Rating: 
Summary: A first-rate novel of jealousy, passion and tragedy
Review: The Weight of Water
Anita Shreve
Review by Susan Galli
Anita Shreve continues keep the reader in suspense as she has so skillfully in the past in Eden Close Resistance, and Strange Fits of Passion in this part-fiction, part-factual account of the murder of two women and the narrow escape of a third on a remote fishing island off the coast of Maine in 1873
Woven into the actual courtroom testimony and trial of the man captured, convicted and executed for the gruesome and bizarre murders is the fictional account of the woman hired to photograph the murder scene for a magazine article 100 years later. Jean, her own marriage of the verge of collapse, is drawn to the story of these three women. How did they cope with the almost total isolation, the ceaseless drudgery of their everyday lives on an island so bleak and forbidding that they nearly wept at the first sight of it? What was their relationship with each other? What were their marriages like? Shreve is at her best as Jean comes closer to the truth about that terrible night on that tiny island so many years ago. While this reader found some part of the "truth" Jean uncovered about the murders a bit far-fetched and the story of her personal drama less compelling than that of the real life characters, the endings of both are sure to surprise.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and well written.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot and ending were a bit disturbing, but it was an interesting read and I couldn't put it down. I have not previously read Anita Shreve, but I will read her again. She writes beautifully. I found it interesting the way she switched between past and present to keep two stories going. I couldn't wait to find out what happened in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Moody and atmospheric story within a story.
Review: I have read a number of Anita Shreve's books, and "The Weight of Water" resembles her other works in several ways. Shreve relies heavily on the atmosphere of the New England coast to set the mood of her novels. In "The Weight of Water," the setting is the Isles of Shoals, an archipelago near the coast of New Hampshire. The rocky and forbidding landscape, with its harsh weather and sudden squalls, is a mirror of the characters' stormy and often destructive feelings and actions. "The Weight of Water" follows a few days in the life Jean and Thomas Janes, a married couple who have become insecure in their relationship with one another. They, along with their young daughter Billie, are on a boat belonging to Rich, Thomas's brother, and Adaline, Rich's girlfriend. Jean, a photographer, is on assignment, taking photographs of a site on the Isles of Shoals where two Norwegian immigrant women were brutally murdered in 1873. Jean finds a diary written by a survivor of the murder, and this diary serves as a backdrop for the events of the present time. The story of the Norwegian woman who survives the murders, Maren Christensen Hontvedt, is a compelling one. Maren emigrates to America reluctantly with her husband, John. Shreve, through Maren's diary, beautifully portrays Maren's emotional torment as she leaves her native land and sets up house in this inhospitable climate. Later, Maren and John are joined by other members of their families. How did Maren's sister-in-law and sister come to be brutally murdered one horrible night? Shreve gives her own interpretation to these events, and it is ghastly as well as mesmerizing. The "main" story of Thomas and Jean cannot compete with the "secondary" story of Maren and her family in terms of emotional resonance and intensity. Still "The Weight of Water" is notable for Shreve's mapping of the landscape of the Isle of Shoals as well as of the human heart. Why do we destroy ourselves and others? How much suffering can we take before we snap? Shreve is an expert at dissecting the fragile heart of a woman. This book is a companion piece to "The Last Time They Met," Shreve's latest novel, since both books deal with the life of Thomas Janes.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping and haunting tale
Review: Jean is a photographer who is researching a 100 year old "crime of the century". Overlaying the story of the murder of two women on a remote island off the Maine coast, with the unraveling of Jean's own marriage, Shreve examines jealousy, passion, adultery and guilt and brings the consequences of a person's actions vividly to life. The story of Maren, the lone eyewitness to the murders, is very powerfully written. There were times when I felt I was living on the island with her. The story of Jean's suspicions about her husbands faithfulness, though not as compelling, helped to create a feeling of despair and sorrow that was at times painful to read. At the start of the book, I found the alternating voices of the two different tales a bit off putting, but the story eventually grabbed me, and would not let go. I devoured the last half of the book in one sitting, and haven't stopped thinking about it since. This is my second book by Shreve, and I hope to read more. She is rapidly becomming one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: Another great story from Anita Shreve
Review: THE WEIGHT OF WATER by Anita Shreve
January 24, 2005
The WEIGHT OF WATER by Anita Shreve is two stories in one. The main character, Jean, is a photographer that is covering a story about an 1800's murder that took place on an island off the coast of Maine. The Isle of Shoals is the setting for both stories, since the second story told is that of the murders. The narrator for the 1800's setting is Maren, the woman that survived the murders. The two stories parallel each other, yet both stories are as different as they could be, at least on the surface.
The story that takes place in the past revolves around a set of Norwegian immigrants, and the reader knows from the start that it will lead to murder. The present day story centers on two couples, Jean and her husband Thomas, and his brother Rich and current girlfriend Adaline. The four of them, as well as Jean and Thomas's child Billie, are on a boat together, travelling to the Isle of Shoals (Smuttynose) for the sole purpose that Jean could capture in photographs the setting of these old murders.
The stories are interwoven, told as one. There may be chapter breaks but no spaces between paragraphs to differentiate the past with the present. This is done intentionally to show how the two stories compare to each other. As each story progresses, the jumps between each time period become more frequent, until the story reaches it's climax: the murder of the two Norwegian women in the 1870's, and a storm in which Jean and her boat-mates may not survive. The ending of Jean's story came as a complete shock to me, as I was not expecting this at all.
What makes THE WEIGHT OF WATER interesting is that it is based on a true story, and Shreve chose to create her own story based on the actual facts. There is still talk about whether the actual murderer was indeed the one that was sent to death, or if someone else had committed these murders on Smuttynose and got away with it. Shreve chose to come to her own conclusions with this story, and I felt that the conclusion was almost obvious, given the relationships between the characters.
Another way to look at both interconnected stories is that they were both about a set of marriages that the reader watched from beginning to end. Maren's marriage was not the perfect one, and neither was Jean's. It was interesting to be able to look at both women, and see how they were similar yet different. Both characters dealt with jealousy on some level, jealousy of a husband's friend, jealousy of a brother's wife. I found Shreve was rather clever in the way she wrote this novel, and while it took some time to get used to the writing style, once I understood where she was going with the book, I was able to enjoy it and could not stop reading. THE WEIGHT OF WATER is yet another book by Anita Shreve that I enjoyed, and I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: not overly impressed
Review: i was looking forward to this book after i had read the pilot's wife. i found this book confusing with changing of time and situation fast and inconsistent. i also knew the twists well before they happened. not too impressed. i read to the end but skimmed a lot (the detail was laborous).
if you haven't already, read the pilot's wife...it's much better and less predictable
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and well written.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot and ending were a bit disturbing, but it was an interesting read and I couldn't put it down. I have not previously read Anita Shreve, but I will read her again. She writes beautifully. I found it interesting the way she switched between past and present to keep two stories going. I couldn't wait to find out what happened in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: SPOILER ALERT.
Review: I bought this in the Parisian airport for my long flight from CDG to Atlanta and left it in the seat pocket. I only finished it to get my 15 Euros worth. Lesbianism that you can see from a mile away--was that supposed to be some plot twist?--a drowning kid, and the husband wasn't cheating. That sums it up. Sorry, but I fail to see why this woman is considered such a great writer. The novel drags and the plot twists are too easy to see in advance.
Rating:
Summary: Normal Shreve Novel
Review: I have read several Anita Shreve novels. This one is like all the others a real good quick entertaining read. Nothing complicated about it just a good story. I have read better but I like when I need a break from more complicated authors to pick up a Shreve book. I liked Resistance the best our of her novels so far.
Rating:
Summary: The Weight of Water, a novel to learn from
Review: The Weight of Water, by Anita Shreve shows what really happens when a woman is pushed to her breaking point. The novel eloquently weaves the past and present through the parallel stories of Jean and Maren. Both woman experience the death of a person close to them due to a slight event which happens.
This novel causes the reader to look at his or her life and ask ¡°What if?¡±. Jean recalls her life as if it were on a loop, ¡°And each time the loop plays itself, I will see I have a chance a choice.¡± Shreve also teaches the reader to learn the value of not dwelling upon tragedy. Instead of being consumed by a loss, the author tries to teach the reader to move past what has happened and live his or her life. Shreve does not want the reader to forget their misfortune but to take their pain and use it to change the remainder of his or her life.
Coincidentally, this book is a perfect corollary to today¡¯s news, in which the double murder of Laci and Baby Conner Peterson is being revealed. The reader should take the knowledge about loss which they have learned from this book and use the past to excel them into the future.
I strongly recommend this novel. With its twisting plot and mysterious murders The Weight of Water is a book which will catch your attention on the first page and keep your attention until the last.
|
