Heartbreaking, dark, and beautifully written. ( )

The Weight of Water is a book I just read for my book group. Anita Shreve's books aren't normally ones I would pick to read, so this was a bit of a challenge.

I have to say that I didn't really care too much for the modern-day people and their woes. I just couldn't relate to the female characters here (either Jean or Adaline) as real people with real problems. However, I did enjoy the story about the Norwegian immigrants who came to Smuttynose Island. They had some serious issues to deal with, especially Maren, none the least of which were isolation, both mental and physical. Plus, a mystery always grabs me, and this one was based, in part, on real murders committed on that Island sometime back in the 1870s.

Overall, it was okay, and I say that because of the story from the past. The modern-day characterization was just kind of blah, and I think that it detracted from my reading and from trying to get a handle on the four people on the boat in the modern story.

I'd recommend it, but with reservations. I'm not a chick-lit kind of person, but I think readers who are will probably like the book much more than myself. ( )

Note to Ms. Shreve: for a tragedy to be tragic, the reader must have the tiniest reason to give a sliver of a damn about at least one of the characters. I don't give a damn about four jerks on a yacht. And only A. S. Byatt has ever pulled off the Super Sekrit Manuscript Unread for a Hundred Years.

I'm not an Anita Shreeve fan. I personally thought all this book was was a waste of paper. I'm sorry ...

A preoccupied novel, written from right there in someones head. lots of water involved and sadness. ( )