Água, Pedra, Coração

by Will North

Sinopse:

Will North, autor de Entre o Céu e a Montanha, já publicado pela Presença, apresenta neste novo romance uma história de amor que floresce entre duas almas solitárias, destruídas pelas relações familiares, doentias e abusivas, num calmo e paradisíaco recanto do litoral costeiro inglês, em Cornwall.
Andrew Stratton é arquitecto e professor na Universidade da Pensilvânia, e sente-se realizado, até ao dia em que a sua mulher o deixa. Profundamente ferido, acaba mais tarde por conhecer Nicola Rhys-Jones, uma artista plástica americana, também divorciada.
Pela linguagem e construção dos seus romances, Will North junta-se a Nicholas Sparks na forma de descrever o amor.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Relationships, Contemporary, Abuse

328 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2009

About the author

Will North is the pen name of an international award-winning author and ghostwriter of more than a dozen nonfiction books as well as six recent novels. He has ghosted books for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, several famous Everest mountaineers, a team of dinosaur-hunters, a renowned physician, and others. Two of his books have been the subject of PBS and A&E documentaries. As a fiction author, Will has penned two romantic suspense novels, a family saga, and four titles in his Davies & West British murder mystery series. Will lives on an island in Washington's Puget Sound. You can find him at www.willnorthnovelist.com and on Facebook at Will North, Author.

Reviews

[Normalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I loved the title; next I loved the cover art; most importantly, I loved the story and the characters and the setting. This was published in 2009 so I'm not sure how I missed such a great book. Andrew Stratton is a professor of architecture who's never built a building. He goes to a small town in England to learn stone hedging (stone wall building) to reconect to the land after his wife leaves him for another man. He meets Nicola Rhys-Jones, an artist still recovering from an abusive relationship and avoiding men altogether while working part time at the Museum of Witchcraft. They find their instant connection confusing and are unable to breach each others barriers without some serious work. The supporting characters are wonderfully drawn, quirky and lovable, the setting is magical and the author has perfect control of the dialogue so that it is just snarky enough to be funny but it doesn't fall into meanness. The weather report snippets at the beginning of each chapter nicely foreshadow the climax but you don't know that until well past the half way point and I'm not going to tell you what happens. The climax is scary but we live through it and the very end is where you get the payoff and it was absolutely worth the reading of 270 pages. This is a somewhat gentle read; although there is mention of abuse, it is handled quietly. I'll be recommending this to everyone.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw this book compared to books by Nicholas Sparks, I was worried. I'm not really a fan of the touchy feely man-feelings kind of book. But I was surprised. While early in the book, my fears seemed to be justified as the main character was so wishy washy when confronted with his divorce, he seemed to grow a pair toward the end and became quite a heroic character. So I'd like to recommend this to any manly men who shun the Nick Sparks books. Will North is not a bad author. A bit too many "feelings" for my tastes, but this book was actually exciting. And I'm glad none of the main characters died.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book for the Cornwall setting and wasn't disappointed with the major part the setting played. The historical aspect of the actual flood that occurred in Boscastle, the descriptions of the countryside, and the characters' relationships to the setting created a dominant (in a good way) character out of the setting itself. Two elements I most enjoy about a book are the historical aspects of a story and the setting coming alive, so this book definitely fulfilled both of those elements.

[Bluejay44 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe that the author did not live through the flood in Boscastle himself. After reading the sample I just had to buy and carry on reading. The characters all came alive and I was almost holding my breath until I knew how they had fared through that day. Remembering watching on television, almost disbelieving our eyes at the time, this tale by Will North brought it all back. I will certainly read more by this author.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compare to "Bartelby the Scribner" by Hermen Melville.
Walls in our lives.
Small town life in England.
Flashfloods.
Reality.
People caring for people.
Witches and Witchcraft, lovers of Mother Earth and Healers?.
Love between Man and woman, animals, and young children.
Room for all faiths to abide together.
Assiting one another in need.
I like Will North's way of writing looking forward to reading more of his works.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books I rate 4 stars. This story was interesting from page one to the end. Will North writes a heart warming story indeed. I enjoyed both of his books so I've read so far.

[Liliana Rio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful, gentle book. The development of the characters is amazing for such a quick read, and what a thrilling ending (no spoilers, but the girl does get the guy in the end :) ).

[Katherine Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escaping from the tedium of his life, the protagonist of Water, Stone, Heart, Andrew Stratton, a newly divorced architecture professor from Philadelphia, journeys to the remote village of Boscastle in Cornwall, England to learn how to build stone and turf walls. There Andrew falls in love with Nicola, a beautiful artist who suffers from a secret, tragic past, and is befriended by a variety of quirky characters including a precocious nine-year-old who communes with nature, a wizened old stonemason, a lively bar mistress, and the director of the witchcraft museum. With his easygoing manner and excellent building skills, Andrew finds himself an integral part of village life and must decide whether or not to return to America.
I love this book. It’s magical, absolutely delightful. I’ve read it twice and will read it again because it transports me to one of my favorite places in the world: Cornwall. Warning: I’ve recommended this novel to several people who don’t share my enthusiasm for it; I admit that the author’s technical detail both hampers and enlivens his writing. Occasionally a character will talk like an encyclopedia. But at the same time, because of the author’s great precision, he captures his rugged, windswept landscape masterfully. His descriptions of building the stone “hedges” are excellent. I love the way he describes the builder’s almost mystical ability to find the perfect space in which to lay every stone. I love the way in which every character in this wonderful setting has a feel for pagan beliefs and a touch of magical ability. The story captivates.

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Met the author's partner last year at Morning Beach near our condo in Washington and wanted to read the story after her description. While I am not a big romantic novel fan, I did appreciate the descriptions of Boscastle, in Cornwall, England (sounds gorgeous!) and the historical references to the great flood that apparently devastated some of the region in 2006. Also enjoyed the the descriptions of building stone walls -- or as the Brits call them, "hedges," and references to architecture, music, and art.

Quote: "Andrew knew he wasn't a Luddite; he wasn't opposed to progress or even modernization. . . What he was opposed to, he was learning, was the loss of architectural heritage and , even more, the departicularization of authentic places--the loss of character to what was, in effect, simply the latest architectural fad. There was an ache in his heart for the places that were still real, for the places that still seemed to function at human scale."

[Jose Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will North sabe contar uma história. Tem imaginação no que escreve, os diálogos são muito bem escritos e alguns muito cómicos. As personagens são deliciosamente bem descritas e muito interessantes de conhecer. Sabe muito bem retratar uma pequena comunidade inglesa da Cornualha. A história é muito interessante e a partir de um certo ponto, que não revelo para não estragar a leitura, é difícil pousar o livro pois a preocupação com o saber do destino das personagens torna-se uma necessidade.
É daqueles livros que, quando lemos a última página, temos saudades do tempo que partilhamos com as personagens.
Muito boa leitura. Muito boa história.

[Maria Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching, interesting story in a breathtaking scenery. Two very different people in search for themselves and for peace. Architecture in a new angle, the one of a ZEN Builder, someone who can "relate" to the stones and enter into a state of quasi meditation... A wild and enchanting little girl, forever roaming the countryside in her "exploration" of nature and the human mind, sometimes retreating into her magic tree, one of her closest friends. And, every now and then, a single woof from Randy, acknowledging a friend at the door...

Definitely a good read!

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon 24th. July 2012.

[Julia A. McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming little novel set in a beautiful spot.

A charming little novel set in a beautiful spot.

In my travels I have been fortunate enough to have been to Cornwall. It is truly beautiful with just a hint of mystery about it. The main characters in the book are both adults who are searching for something and find it finally in each other. The other main character is a precocious little girl who is wise beyond her years with just a hint of the " fairies " about her. The books last part is about a natural disaster that brings them all together in the nicest way. A good read and interesting story

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story set in England around a village that has many colorful characters in the book. It brings a delightful little girl, a university professor, an artist who has been abused into the mix in a wonderful way. The village suffers a unbelieveable natural devastation that is based on a true occurrance. (There is a video on YouTube about the disaster.)

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Been to Boscastle and could see all of the settings in my mind as I read. North did a great job capturing the place and told a good story at the same time!

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip to Cornwall changes a teachers life for the better.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. More descriptive writing than I normally enjoy but wasn't overly wordy. I enjoyed the characters also. Good quick read.

[Beth Gosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting read and way more story line that I originally thought

[Jewett · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't too sure about this book, but as I read on, I really enjoyed it. It is a love story but much more than that.

[Juanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: Water, Stone, Heart by Will North. 3* 04/29/2020

North has written another amazing story about the gradual bonding of two damaged souls who find respite in each other. The setting of the story starts in Philadelphia where Andrew Stratton finds himself divorced and heartbroken. Not long after he decides to travel to a small village in Boscastle, England for a week long course about architectural theories. North has also included a few eccentric characters which enhance the story further.

Andrew finds a comfortable place to stay while he is there with a delightful landlord and his charming nine year old daughter Lee, who befriends Andrew right away. Andrew than is introduced to Nicola Jones, a divorced American artist that he soon becomes interested in, without realizing that Lee is the one who is pushing them together.

Removed from his past emotional pain, Andrew finds warmth and satisfaction with the people in the village and starts to open-up with ease. The course he has signed-up for is building stone walls. In the village he discovers magical landscape, twisting cliffs, a jagged coastline, and lush valleys. At the stone Academy his instructor has showed him how laying a stone is harder than hard labor. She explains how the stone is alive and all the tiny notches, groves, and shapes have a certain place in every wall.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library, so I don’t feel like I am out anything by having read it. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend money on it. Some of the characters are so outrageously unrealistic that it becomes impossible to enjoy the story. The main character’s ex-father-in-law has no believable parallels to any human living or dead. His behavior consistently rings false. The author’s portrayal of Prince Charles as being a man of the people is downright laughable!

There are some parts of the story that are enjoyable, but they are vastly overshadowed by the tedious parts. It feels like the author is trying to lecture to us about things he apparently holds a grudge against, like Catholicism, and promote things he seems to know little about, like witchcraft and British royalty. If he would have just told the story without getting up on tiny soapboxes periodically, it would have been a lot better.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading Trevega House, #3 in the Davies & West series, the forward said that North had brought back some of the characters from this book. So I decided to read this one first. It is not part of the Davies & West series.

This story is based on a true happening - the Boscastle, Cornwall flood of August 2004, caused by an unusual downpour of rain. The story incorporates entries from the Boscastle Flood Special Issue of the Journal of Meteorology.

The book is absolutely engrossing. All the characters are well-delineated and interesting. The lead-up to the flood and the flood itself had me completely riveted. Now that I have the background on these characters, I can go on to Trevega House, which brings them together with Davies and West sometime after the flood. I highly recommend this book!

[Laurie Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books set in Cornwall, England and hope to travel there someday. This story is about two Americans that end up in a small village there and fall in love. That part of the story is good but somewhat predictable. One of the main characters is a precocious child, Lee, who seems to have almost magical intuition about things. I also enjoyed the characters in the village and the sense of community and the feeling of ancient history of the area. The male lead character is an architecture professor who comes to Cornwall to learn about building stone hedges and in the process of learning this discovers a talent for building rather than teaching and also finds healing for his wounded soul.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few chapters in, I was discouraged to discover this is a romance novel. A few chapters after that, I was thrown off by the random witchcraft element. (I'm not against novels with witchcraft. I'm against novels that throw in 5 sentences about witchcraft, apparently at a point where the author was unsure how to fix the problem he had created for his characters.) Then, when I realized the whole book was racing towards a very formal and summarily described flood, I knew it was a train wreck but held on to the end. I might have even left the book with a vaguely happy feeling, if not for the one page exorcism, again very summarily presented and all the more out of place because of it.

[Sarah Pongracz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Water, Stone, Heart is an enjoyable novel of historical fiction that takes place in the village of Boscastle in Cornwall, England. It is the story of Andrew Stratton, a professor of Architectural Theory from Philadelphia, whose wife has left him for another man. He takes a vacation to Wales and where he takes a course on building stone walls, known as hedges. He quickly becomes immersed in the activities of the village of Boscastle, the beautiful landscape and the lives of friendly villagers, including another American expatriate, the artist Nicola Rhys-Jones. It is a love story, a travelogue, and a story of how nature and geology can shape people's lives.

[Alisha Henri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book's Title Says It Clearly

While I'm usually not one for romances, "Water, Stone, Heart" is a delightful and sweet romance of peoples' self-discovery that includes a delightful and wise child, a small but warm and caring Cornish Village, beautiful scenery, and a dangerous life-threatening natural event. The ending is beautiful, and I will say no more, because I wouldn't want to spoil the book for anyone who chooses to read it. My congratulations to Will North! I appreciate his recommendation of this book.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I will be staying in Bocastle for a week soon and wanted to get a feel for the area. Not disappointed at all! The author has done an excellent job of describing the village and the hills, cliffs, rivers, and ocean, not to mention that he uses actual details from a devastating 2004 flood in the climax of the story.
The characters are engaging and the story line believable; it certainly kept me reading and interested. There's romance, a bit of witchcraft, an wonderful little girl, hedge building, and history. Well done!

[Trish W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a while I got the sneaking suspicion this was a romance novel, but it turned out to be merely "sensitive" ;-) The setting in Cornwall and the technical aspects of hedge building kept the story interesting, as was the basis that the Boscastle flood was an actual event which occurred in 2009. Some of North's observations (re architectural theory) about the "anatomy of livable places" were also intriguing and very accurate. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

[Alayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. Based on fact, blended with fiction, it tells the story of a terrible flood in Cornwall in 2004. The only issue I had was that in the chapter describing what happened in the flood, his voice changed as he recounted facts instead of telling a story. But that's a minor quibble. The characters and plot were wonderful, and he sensitively handled sexual assault very well.

[Carolynn Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I really loved the ambiance/setting of this novel, but found the love story a little far-fetched. The verbal sparring that was the foundation of Andrew and Nicki's extremely quick courtship (they had each finally met "their match") was a turn-off for me. However, the little 9-year-old, Lee, was a delight and the former father-in-law, Sir Michael, was equally lovely. I enjoyed North's writing style and will read more from this author.