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The Memory of Water
The New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels returns to the South Carolina Lowcountry with a gripping tale of two sisters haunted by one tragic night...
On the night their mother drowns, sisters Marnie and Diana Maitland discover there is more than one kind of death. There is the death of innocence, of love, and of hope. Each sister harbors a secret about that night-secrets that will erode their lives as they grow into adulthood.
After ten years of silence between the sisters, Marnie is called back to the South Carolina Lowcountry by Diana's ex-husband, Quinn. His young son has returned from a sailing trip with his emotionally unstable mother, and he is refusing to speak. In order to help the traumatized boy, Marnie must reopen old wounds and bring the darkest memories of their past to the surface. And she must confront Diana, before they all go under.
On the night their mother drowns, sisters Marnie and Diana Maitland discover there is more than one kind of death. There is the death of innocence, of love, and of hope. Each sister harbors a secret about that night-secrets that will erode their lives as they grow into adulthood.
After ten years of silence between the sisters, Marnie is called back to the South Carolina Lowcountry by Diana's ex-husband, Quinn. His young son has returned from a sailing trip with his emotionally unstable mother, and he is refusing to speak. In order to help the traumatized boy, Marnie must reopen old wounds and bring the darkest memories of their past to the surface. And she must confront Diana, before they all go under.
315 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2008
422 people are currently reading
6080 people want to read
About the author
Karen White
42 books7,529 followersWith more than 2 million books in print in fifteen different languages, Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 34 novels, including the popular Charleston-set Tradd Street mystery series.
Raised in a house full of brothers, Karen’s love of books and strong female characters first began in the third grade when the local librarian issued her a library card and placed The Secret of the Old Clock, a Nancy Drew Mystery, in her hands.
Karen’s roots run deep in the South where many of her novels are set. Her intricate plot lines and compelling characters charm and captivate readers with just the right mix of family drama, mystery, intrigue and romance.
Not entirely convinced she wanted to be a writer, Karen first pursued a career in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University. Ten years later, in a weak moment, she wrote her first book. In the Shadow of the Moon was published in August, 2000. Her books—referred to as “grit lit” (Southern Women’s Fiction)—have since been nominated for numerous national contests including the SIBA (Southeastern Booksellers Alliance) Fiction Book of the Year.
Karen’s next book, THAT LAST CAROLINA SUMMER, will be published by Park Row Books in July, 2025.
When not writing, Karen spends her time reading, scrapbooking, playing piano, and avoiding cooking. Karen and her husband have two grown children and currently live near Atlanta, Georgia with two spoiled Havanese dogs.
- See more at: http://www.karen-white.com/bio.cfm#st...
Raised in a house full of brothers, Karen’s love of books and strong female characters first began in the third grade when the local librarian issued her a library card and placed The Secret of the Old Clock, a Nancy Drew Mystery, in her hands.
Karen’s roots run deep in the South where many of her novels are set. Her intricate plot lines and compelling characters charm and captivate readers with just the right mix of family drama, mystery, intrigue and romance.
Not entirely convinced she wanted to be a writer, Karen first pursued a career in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University. Ten years later, in a weak moment, she wrote her first book. In the Shadow of the Moon was published in August, 2000. Her books—referred to as “grit lit” (Southern Women’s Fiction)—have since been nominated for numerous national contests including the SIBA (Southeastern Booksellers Alliance) Fiction Book of the Year.
Karen’s next book, THAT LAST CAROLINA SUMMER, will be published by Park Row Books in July, 2025.
When not writing, Karen spends her time reading, scrapbooking, playing piano, and avoiding cooking. Karen and her husband have two grown children and currently live near Atlanta, Georgia with two spoiled Havanese dogs.
- See more at: http://www.karen-white.com/bio.cfm#st...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 688 reviews
October 4, 2016
SPOILERS AHEAD
What's up with the protagonist getting together with her sister's ex husband. Am I supposed to respect her? I do not. How could you do that? Especially when your sister is unstable, to say the least.
What's up with this family and their boating issues? Seriously, DO NOT go on a boat with any of them. It will NOT end well. The other reason that this ending is a conflict for me is because White kills off a character and it seemed like she just wanted to get her out of the way. Actually, upon reflection I have lowered my rating and I'm going to tell you why. If you don't want to find out what happens at the end, stop reading NOW!
This is why: I do not like how she kills off the mentally ill sister. I just don't like it. It's not someone's fault if they are mentally ill. This seems a little too, good girl, bad girl to me. I don't know why people are rating this book so highly, actually. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me.
I mean, is the main character lady really that desperate. Isn't she there to "help"? How does this help?
Also, killing off the other sister is just a convenient plot point that makes it seem ok that the mc is acting like a selfish a-hole. I don't like it. I don't recommend it. There are much better books out there. And just as a head's up- if your sister is mentally ill, don't hook up with her hubby. OK?
I expect a lot more from Karen White. She charges 12.99 for a download, for Pete's sake. She should pay someone 14 bucks to read this mess. Glad I got it for free.
What's up with the protagonist getting together with her sister's ex husband. Am I supposed to respect her? I do not. How could you do that? Especially when your sister is unstable, to say the least.
What's up with this family and their boating issues? Seriously, DO NOT go on a boat with any of them. It will NOT end well. The other reason that this ending is a conflict for me is because White kills off a character and it seemed like she just wanted to get her out of the way. Actually, upon reflection I have lowered my rating and I'm going to tell you why. If you don't want to find out what happens at the end, stop reading NOW!
This is why: I do not like how she kills off the mentally ill sister. I just don't like it. It's not someone's fault if they are mentally ill. This seems a little too, good girl, bad girl to me. I don't know why people are rating this book so highly, actually. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me.
I mean, is the main character lady really that desperate. Isn't she there to "help"? How does this help?
Also, killing off the other sister is just a convenient plot point that makes it seem ok that the mc is acting like a selfish a-hole. I don't like it. I don't recommend it. There are much better books out there. And just as a head's up- if your sister is mentally ill, don't hook up with her hubby. OK?
I expect a lot more from Karen White. She charges 12.99 for a download, for Pete's sake. She should pay someone 14 bucks to read this mess. Glad I got it for free.
August 13, 2014
This book was just not for me, but I will give the author one more try only because I have another of her books on my physical shelf. It was extremely repetitive and agonizingly slow. Yes, the pace picked up at the end, but by then I already knew exactly what was going to happen to every single character and no longer cared. The writing left a lot to be desired. The editing should have caught those repetitions and the most irksome sentence of all, that when Gil figured out there was no Santa, his childhood had "grown a bit shorter." Ugh.
Lots of drama, lots of secrets, too much clinging to the past, and shallow characters.
Lots of drama, lots of secrets, too much clinging to the past, and shallow characters.
August 10, 2016
I was oddly....disappointed with this one. I had expected to love it. But I think enjoying the audio version instead of a physical/ebook was a huge factor.
The voices/View Points were hard to tell apart in the audio book and I kept having to start sections over because I wouldn't catch when it switched from Diana to Marnie and then Quinn and Gil. Add in Grandpa and it was just way too many POV to juggle with an audio book
I also found it slow moving and the twists and turns not very surprising.
The voices/View Points were hard to tell apart in the audio book and I kept having to start sections over because I wouldn't catch when it switched from Diana to Marnie and then Quinn and Gil. Add in Grandpa and it was just way too many POV to juggle with an audio book
I also found it slow moving and the twists and turns not very surprising.
January 8, 2011
This book was so. freaking. slow. After the first 70 pages, it's all filler until the last 10 pages. Ugh, I was so bored reading this book. It was frustrating especially since it's pretty obvious what the main conflict is over, so you figure out the big mystery about 200 pages before the main characters do and you sit there for the rest of the time going "YOU ARE SO DUMB." None of the characters sound any different from each other, despite one of them being a 9 year old boy. Really, the story had potential, but I got bogged down in the sheer boringness of it all.
February 22, 2009
What happens when you discover the ones you love best are intent on hurting you? And what if, they are your family? This book focuses on secrets, mental illness and childhood wounds. Exquisitely written, the book reveals a family and a community still reeling from a past tragic event that threatens to be repeated today.
Marnie and Diana are sisters, born into a dysfunctional family and they spend much of their early years clinging to each other for safety. The father has left for greener pastures, thus leaving them with their mother, a brilliant artist. Unfortunately, the mother is also mentally unstable and really unfit to be a mother. Yet somehow the girls make it into adulthood on the kindness of their neighbors and own innate talents.
Both sisters battle their own memories and fears of turning into their Mother in some way, big or small. Almost every woman I know fears this pull of becoming, “just like her.” And when mental illness complicates the picture, this pull becomes even more real and frightening…
I know this family. Yes, a more extreme version of mine, but I recognized their mother - a confusing mix of love and cruelty. Her intentions are to be a supportive, thoughtful mother, yet her fears cloud her words and deeds. Her words and actions begin as support, only to twist oddly, thus inflicting pain…
I know this mother. My mother has always been one to point out any flaws or mistakes I make because in her mind she is “helping me.” She is revealing to me all my “not enoughs” before someone else can. Instead of being my biggest fan growing up, she was my critic, “judging - to protect me from the others.” Needless to say, this was crippling. By trying to protect me from possibly failing or emotional pain, she guaranteed I felt “less then” because she always found fault.
Interestingly, I know I am not alone in this dynamic. When I went to college, I soon realized many of my friends also struggled with this type of dynamic with one or both of their parents as well. Gratefully I also discovered my Mom may be difficult, highly dysfunctional, but she is not the worst of them. And I also was reminded; her unintended cruelty was always mixed with love. (This does not excuse the offenses, rather to give them context…)
People are not perfect. Some battle demons daily to keep a tenuous grasp on reality. Some days they succeed and some days they do not. Some days I don’t hold it together and I fall into despair, only to crawl my way out later when I find the light again.
This book begins in the dark. The characters crawl around each other and their collective issues blindfolded. Each wounded in part, only to discover healing in the light of truth - as it is for each of us.
Marnie and Diana are sisters, born into a dysfunctional family and they spend much of their early years clinging to each other for safety. The father has left for greener pastures, thus leaving them with their mother, a brilliant artist. Unfortunately, the mother is also mentally unstable and really unfit to be a mother. Yet somehow the girls make it into adulthood on the kindness of their neighbors and own innate talents.
Both sisters battle their own memories and fears of turning into their Mother in some way, big or small. Almost every woman I know fears this pull of becoming, “just like her.” And when mental illness complicates the picture, this pull becomes even more real and frightening…
I know this family. Yes, a more extreme version of mine, but I recognized their mother - a confusing mix of love and cruelty. Her intentions are to be a supportive, thoughtful mother, yet her fears cloud her words and deeds. Her words and actions begin as support, only to twist oddly, thus inflicting pain…
I know this mother. My mother has always been one to point out any flaws or mistakes I make because in her mind she is “helping me.” She is revealing to me all my “not enoughs” before someone else can. Instead of being my biggest fan growing up, she was my critic, “judging - to protect me from the others.” Needless to say, this was crippling. By trying to protect me from possibly failing or emotional pain, she guaranteed I felt “less then” because she always found fault.
Interestingly, I know I am not alone in this dynamic. When I went to college, I soon realized many of my friends also struggled with this type of dynamic with one or both of their parents as well. Gratefully I also discovered my Mom may be difficult, highly dysfunctional, but she is not the worst of them. And I also was reminded; her unintended cruelty was always mixed with love. (This does not excuse the offenses, rather to give them context…)
People are not perfect. Some battle demons daily to keep a tenuous grasp on reality. Some days they succeed and some days they do not. Some days I don’t hold it together and I fall into despair, only to crawl my way out later when I find the light again.
This book begins in the dark. The characters crawl around each other and their collective issues blindfolded. Each wounded in part, only to discover healing in the light of truth - as it is for each of us.
June 21, 2012
Although this book had a slow start (which I'm finding to be the case with each Karen White book I've read thus far), I loved how it brought all of the pieces of the puzzle together. Two sisters, through a series of events relating to a family curse with bipolar disorder, come to face the reality of what happened sixteen years earlier when their mother drowned in a boating accident. I really ached for the chasm that had developed between the sisters as they each held secret their perception of their childhood. I sometimes get so irritated that characters aren't as open to each other as they seem to be to the reader - but life is like that I guess. We don't always know or understand why those around us act and react they way they do. I found this book to be an insightful look into the dynamics of family relationships and how our actions can easily be misconstrued.
March 25, 2008
This book tells of two sisters, one of whom has psychological problems that are similar to their mother's.
This is described as the family "curse." The sisters have different memories of a boating accident when their mother is killed and they are saved. As the cursed sister tries to ensure that her son not live as cursed as she is, her sister works to free that son from a hysterical silence caused by a boating accident quite similar to his mother's.
The story is told through the voices of 5 of the main characters. This makes it very interesting.
One of the lessons this book might have, is that we can very easily misunderstand our family relationships. It is only through clear communication from all parties that we can learn the truth.
This is described as the family "curse." The sisters have different memories of a boating accident when their mother is killed and they are saved. As the cursed sister tries to ensure that her son not live as cursed as she is, her sister works to free that son from a hysterical silence caused by a boating accident quite similar to his mother's.
The story is told through the voices of 5 of the main characters. This makes it very interesting.
One of the lessons this book might have, is that we can very easily misunderstand our family relationships. It is only through clear communication from all parties that we can learn the truth.
September 30, 2011
This story really touched on the popular saying "There is two sides to every story" and how that can divide families. In addition it showed the effects that mental illness can have, the tragedies that came come out of that but most importantly to me was the hope of redemption and forgiveness sprinkled throughout the story that kept me hooked. Although it started slow for me it was well written and I would certainly recommend to others to read.
June 6, 2018
Let me first say that I love Karen White's writing. I have read almost all of her books, my favorites being The Sound of Glass and the Tradd Street series. However, this one was just okay. It took me almost 200/315 pages to finally settle myself down and focus. I did like the 4 different POV's with 9-year-old Gil being my favorite character. The mystery isn't that much of a mystery. Maybe it was the high level of angst between the two sisters that kept me from appreciating this book more than White's other books. It was good, just not the best for me.
Go Cards! L1C4!!
Go Cards! L1C4!!
February 2, 2023
This is a story about two sisters, Diana and Marnie. The story centers around a traumatic sailing incident that happened during thier childhood as a result of thier mother's mental illness that alters thier relationship. Diana is an artist, like thier mother, while Marnie loves to sail. Although after the sailing incident, Marnie doesn't want anything more to do with sailing or the water and when she is old enough, she leaves the Lowcountry to start over in the desert of Sedona, Arizona and years later is called back home to help Diana's 9 year old son who has also experienced a traumatic sailing incident. While I really enjoyed the writing style, I did not care for the story as a whole. It seemed forced and deliberate and predictable. I also had a hard time really caring about the characters with the exception of Diana. I kept getting the feeling that I was watching a Lifetime movie. The one part of this storyline that really bothered me was the flirting going on between Marnie and Quinn (Diana's ex-husband). For me, no matter what the circumstance is...you just don't go after your sister's ex-husband, or your ex-wife's sister. Period.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2012
As is often the case, the cover drew me to The Memory of Water by Karen White—there was just something about the steely blue-green that guided my hand to pick this book up from the New in Fiction table
instead, perhaps, the book next to it.
Once settled into the multiple narrators’ voices (the sisters—Marnie and Diana; the ex-husband, Quinn; and the young son, Gil), I found this story of a family looking to heal and be whole again very
captivating. Somewhat bothersome was the constant reminders of the “terrible thing that happened at sea that night.” That something went terribly wrong on a nighttime sail is the event that hurls the
family’s story into full spin; constantly reminding me of this as the healing progresses was annoying.
I finished the Memory of Water sitting at the Emerson Inn in Rockport, MA. The early April day was steely gray, and the ocean beyond the cove was filled with stormy whitecaps—the same setting that I have seen brilliant with sunlight reflecting from the crests of waves…memories of water.
instead, perhaps, the book next to it.
Once settled into the multiple narrators’ voices (the sisters—Marnie and Diana; the ex-husband, Quinn; and the young son, Gil), I found this story of a family looking to heal and be whole again very
captivating. Somewhat bothersome was the constant reminders of the “terrible thing that happened at sea that night.” That something went terribly wrong on a nighttime sail is the event that hurls the
family’s story into full spin; constantly reminding me of this as the healing progresses was annoying.
I finished the Memory of Water sitting at the Emerson Inn in Rockport, MA. The early April day was steely gray, and the ocean beyond the cove was filled with stormy whitecaps—the same setting that I have seen brilliant with sunlight reflecting from the crests of waves…memories of water.
December 13, 2009
This book is for anyone whose soul has sung while participating in any particular activity ... and then stopped doing it. It's for anyone who's experienced the joy and pain of having siblings. It's a study of family, of relationships, of memory and of mental illness. Somehow, though, White manages to explore difficult, painful material without the book ever becoming a chore to read -- probably because of those activities that lead characters' souls to sing. And even though I don't know much about sailing, after reading this book I want to learn.
August 30, 2015
An interesting book about the impact that mental illness, lies, and secrets have on families. I enjoyed the multiple character perspectives given in the different chapters. Took me a little bit to get into this one....so 4 stars
December 16, 2016
3 1/2 Stars. Lyrical writing but a bit too predictable which made her main character seem dim witted. I wanted to tell the one main character, Marnie to open her mouth and ask more questions and to use her brain. She would have figured out the answers she was looking for.
August 6, 2008
I hated this book. Way too predictable and really lame writing style. Too many metaphores. Trying too hard. Blah.
February 1, 2013
Slow starting....but pretty good finish!!!
February 14, 2016
I really enjoy Karen White stories. This was the exception for me. I liked it but did not enjoy it. It was dark and dealt with mental illness. It was disturbing.
June 19, 2017
Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
As a fan of Karen White's work, I thought I would pick out a title of hers as my next audio book. With a limited selection, I settled on this one.
As you can see by the publication date, this is not one of her recent works, nor had I ever heard of it before. That being said, since she has not let me down thus far, I decided to see what this story had to offer me.
I am going to declare right off of the bat that this has been my least favorite of her stories so far. Considering I have loved everything of hers that I have encountered so far, that is not a negative statement. While I fell in love with her other stories, I only fell in like with this one.
This story centralizes on the complexity of family relationships following the wake of a tragedy. It also deals with the impact of mental illness on relationships. With these two themes at play, it made for a kind of heavy subject matter. Those looking for a light subject matter may want to avoid this story, there is not a lot of rainbows and unicorns to be found within these pages.
My main issue with the story was that I had a hard time finding a character to get behind and cheer for. I found Marnie to be too passive and afraid. I understand her fears were rooted in the childhood accident with her mother however I just wanted her to be a little less controlled and more like the younger version of herself. Diane I found to be extremely bitter and therefore not very likeable. Again, I understand this was due to her mental illness and the secrets she was harboring. Quinn I found to be like a puppy. Blindly devoted to someone he had never met, that when he did meet that person, he was instantly in love. It was only Gill that I could get behind and that was because he was a child, stuck in a dysfunctional family situation.
There were no surprises for me in this story. The twist, if it was meant to be one, was guessed long before the big reveal. I even had an idea on how the story would end, and was correct.
While this may not be my favorite story written by White, it was still well written and descriptive as I have come to expect from her work. It was still a good story, just not great in my opinion. It will not prevent me from seeking out more of her work (I am sure I will get through all of them eventually) as she is one of my go to authors when looking for something I know I will like.
As I listened to the audiobook version of this story, I do have to give one nod to it. The narrator (I forget her name) did an extremely good job with the telling of this story. She captured the bitterness in Diana extremely well and even captured the accent of Quinn quite well. Good Job!
As a fan of Karen White's work, I thought I would pick out a title of hers as my next audio book. With a limited selection, I settled on this one.
As you can see by the publication date, this is not one of her recent works, nor had I ever heard of it before. That being said, since she has not let me down thus far, I decided to see what this story had to offer me.
I am going to declare right off of the bat that this has been my least favorite of her stories so far. Considering I have loved everything of hers that I have encountered so far, that is not a negative statement. While I fell in love with her other stories, I only fell in like with this one.
This story centralizes on the complexity of family relationships following the wake of a tragedy. It also deals with the impact of mental illness on relationships. With these two themes at play, it made for a kind of heavy subject matter. Those looking for a light subject matter may want to avoid this story, there is not a lot of rainbows and unicorns to be found within these pages.
My main issue with the story was that I had a hard time finding a character to get behind and cheer for. I found Marnie to be too passive and afraid. I understand her fears were rooted in the childhood accident with her mother however I just wanted her to be a little less controlled and more like the younger version of herself. Diane I found to be extremely bitter and therefore not very likeable. Again, I understand this was due to her mental illness and the secrets she was harboring. Quinn I found to be like a puppy. Blindly devoted to someone he had never met, that when he did meet that person, he was instantly in love. It was only Gill that I could get behind and that was because he was a child, stuck in a dysfunctional family situation.
There were no surprises for me in this story. The twist, if it was meant to be one, was guessed long before the big reveal. I even had an idea on how the story would end, and was correct.
While this may not be my favorite story written by White, it was still well written and descriptive as I have come to expect from her work. It was still a good story, just not great in my opinion. It will not prevent me from seeking out more of her work (I am sure I will get through all of them eventually) as she is one of my go to authors when looking for something I know I will like.
As I listened to the audiobook version of this story, I do have to give one nod to it. The narrator (I forget her name) did an extremely good job with the telling of this story. She captured the bitterness in Diana extremely well and even captured the accent of Quinn quite well. Good Job!
February 29, 2024
Another story where resolution brings healing. This was a hard read for me because of the type of hurt that was being dealt with, and the fact that it caused trauma in loved ones, particularly in the life of a child. Art therapy was the medium that was used to help bring restitution and thankfully it does help many children release the inner hurt.
February 16, 2019
This was so good! Sisters, secrets, a hundreds year old family curse. What more could a reader want?
I had one thing sort of figured out, but definitely not everything. This isn't listed as mystery, yet there's a bit of mystery in it, if that makes sense.
Definitely recommend!
I had one thing sort of figured out, but definitely not everything. This isn't listed as mystery, yet there's a bit of mystery in it, if that makes sense.
Definitely recommend!
May 5, 2019
Although this book is mid-sized (315 pp.), it seems longer because the same life-and-death situation (small sailboat, 1-2 crew, storm with howling wind and threatening waves) occurs/recurs—in the present, in the memory of this character or that, whatever. So it seems just redundant and overdone. Maybe it would have been better with some judicious editing.
January 6, 2023
2.5 stars rounding up.
August 22, 2023
I did like the author's use of the multiple first-person narratives, I found that interesting.
April 27, 2025
this book was actually so good, i almost cried, i loved the big plot twist at the end i definitely wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did.
December 13, 2023
White's prose is heavy-handed, characters were underdeveloped, and what could have read as a thrilling mystery was predictable and dull.
December 14, 2022
Ocean, sailing, sisters with a tumultuous relationship, ghosts, helping a child find his voice.
April 11, 2020
I was put off big-time by the predictability of this book. There's a kind of shallow transparency about it that meant I got there way early and had to wade and slog through all the angst, secrecy, and instability before the book caught up to me. Diana and Marnie are sisters who grew up with a mentally unstable mother. Some years after dear old Dad took a powder and lit out for a more stable relationship, Mom loads the girls into a sailboat for a little late-night sailing during the height of a storm. Predictably enough, the little trio get a late-night swim forced on them, and Mom's body is never found. Meanwhile, the two sisters have different memories of that night, and those memories and the secrets inherent with them pull the two apart.
Fast forward several years: Diana has inherited her mother's artistic ability and mental instability. She takes her son, Gil, out on a boat one stormy night, and the two are nearly killed. Gil clams up and can't speak after the incident, and Diana's ex-husband, Quinn, calls on Marnie, a teacher of special-needs kids, to move home from Arizona where she fled to escape the watery memories of her South Carolina upbringing. He's sure Marnie can help poor Gil.
The truth is, none of these characters lit me up much. Arguably the most interesting one, and my favorite perversely enough, is a woman whom White disparagingly flings off as a heavyset nurse. She stays with the family, feeding the hyper-religious disabled grandpa, presumably cleaning him up and assuming the role of caregiver when all kinds of instability is raging around her.
This has the look and feel of a musty old Phyllis A. Whitney book. It isn't quite as Gothic as an old Whitney would have been, but it is a book replete with references to ghosts, a family curse, and even the sound of crying children, heard by poor Gil, who loses his ability to speak after he nearly loses his life, thanks to dear old Mom.
The audio edition of this will cost you 11 hours and change if you read it at normal speed. Crank it to 2.75X, and you're finished in four hours and change, and that's about all the time you want to spend with this.
Fast forward several years: Diana has inherited her mother's artistic ability and mental instability. She takes her son, Gil, out on a boat one stormy night, and the two are nearly killed. Gil clams up and can't speak after the incident, and Diana's ex-husband, Quinn, calls on Marnie, a teacher of special-needs kids, to move home from Arizona where she fled to escape the watery memories of her South Carolina upbringing. He's sure Marnie can help poor Gil.
The truth is, none of these characters lit me up much. Arguably the most interesting one, and my favorite perversely enough, is a woman whom White disparagingly flings off as a heavyset nurse. She stays with the family, feeding the hyper-religious disabled grandpa, presumably cleaning him up and assuming the role of caregiver when all kinds of instability is raging around her.
This has the look and feel of a musty old Phyllis A. Whitney book. It isn't quite as Gothic as an old Whitney would have been, but it is a book replete with references to ghosts, a family curse, and even the sound of crying children, heard by poor Gil, who loses his ability to speak after he nearly loses his life, thanks to dear old Mom.
The audio edition of this will cost you 11 hours and change if you read it at normal speed. Crank it to 2.75X, and you're finished in four hours and change, and that's about all the time you want to spend with this.
April 14, 2009
Marnie returns to her childhood home to help her nephew, who is refusing to speak, since suffering a trauma on a boat with his mother.
This re-opens old wounds between herself and her sister as they also were on the boat that ended in their mother's death many years ago. Many secrets have been buried and start to emerge.
The four viewpoint naratives here did seem too many. Could probably have done without Quinn's, never really liked his character, his expectation that his son's aunt should just drop her life in Arizona to solve his son's problems and couldn't quite believe the attraction between him and Marnie.
The plot did stagnate a little in the middle for me and I did predict several of the twists before they occured. I also felt the author laboured the point several times regarding the 'curse' and relied too many times on accidents to move the story along... how many times did books fall open, purses open to expose hidden letters and notes poke out of closed boxes!!! A bit lazy!
But I was interested enough to read till the end, slightly predictable perhaps but (finally) exciting enough to lift the book at the end.
This re-opens old wounds between herself and her sister as they also were on the boat that ended in their mother's death many years ago. Many secrets have been buried and start to emerge.
The four viewpoint naratives here did seem too many. Could probably have done without Quinn's, never really liked his character, his expectation that his son's aunt should just drop her life in Arizona to solve his son's problems and couldn't quite believe the attraction between him and Marnie.
The plot did stagnate a little in the middle for me and I did predict several of the twists before they occured. I also felt the author laboured the point several times regarding the 'curse' and relied too many times on accidents to move the story along... how many times did books fall open, purses open to expose hidden letters and notes poke out of closed boxes!!! A bit lazy!
But I was interested enough to read till the end, slightly predictable perhaps but (finally) exciting enough to lift the book at the end.
March 28, 2013
this is a book about two sisters whose lives fall apart after their mother drowns. Since her death, the once close sisters have grown apart and the reason for this is explored in the story. After years of living in Arizona, sister Marnie comes back to the south carolina town that she grew up in and to the place where her mother died. She returns after being asked by her brother-in-law to come help with her young nephew, who has stopped speaking, after being in a boating accident with his mother. It turns out that the mother, Diana, is bi-polar, just like her dead mother was and this boating accident is similiar to the one that the mother perished in. The book unravels the mystery behind both of these accident and in the process explores the relationship between the sisters. The author writes in the same style that Jodi Picoult does, telling the story from the perspective of all the characters. While that worked, the story fell flat at times and I found myself getting bored. I found this book to be a bit disappointing, as it was often predictable and the author seemed to quickly wrap up all the story lines in the end.
June 16, 2011
This book is definitely one of the more serious Karen White books I've read lately. It has her usual style of mystery with a touch of romance, but also touches on more serious issues - like bipolar disorder and how it can affect everyone around the person suffering - and it also shows the chapters from a different perspective in real time, which is something different.
The part that I found most intriguing was how she wrote Gil, one of the character's nine-year old son, who is suffering trauma and refuses to speak. When we read from his point of view, it's easy to see that he's seen more in his life than most of us have and he's so mature for his age.
I thought the revelation of what happened truly in Marnie and Diane's past concerning their mother was incredible. As I've read more of Karen's books, I've begun to see how she thinks and I was generally able to work out what the surprises would be before they happened, but not with this book. It kept me reading literally to the last seconds of my breaks at work, and I'll be off to get another one of her books soon!
The part that I found most intriguing was how she wrote Gil, one of the character's nine-year old son, who is suffering trauma and refuses to speak. When we read from his point of view, it's easy to see that he's seen more in his life than most of us have and he's so mature for his age.
I thought the revelation of what happened truly in Marnie and Diane's past concerning their mother was incredible. As I've read more of Karen's books, I've begun to see how she thinks and I was generally able to work out what the surprises would be before they happened, but not with this book. It kept me reading literally to the last seconds of my breaks at work, and I'll be off to get another one of her books soon!
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