Waterwoman: A Novel of the Eastern Shore

by Client ICM Lenore Hart

Even as a child, plain, boyish Annie Revels had everyone's role in life figured out. Everyone's, that is, except her own. Her mother was sickly and needed to be taken care of. Her little sister Rebecca was remarkably beautiful, where Annie was not. Her father was a waterman, a free-looking life Annie deeply envied and could've had, if only she'd been born a son. Tiny, remote Yaupon Island knows nothing of the partying, gin-soaked Roaring Twenties which grip the rest of the country. The Revels family depends on the coastal waters to make a living, and tragedy is always only a bad storm away. As Annie notes, "In order to live on the Shore, you need to understand that good weather always follows bad." But when her father dies, suddenly it falls to Annie to take his place aboard the oyster boat and support what's left of the family. Out there, she finds the only life she thought she could ever really fit into: being a waterman. Until one day, out on the water, she meets Nathan . . LENORE HART is the author of seven other novels, including ORDINARY SPRINGS, BECKY: THE LIFE AND LOVES OF BECKY THATCHER, and THE RAVEN'S BRIDE. She lives on the Eastern Shore with her husband, novelist David Poyer, and teaches in the Wilkes University MA/MFA Creative Writing Program.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

234 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of wish I hadn't read it, so I could read it again for the first time.

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 4 out of 5]

An American tragedy in the 1920s set on the Eastern Shore of Virginia -- actually a small island offshore. I first heard the term "waterman" when we lived on the Poquoson River in a town called Tabb. We had the requisite crab trap and a small fishing boat, a canoe and a jon boat which we found mostly sunk after a big blow and towed home. The boys were 8 or 9 or 10 around then and used the jon boat and kept it pretty muddy.

A sweet story, occasionally veering off into a romance-type tale and now and then a anachronistic word or phrase such as "having a ball" or "get-go."

Still, it mostly reflects the terms of watermen and the times and is sad and tragic and bleak and touching. Put me in mind of a weekend we spent on Tangiers Island one time. Worth the read.

Not a recent book. I received a brand new copy from the author after I'd sent her a review of her most recent book from the local paper. A very thoughtful gesture.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. She has a gift. I really enjoyed this book. It's very good, especially for a first book. she's a very talented author. I learned alot about a family that lives along the east coast and on an island. It's hard for me to imagine the hardships of most people then. It's set in 1920, people were very isolated and they took care of themselves and each other. A wonderful story and a page turner. If you had good parents and a good childhood it really makes you count your blessings because the main characters had a very tough life. I'm going to read another book by her as soon as it arrives.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lenore Hart did an excellent job writing characters that were interesting and complex. I thought Nathan was a fascinating character, not at all what I thought he was going to be. I did have a hard time understanding why a character had to die at the end, and why Annie's sexual stuff needed to be described so often and in detail, but the book was much better than I expected it to be.

[KJFieler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annie Revels knows what she wants out of life, but fate and circumstances won't let her have any of it. Still, she's determined to make the best of her situation. She is nothing if not dauntless. Her little sister, Rebecca, has inherited all the attributes any young woman hopes for: looks, popularity, and the hearts of men. Everything Annie was denied. So, Annie has every reason to be jealous of her sister, but an early childhood incident instead causes her to feel responsible for Rebecca. Even when she doesn't want to be. When tragedy strikes, more than once, Annie and Rebecca take what comes, each in their own way. The bond is always there but not in the way either of them imagined. Love and hate, life and death, as it turns out, might just be different faces of the same coin.

[Grayce · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Ce · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator was excellent.

[John R Urry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written , the story was just sooo sad .

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sad story with too much sex in it for my taste. I won't even give the book away, it's going in the trash.

[Pattie Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story set along the Eastern Shore. I know that area well. The narrator on Audible was fabulous as well. I will definitely look for other titles by Lenore Hart.

[An · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speechless.
To think this is a debut blows my mind. Incredible author. She knew she had something to say and did it impeccably. I can’t wait to read more from her.

[Karen Principio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story and great book. A lot of typos in the electronic version I downloaded though.

[Mike Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waterwoman is a very sad tale told in a very unusual voice. The story is set in the early 1900s and narrated from the 1920 perspective of Annie Revels, a young woman living alone with her sister and mother on a small island off the cost of Virginia. Annie harvests oysters and crabs to make a living as a "waterwoman" after her father dies in a fishing accident. At this time in history, women didn't work on the water, but she feels she has no other option. Her mother is disabled, her sister is too young to work, and Annie's prospects of finding a husband are slim. By default, Annie becomes the head of the household.

Annie went to school on a neighbouring island from Grade 2 until the age of 13, so she has a basic education. Her voice as narrator is a peculiar Virginia dialect that takes some getting used to. She is ignorant about many things, but is not unintelligent. About halfway through the book, Annie meets Nathan, a local who acts as a guide for tourists fishing and hunting ducks among the coastal islands. From there, complications ensue.

The book gives what feels like an accurate portrayal of a very small piece of World War I-era America, where life was hard work and few pleasures. Aside from some of the young men who went to war, most of the characters have not travelled farther than a few miles from their homes. The second half of the story involves Annie trying to understand an adult world and its responsibilities that she was thrust into before she was ready. It does not go well, partly out of ignorance, partly out of other character flaws, and partly out of an unforgiving environment.

I was distracted by a few things, including the Revels's relative isolation and the flow of time. I have questions about just how often Annie and her relatives interacted with the main town on another island. In some places, it seems they visit often enough to know and be known by the townsfolk, but other times, she comments on how they never leave the island and know almost no one. It was unclear just how isolated the family was. Also, time sometimes passed very quickly (such as the war years) and sometimes seemed to stretch out (the final section of the story seemed to last a couple of years, yet Annie seemed to be the same age throughout). Some of these technical details seemed glossed over for the sake of the story.

Waterwoman is an interesting read for its setting and its language, but it is also very much a woman's book that probably resonates more with women readers than with men.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes from book club meeting

The story of Annie and her family living on a mile wide island off the coast of Virginia at the turn of the century will long stay stay with us. Dad worked as a fisherman, Mam was sickly after many miscarriages, Grandma went mad, and beautiful little sister needed "looking after". Annie had no looks, a strong back, and a desire to learn to work the fishing boat. The girls only went to school for a short time before being removed by Dad who didn't like the attitudes they were developing. After Dad was lost in a fishing accident, Annie did take on the fishing boat AND kept up the family garden AND did the family cooking.....she had it tough, but she didn't complain. And then, she met Nathan. And the the story heats up!



The group discussion was interesting. Some said that the author gave us more information than we needed to know.....in the details of Annie's sex life. Others said that we did not have enough information.......why didn't the family visit nearby Cobb Island that seemed to have services they could have used.........Why did Mam have to be taken to the midwife for delivery....and returned....in a storm...the same day? The biggest question was..........why did the baby have to die?



Trisha led us back to Annie's view of the world. She knew only her small world and her place as the head of her family and what she thought to be best for her family in that time. We discussed the themes of: sense of place, isolation, subsistence living, betrayal, roles of women.



It was a great morning and a good start to the weekend. Thanks again, Trisha.

[Peter Lehu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book read as part of my study of fiction from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. This one takes place in the early twentieth century on the fictional Yaupon Island (apparently named after a beach in North Carolina.) The speech and vocabulary of the characters sounds authentic though I don't know for sure if it is. Generally, it is well written and easy to read. It's also 3-star-worthy as an interesting, enjoyable read until the end which is wrapped up too conveniently and quickly by an act of nature.

Based on the unique setting and the subtitle “A Novel of the Eastern Shore” I was expecting more cultural history--more information about actually being a fisherperson on the Eastern Shore in the 1910’s. There is some history; for instance, I learned about the tourism industry and the natives’ animosity toward recreational boaters and hunters. You learn some about their domestic life--the diet and clothing. But after setting the scene, Hart becomes more focused on the main character Annie’s sexual awakening and the ill-fated love triangle with her lover and her sister. There is surprisingly little in the plot about what it is like to be a young woman working the land in an otherwise completely male industry in an era of entrenched gender inequality. I guess sex and romance are more interesting.

[melydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pretty much an atmospheric book, one you read for the setting more than the plot. It’s 1920 and Annie Revels’s father has just died, leaving her alone with her beautiful younger sister and ailing mother. They live on a small island off the shore of Virginia where their father made their living as a waterman: harvesting and selling oysters and crabs. It’s a hard life, but one Annie takes to fairly quickly, donning her father’s old clothes and doing everything herself. When she meets a man who sees her as an attractive woman for the first time in her life, everything changes. Not a whole lot happens, really. It’s kind of a sad tale, but not really because I never formed any real attachment to the characters. My personal fascination with the first two decades of the 20th century was mostly what kept me interested, as the descriptions of that kind of life at the time were quite detailed. In the end, I’d count this book as one that passed the time, but not one I’ll remember in a year.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading first novels of authors. It's a hobby of mine, I guess. This one was a fine addition to the list of firsts. The story is told in an authentic voice, for the most part, and gives a great image of life on a barrier island off Virginia between the wars, and life as a waterman. There are some great descriptions of nature and the wrath of storms-- something I can relate to. But I did like what the author had Annie say:

Some folks will say that the nor'easter if 1920 was a curse, or a punishment, or a judgementon us. But I am my father's daughter, and a waterman knows the hand of God is never set on crushing us. We weather what comes our way, and in the end it makes us stronger.

One nice surprise was that Charleston gets a mention. Wasn't expecting that at all!

[Rita Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waterwoman is a book you'll want to read all in one sitting. The protagonist, Annie, is portrayed as a tough, not-so-attractive tomboyish girl-woman who only wants to fish and crab and hang out with her father. Annie seems unconcerned about her younger sister, Rebecca, who's beautiful and girlie, a seeming anti-Annie. Their "mam" experiences mental struggles and is largely emotionally unavailable, at least to Annie and her father. Annie cannot imagine she would ever have a man or marry. Lavish, descriptive prose and a story that pulls you in on page 1 keeps you reading this fine novel.

[Kory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately I've been on a kick to read about watermen and their ways of life. This was a great book which accurately and successfully portrays the trials, tribulations and, even, perils of crabbing life. I was intrigued with the author's knowledge of the terminology as well as her ability to accurately describe the interworkings of fishing operations. I felt more in in tune with the protagonist thanks to my newfound education. I'd certainly recommend this one for anyone interested in water life.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up out a little library- it seemed interesting. I got to the end and thought was the point of the story that if you have evil thoughts a couple of times (like anyone) in your life you will have bad juju? Seriously the main character is selfless did a couple of things wrong and then assumed everything bad thing that happened to her was because of this. Seriously Scarlett Letter flashbacks happened, except it was not as good and no symbolism.

[Ann McCauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well wrtitten but the characters were so difficult for me to identify with. Their emotions did not ring true to me and the lifestyles described were too isolated and bleak. Wouldn't have finished it if it had not been for required reading for Book Club.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book but a little sad.

[Sunni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really only liked this because of the Eastern Shore setting and my genealogical work in that area.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but depressing. Very. But you can tell from the first chapter, so you know what you are signing up for.

[Sandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I would like it at first, but as I read I enjoyed it.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Descriptive writing, and a good story.

[Ellen]

Arizona meeting Cora

[Diane Kenealy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great beginning, but a terrible ending. Another promising female protagonist is reduced to martyrdom.

[LInda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this a lot -- hard life back in those days. Of course, some places it still is. Liked it that Lenore Hart lives there.

[LawsOfSanity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugg i was fighting for a different ending. Its a good story but so tragic.