Wally Lamb is a genius at perception and expression. This book is wonderful, beautifully created and written. The characters are vivid, unique and believable.
A caution: 2 trigger warnings. I recommend feeling stable before reading this terrific book. ( )

This book is not for everyone. There are deeply disturbing chapters written from the perspective of a pedophile. There is liberal use of offensive language. There are murders and descriptions of abusive relationships. At times it was difficult to read, and yet I kept reading because I wanted to see how it played out. ( )

An absorbing, but painful read. Some scenes are vivid, but brutal in their details. I finished it, and there was some redemption in the end, but if this book is representative of the author's works, I don't think I'll read more. It was well-written in some respects. ( )

A disquieting and ultimately uplifting novel about a marriage, a family, and human resilience in the face of tragedy, from Wally Lamb, the New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed and I Know This Much Is True.

After 27 years of marriage and three children, Anna Oh—wife, mother, outsider artist—has fallen in love with Viveca, the wealthy Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her success. They plan to wed in the Oh family’s hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut. But the wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets—dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs’ lives.

We Are Water is a layered portrait of marriage, family, and the inexorable need for understanding and connection, told in the alternating voices of the Ohs—nonconformist, Anna; her ex-husband, Orion, a psychologist; Ariane, the do-gooder daughter, and her twin, Andrew, the rebellious only son; and free-spirited Marissa, the youngest. It is also a portrait of modern America, exploring issues of class, changing social mores, the legacy of racial violence, and the nature of creativity and art.

With humor and compassion, Wally Lamb brilliantly captures the essence of human experience and the ways in which we search for love and meaning in our lives.

Wally Lamb never disappoints. I'm always sad when I finish one of his books! ( )