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The Water Underneath
A unique blend of literary road movie and murder mystery.
'They dragged her out of the lake at dawn. No jaw, one eye socket like some strange fish. The water was closing and closing, the centre blank as the tissue of a scar. Then, in a place a thousand miles from the ocean, they found something which might have been a seashell but which they knew was not. The lake gave birth regretfully, washing her up in slow burps.'
A young woman and her baby go missing in an isolated Australian mining town. Two decades later human bones wash up in the local lake. The only clue is that a man driving a truck wearing a hat did it, in a town where every man wears something on his head.
Twenty years later, Ruth returns to the place where she was born and where her mother was ostracised. Over that time an unexplored territory of guilty secrets centres on one man, Uncle Frank, whose silence has protected him but has also inflicted inconsolable wounds.
The Water Underneath, told through the eyes of three women, separated by time, skin colour and allegiance, but united by their love of Frank, is about some of the conflicts which divide Australians, in the past and to this day.
'They dragged her out of the lake at dawn. No jaw, one eye socket like some strange fish. The water was closing and closing, the centre blank as the tissue of a scar. Then, in a place a thousand miles from the ocean, they found something which might have been a seashell but which they knew was not. The lake gave birth regretfully, washing her up in slow burps.'
A young woman and her baby go missing in an isolated Australian mining town. Two decades later human bones wash up in the local lake. The only clue is that a man driving a truck wearing a hat did it, in a town where every man wears something on his head.
Twenty years later, Ruth returns to the place where she was born and where her mother was ostracised. Over that time an unexplored territory of guilty secrets centres on one man, Uncle Frank, whose silence has protected him but has also inflicted inconsolable wounds.
The Water Underneath, told through the eyes of three women, separated by time, skin colour and allegiance, but united by their love of Frank, is about some of the conflicts which divide Australians, in the past and to this day.
- GenresFiction
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Kate Lyons
12 books3 followersKate Lyons was born in 1965 in outback New South Wales. She has had her short fiction and poetry published in a range of Australian literary journals. Her first novel, The Water Underneath, was shortlisted in the 1999 The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award and was published by Allen & Unwin in 2001. Her second novel The Corner of Your Eye was published by Allen & Unwin in 2006.
The Water Underneath was shortlisted for the Nita B. Kibble Literary Award (Dobbie Award) and the Fellowship of Australian Writers Melbourne University Press Literature Award, and was a notable book in the 2001 Pan Pacific Kiriyama Prize.
She holds a Doctor of Creative Arts degree from the University of Technology Sydney and was the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts Writing Fellow in 2006. Kate lives in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
The Water Underneath was shortlisted for the Nita B. Kibble Literary Award (Dobbie Award) and the Fellowship of Australian Writers Melbourne University Press Literature Award, and was a notable book in the 2001 Pan Pacific Kiriyama Prize.
She holds a Doctor of Creative Arts degree from the University of Technology Sydney and was the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts Writing Fellow in 2006. Kate lives in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 26, 2025
A yarn that spans time and place seamlessly, interwoven with the uniquely Australian landscape and country towns locals all know; it could be any state, any coast, any highway, we all know the place.
The writing is immaculate, descriptions of dirt and water, heat and time are visceral.
The story is told from differing perspectives across generations, crossing boundaries of race, religion and assumed social standing in a search for meaning, identity and belonging.
Simultaneously confronting, shocking and poetic I found myself unable to put this book down, desperate for the answers. However, at the end I am still unsure of exactly what transpired. Yet maybe that’s the point, some things are better left secret and silent, in the water underneath.
The writing is immaculate, descriptions of dirt and water, heat and time are visceral.
The story is told from differing perspectives across generations, crossing boundaries of race, religion and assumed social standing in a search for meaning, identity and belonging.
Simultaneously confronting, shocking and poetic I found myself unable to put this book down, desperate for the answers. However, at the end I am still unsure of exactly what transpired. Yet maybe that’s the point, some things are better left secret and silent, in the water underneath.
March 5, 2015
Took a long time for me to finish and, a couple of times, I thought about not doing so. I got a strong sense of place from the writing but ultimately couldn't follow the relationships and the writing style left me re-reading entire passages in a vain attempt to stay in the book.
October 3, 2022
Just could not get into this. Some parts I just loved because of the beautiful writing, but I struggled.
December 8, 2024
Beautifully written. Just so sparse on useful info to help piece a clear picture on what was going on. Great ideas and characters. But hard to follow for me.
September 23, 2012
Kate Lyons' The Water Underneath is an enjoyable read, exploring the lives of three women across three different generations.
I picked up an uncorrected proof at the local Vinnies for 50 cents, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time nitpicking details. But I feel like that was an incredible buy because the story is so engaging. However, I have to point that the blurb lies: it's not really a "road movie" and it's not a "murder mystery" either. Don't get me wrong – there are elements of both, but that's all there is.
The majority of the story focuses around the lives of the characters, which are fascinating on their own, without the added bonus of a "murder mystery". I did find the way the timeline would jump around a little annoying, and initially, I found it hard to work out who was who and their direct relationships. However, this probably would have been better had the story been expanded and more structured.
I picked up an uncorrected proof at the local Vinnies for 50 cents, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time nitpicking details. But I feel like that was an incredible buy because the story is so engaging. However, I have to point that the blurb lies: it's not really a "road movie" and it's not a "murder mystery" either. Don't get me wrong – there are elements of both, but that's all there is.
The majority of the story focuses around the lives of the characters, which are fascinating on their own, without the added bonus of a "murder mystery". I did find the way the timeline would jump around a little annoying, and initially, I found it hard to work out who was who and their direct relationships. However, this probably would have been better had the story been expanded and more structured.
February 12, 2011
The story constantly leaps around in time and is written from the perspective of different characters in 3rd person. There are 3 generations involved in the story, so this technique fails. Hard to get into, hard to read and ultimately pointless.
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January 27, 2017I got to page 159 of this novel. Unfortunately, as seems often the case in critically-acclaimed works, there was too much writing & not enough story. With 200 other books in my to-read pile I decided to devote the time it would take to finish it to something else.
May 3, 2010
I couldn't get into this book.
July 18, 2012
10 cent score
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews