are strange, some are gentle and even the borderline exploitation of the child is deftly handled. Although repetitive at times, I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending is beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: You've read one plot, you've read them all
Review: In Water Witches, we have the fight between two camps, the pragmatic, circumspect, legal world, versus the free-spirited, environmentally conscientious one. Scottie, who belongs to group #1, is the narrator. This fight takes place within Scottie’s family and also in his outer circle. Scottie eventually sees the light, drops off his “evil” ways, and does the right things by crossing over to the other side. We know this because in Part 3 his daughter gives us a sort of epilogue. OK, I saw that coming very early on. Scottie is beat up from the beginning. He is surrounded by women with a deep connection to Mother Nature. It was clear that this novel was going to deal with the metamorphosis of Scottie, from callous individual to gentle soul. The obviousness of this shift really disappointed me. There was no mystery to the book afterwards. The writing was contrived, and some situations quite forced. Early on, Scottie tells us that his political opponent knows of his phobia for muddy footprints on clean carpet, and purposely will dirty his office. Apart from the irrelevance of this fact, doesn’t everybody dislike mud on a clean carpet? The love scenes between Scottie and his wife were also quite gratuitous. What did they really contributed to the story? Scottie has already told us how much he loves his wife and what a great family life he has. I was expecting more from Chris Bohjalian and this book. After reading it, I have to conclude he only knows how to write one type of novel, and that is sad. The parallels between this novel and Midwives are plentiful. A dad, mom and precocious daughter. Two bands, opposed to the end. Goodness prevails. The daughter writes an epilogue at the end. There is a big difference, though: Water Witches is far more self-righteous.
Rating:
Summary: You've read one plot, you've read them all
Review: In Water Witches, we have the fight between two camps, the pragmatic, circumspect, legal world, versus the free-spirited, environmentally conscientious one. Scottie, who belongs to group #1, is the narrator. This fight takes place within Scottie’s family and also in his outer circle. Scottie eventually sees the light, drops off his “evil” ways, and does the right things by crossing over to the other side. We know this because in Part 3 his daughter gives us a sort of epilogue. OK, I saw that coming very early on. Scottie is beat up from the beginning. He is surrounded by women with a deep connection to Mother Nature. It was clear that this novel was going to deal with the metamorphosis of Scottie, from callous individual to gentle soul. The obviousness of this shift really disappointed me. There was no mystery to the book afterwards. The writing was contrived, and some situations quite forced. Early on, Scottie tells us that his political opponent knows of his phobia for muddy footprints on clean carpet, and purposely will dirty his office. Apart from the irrelevance of this fact, doesn’t everybody dislike mud on a clean carpet? The love scenes between Scottie and his wife were also quite gratuitous. What did they really contributed to the story? Scottie has already told us how much he loves his wife and what a great family life he has. I was expecting more from Chris Bohjalian and this book. After reading it, I have to conclude he only knows how to write one type of novel, and that is sad. The parallels between this novel and Midwives are plentiful. A dad, mom and precocious daughter. Two bands, opposed to the end. Goodness prevails. The daughter writes an epilogue at the end. There is a big difference, though: Water Witches is far more self-righteous.
Rating:
Summary: Consistent characters make this a successful book
Review: The story, at heart, of one man's acceptance of who he is. Scottie Winston is a lobbiest for several large resorts in Vermont. Resorts which use (or abuse) the environment. He is also married into a family of dousers, who, along with many others, oppose the current development in their neck of the woods. Through the processes of time, the timely intervention of three wildcats, and, most of all, love for his wife and daughter, he becomes true to himself. This is a nicely written book, with well-defined characters, a coherent plot, and a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 star read
Review: This is a beautiful story. Scottie Winston is a man who is struggling with how his life came to serve corporate greed, how he can lie so easily for his clients' goals. He has become defensive about it, knowing that he isn't being true to himself and not knowing what to do about it. Eventually, he comes to a point where he has to choose between his job and his conscience. The other part of this book that was interesting was the concept of dowsers. I had never heard of them before and I didn't know that there were people who spend their lives looking for water sources for others through a special gift.
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