The Seduction of Water

I've been reading some pretty dark suspense/mystery books, and my soul felt rather battered. This book was a wonderful antidote to hard-core realism -- a story within a story, mystery, and, despite some violence in it, a gentle tale of a daughter in search of her mother, or of her mother's story, both personal and a manuscript written before the mother died twenty years before. I loved the setting in the Hudson Valley, which made me want to return there for a visit, if only to catch that light once more before I die. I wish I could have seen the Hotel Equinox in its heyday, and to have seen the gazebo/chuppas built by Joseph. Thanks to Rebekkila for sending this book along to me. I'm going to leave my copy in Palo Alto, California, show more while I'm out here for our son's Stanford graduation, for someone to find via BookCrossing. show less

Carol Goodman is one of my favorite mystery authors and did not disappoint with this story. It's about an author, Iris Greenfede, who decides to solve a mystery about her mom. Her mom was also an author who wrote a hit story, but died before the sequel was published. Iris has to go back to the hotel where her parents worked and she grew up to do some sleuthing and writing. Add in the beauty of the Catskills, a dash of romance, and a helping of art community and you have the joy of this riddle.

It wasn't my favorite by Carol Goodman but I still enjoyed myself very much while escaping to the busy, intense summer of Iris.

Carol Goodman is gifted with a smooth, hypnotic story teller's voice and she uses it to advantage in 'The Seduction of Water.'

Briefly, it's the story of Iris, unpublished want-to-be author, who ekes out a living teaching English to immigrants, prisoners, and ex-cons. The orphaned daughter of a hotel manager and a fantasy writer, her life is rather bland on the surface, until Iris decides to write an article about her mother and the missing final book in her trilogy. Then Iris's life begins to change in ways that mirror the Irish folk tales that formed the basis of her mother's stories.

Goodman's story teller's voice is true; her prose runs smoothly, her plotting is deft, and her characters - even her bit players - are intriguing.

The book opens as Iris Greenfelder is recalling how she would feel when her mother told her her favorite bedtime story, "The Selkie's Daughter." The story is Iris' main connection to her mother. Iris was the daughter of Kay & Ben Greenfelder, who ran (not owned) the Hotel Equinox, a grand place high up in the Catskills in the woods. The selkie is a seal who, twice a year, shed her skin & became a woman for a night. The catch is she can be caught by capturing her shed skin & taking it home. This happens, in Kay's story, and the woman is released by her only daughter after years of being married and having children. The woman weaves her daughter a beautiful net of tears made from sea foam. Pay attention, readers -- what Goodman has done show more has used the "story within a story" device here so you must pay attention to detail.

Iris squeaks by on a meager salary, teaching a class here & there at a local college & at the nearby prison. She decides through a series of events that maybe she could write about her mother, perhaps a memoir. Her mom was an author, who wrote two books of fantasy based on the Selkie story and evidently, there was to be a third which gave the conclusion of the story, but before this could happen, Kay was killed in a fire. Many people thought there was a third story, but it never surfaced. Iris thinks that if there is a story, it is hidden at the hotel somewhere, and she wants to find it, read it, and use it in her work about her mother. She actually writes a short story based on the story her mother told to her, it gets published in a literary journal and Iris' life begins to change from there. It seems that Iris is not the only person who is interested in her mother's final work.

Suffice it to say that the search for the book & Iris' quest for answers about her mother bring her
to some startling revelations.

The book flows very nicely until the end, where everything seems rushed! However, to her credit, the author's ending is not predictable. You'll find yourself left wondering about some things, but overall it was a very good read. Actually, now that I think about it, I liked this one better than Lake of Dead Languages.

highly recommended show less

There's a good story in here somewhere, full of lovely writing and interesting fairy tales and poignant themes of family legacy, but stumbling as it does over its own awkward pacing and muffled as it is under the unrelenting egotism of its protagonist, you'd never guess.

I looked forward to opening this based on the quotations and blurb. I was very much looking forward to a thriller (as stated on the cover). Sadly, it disappointed on this front from early on but I was convinced if I kept turning the pages it would become one. It did have an air of mystery to it but for me a thriller is something that plunges the reader into a situation; this merely dangled a few titbits in front of your face.

The narrator was difficult to engage with. There was nothing scintillating or captivating about her and when it was the search for her past that we were going on, this wasn’t a good sign. Everything is very convenient for both author and narrator; plans falling into place etc that it become unconvincing and I show more felt myself counting the pages to the end.

I don’t always easily enjoy stories within stories and this was no exception. However I can usually find how they link to the story itself. This was just Goodman trying to show of another poor skill that didn’t work and in the end I skipped them, they were awful to read! Because the novel is plot, rather than character, driven it seems Goodman knew which path she was following and didn’t worry about filling in the gaps or smoothing the edges down to get us there. It lacked care and attention.

The reason for two stars instead of one star is simple – there is a good storyline in there, it just needs another author or a firmer editor. It shouldn’t be pitched as a thriller and needed stronger characters. show less

Iris Greenfeder, an aspiring writer is feeling overwhelmed by her various teaching jobs and the fact she hasn't finished her dissertation and she is not getting any writing done. Her boyfriend Jack is planning on spending the summer at an artists' retreat. Iris writes a short story based on a fairy-tale her mother, the deceased author Katherine Morrissey used to tell her growing up. Phoebe Nix, the publisher of the magazine that printed the short story, suggests Iris write a story about her mother.

Iris leaves Manhattan for the summer to work at Hotel Equinox, the place where Iris grew up, her parents managed the hotel. The Equinox has been bought by Harry Kron, who happens to be Phoebe's uncle. Iris is given the position that used to show more belong to her father, as hotel manager. She hires sexy and mysterious Aidan, a parolee she met while teaching at an upstate prison.

Iris searches for the truth about her mother's mysterious death and what could have happened to the third manuscript in a series her mother wrote about Selkies, who were half-woman, half-seals. Interspersed within the novel are the stories based on Irish folk-lore that Katherine used to tell. Harry invites a lot of past guests to the newly refurbished hotel, many of whom knew Iris's parents and tell her various things they remember about her mother.

This book is really well-written and both suspenseful and magical. The setting of the Equinox is in the Hudson Valley/ Catskills and the themes are based on Henry Hudson. I wanted to stay at this fictional hotel. The fairy tales are so beautiful, I have searched but been unsuccessful in finding books about the Selkies.
There is also, romance and suspense as Harry and Phoebe seem to have ulterior motives for wanting Iris to write this book. This is another book that is probably classified as chick-lit but has so many layers to it. Great location, great story, great characters; all make for a really amazing read.
Carol Goodman is also the author of The Lake of Dead Languages. show less