The Waters
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- Create Date：2024-01-05 04:21:47
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Bonnie Jo Campbell
- ISBN：0393248437
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Summary
A master of rural noir returns with a fierce， mesmerizing novel about exceptional women and the soul of a small town。
On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp—an area known as “The Waters” to the residents of nearby Whiteheart， Michigan—herbalist Hermine “Herself” Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations。 As stubborn as her tonics are powerful， Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people of Whiteheart， and even in her own three daughters。 The youngest， beautiful and inscrutable Rose Thorn， has left her own daughter， eleven-year-old Dorothy “Donkey” Zook， to grow up wild。
Donkey spends her days searching for truths in the lush landscape and in her math books， waiting for her wayward mother and longing for a father， unaware that family secrets， passionate love， and violent men will flood through the swamp and upend her idyllic childhood。
With a “ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world” （New York Times Book Review）， Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity， celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life。
On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp—an area known as “The Waters” to the residents of nearby Whiteheart， Michigan—herbalist Hermine “Herself” Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations。 As stubborn as her tonics are powerful， Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people of Whiteheart， and even in her own three daughters。 The youngest， beautiful and inscrutable Rose Thorn， has left her own daughter， eleven-year-old Dorothy “Donkey” Zook， to grow up wild。
Donkey spends her days searching for truths in the lush landscape and in her math books， waiting for her wayward mother and longing for a father， unaware that family secrets， passionate love， and violent men will flood through the swamp and upend her idyllic childhood。
With a “ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world” （New York Times Book Review）， Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity， celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life。
Reviews
Jan Fore
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The WatersBonnie Jo CampbellJanuary 09， 2024Isolated residents live in Whiteheart， Michigan in an area known as ‘The Waters’ where an island is surrounded by surly waters。 Few people inhabit it。 The cottage that stands alone amongst the jungle growth is in the maze of the landscape。The owner is Hermine Zook aka Herself。 The lone mother of three daughters， two of which have moved away from the Great Massasauga Swamp looking to build a life among the intelligent civilizations。 The youngest， Rose T The WatersBonnie Jo CampbellJanuary 09， 2024Isolated residents live in Whiteheart， Michigan in an area known as ‘The Waters’ where an island is surrounded by surly waters。 Few people inhabit it。 The cottage that stands alone amongst the jungle growth is in the maze of the landscape。The owner is Hermine Zook aka Herself。 The lone mother of three daughters， two of which have moved away from the Great Massasauga Swamp looking to build a life among the intelligent civilizations。 The youngest， Rose Thorn would stay， then leave to visit her sister on the west coast， then work her way back to her beau， Titus Clay， Jr。 Herself is a healer。 Finds her meds and ways via the wildlife of the island or the serum of the rattlesnakes that breed within the waters。 The Waters will be published on January 09， 2024 by W。W。 Norton and Company。 I was able to read Campbell’s latest gem via NetGalley。 To the readers who venture into this extremely intelligent novel， I advise to take the time and the patience to continue with this ‘marathon’ book。 It is an exceptional story that will be true to her award winning talents。 Truthfully， I became lost in the characters a time or two and went back for a review。 It’s one that I can highly recommend。 Do Enjoy！ 。。。more
Andy Mozina
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This is a truly amazing book。 It's nothing short of a sort of a feminist bible， or feminist cosmology， reimagining the founding myths and stories of the western world from a female perspective。 There's mysticism here， to be sure， but the miracle of this book is how grounded it is， both in the literal swamp and in the facts of women's bodies--how they desire and inspire desire， bear children， make medicine and do physical and emotional and intellectual work。 The book is perfectly constructed。 The This is a truly amazing book。 It's nothing short of a sort of a feminist bible， or feminist cosmology， reimagining the founding myths and stories of the western world from a female perspective。 There's mysticism here， to be sure， but the miracle of this book is how grounded it is， both in the literal swamp and in the facts of women's bodies--how they desire and inspire desire， bear children， make medicine and do physical and emotional and intellectual work。 The book is perfectly constructed。 The men of Whiteheart are understood as well as the women and they have their place and their deep flaws。 The last chapter and the Epilogue bring everything together in wise and satisfying ways。 A real triumph。 。。。more
Melki
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"Love is a sharp hollow tooth。"Man， I pretty much hated this book， but it was undeniably goodI wanted to slap nearly every character for being so stubborn and set in their ways that they became blind to the needs of those around them， AND for placing so much responsibility on a young girl who really only wanted to go to school。 ALSO， there are highly detailed， horrific instances of animal cruelty。 On the other hand 。 。 。This is first and foremost a book about women - three sisters， one of the wo "Love is a sharp hollow tooth。"Man， I pretty much hated this book， but it was undeniably goodI wanted to slap nearly every character for being so stubborn and set in their ways that they became blind to the needs of those around them， AND for placing so much responsibility on a young girl who really only wanted to go to school。 ALSO， there are highly detailed， horrific instances of animal cruelty。 On the other hand 。 。 。This is first and foremost a book about women - three sisters， one of the women's daughter， and one domineering legend of a matriarch who looms large not only over her offspring， but over the neighboring town as well。 She's a woman townsfolk both rely on AND resent。 The main characters live on an island， accessible only by a sort of drawbridge controlled by the women on the island。 Pretty cool， I thought。 As for the menfolk， well 。 。 。 right up until the end of the book when an emergency forces them to "man up，" male characters exist merely as sperm donors， or catalysts for crises that the women must handle。If none of this has dissuaded you， you may find the book to be an involving， immersive， character-driven read。 I certainly did。 As I've said before， I don't need to like characters to find them interesting， and the womenfolk of this novel were pretty fascinating。 This is one that'll stick with me for quite a while。Thanks to W。 W。 Norton & Company and NetGalley for sharing。 。。。more
Jim Higgins
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4。5 stars
Sharon Dene
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I really love this book is so well written。 Every character in this book had such a wonderful name and such wonderful background relating to each other。 There are 3 sisters。 Who had different personalities。 You live in a small town in w h I t a h e a。 The mother in the book called herself。 She was a medicine doctor living on the island and she provided stuff to get rid of babies or take babies in the basket。 The town really did not like her， but they all respected her because they helped her out I really love this book is so well written。 Every character in this book had such a wonderful name and such wonderful background relating to each other。 There are 3 sisters。 Who had different personalities。 You live in a small town in w h I t a h e a。 The mother in the book called herself。 She was a medicine doctor living on the island and she provided stuff to get rid of babies or take babies in the basket。 The town really did not like her， but they all respected her because they helped her out a lot。 The oldest one called PRI M lived in California。 She was a lawyer。。 Mary was a nurse who lived in a trailer park close to her parents。 Mother was married to a man named will， but he lived in the big house and eventually he left。 She saved him from a snakes all over the islands。 The youngest one named rose thorns was very rebellious person and she lived with her mother。 She liked a boy named Titus。。 This was a really rocking relationship on her off again。 She was also raped by titus's father。 She left when she found out she was pregnant and her mother sent a pills out to california but she chose to have the baby。 She came home and her daughter named。 Donkey。 Her mother kept disappearing all the time so her grandmother raised her。 It's a lot of issues in this book about insects。 And people who do not expect people。 It's awesome mystery book and a love story at the same time。 Everybody is related as you read the book。 You'll find out who is related and who's not。 The snake plays a very important part of this book as well。 Because donkey fell in love with her 。 This girl was very very smart。 And she helped her grandmother out She lost part of her hand。 She started to find out things about the past， but everybody was very cautious around her。 Titus had another girlfriend and he really liked her。 But rose thorn got no way as usual。 All these women are very strong when they How to be to put 。 They showed a lot of character in this book and now they stood up to their man。 。。。more
Konpeito
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I devoured this in one night。 Will review in depth later。
Sara Mcfadden
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Thank you to NetGalley and W。W。 Norton and Company for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available wide on January 9，2024！This was heavy。 Not clunky or anything but the subject matter was heavy。 It gave me such a depression reading it。 I don’t know if I could actually recommend it。 The names of the characters were freaking off putting。 Honestly it felt like I was reading a really pretentious art house book trying to be gritty and raw and real but it just fell flat。 Thank you to NetGalley and W。W。 Norton and Company for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available wide on January 9，2024！This was heavy。 Not clunky or anything but the subject matter was heavy。 It gave me such a depression reading it。 I don’t know if I could actually recommend it。 The names of the characters were freaking off putting。 Honestly it felt like I was reading a really pretentious art house book trying to be gritty and raw and real but it just fell flat。 It left a bad taste in my brain and a lasting funk on my soul。 。。。more
Wendy
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The Waters is full of rich characters and secrets。 We meet a family of women healers who need their own healing。 While we watch Dorothy， Donkey， grow up and learn so much about her family and life itself， the mysteries of the Waters unfold。 Many times I felt like I was reading about a swampy area of Louisiana rather than the setting of Michigan。 This book is a bit of a roller coaster， both in the story and the writing。 It is a slow start and worth the time spent getting through that to enjoy the The Waters is full of rich characters and secrets。 We meet a family of women healers who need their own healing。 While we watch Dorothy， Donkey， grow up and learn so much about her family and life itself， the mysteries of the Waters unfold。 Many times I felt like I was reading about a swampy area of Louisiana rather than the setting of Michigan。 This book is a bit of a roller coaster， both in the story and the writing。 It is a slow start and worth the time spent getting through that to enjoy the adventure of this strange and loving family。 。。。more
Carol N
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Bonnie Jo Campbell has introduced her readers to her newest novel， "The Waters， a story about 5 exceptional women and the small town of Whiteheart， Michigan。 The "Waters" is located on an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp。 When I first started to read， I felt like I was in the swamps of south Florida instead of Michigan。The main characters include an eccentric herbalist， Hermine aka "Herself，" her three estranged daughters。 and one granddaughter。 Herself inspires reverence and fear from the p Bonnie Jo Campbell has introduced her readers to her newest novel， "The Waters， a story about 5 exceptional women and the small town of Whiteheart， Michigan。 The "Waters" is located on an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp。 When I first started to read， I felt like I was in the swamps of south Florida instead of Michigan。The main characters include an eccentric herbalist， Hermine aka "Herself，" her three estranged daughters。 and one granddaughter。 Herself inspires reverence and fear from the people of Whiteheart as well as her youngest wayward daughter， Rose Thorn; the oldest daughter， Primrose， lawyer in Southern California; Molly， a local hospital nurse and Rose Thorn's only daughter， eleven-year-old Dorothy ， "Donkey。" Donkey spends her days searching for truths， waiting for her wayward mother to return and longing for a father。 She is unaware of family secrets。 While rage simmers in this small town with those on both sides of the divide， the only bridge seems to be Rose Thorn。I must admit I found the story's beginning a bit slow but since it is character driven， so it took me a while to get involved in the story line。 Be patient， the story is worth reading。 。。。more
Courtney
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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review。Three generations of women come together in this 'rural noir' novel。 Hermine 'Herself' is the matriarch who provides herbal medicine to the townsfolk。 She has 3 daughters， and raises a granddaughter nicknamed Donkey who is the the primary narrator of this story。 Donkey and Herself live on a remote island， and this story is mostly about how Donkey's mother， Rose Thorn， comes back into their lives。One on hand， I was mesmerized a Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review。Three generations of women come together in this 'rural noir' novel。 Hermine 'Herself' is the matriarch who provides herbal medicine to the townsfolk。 She has 3 daughters， and raises a granddaughter nicknamed Donkey who is the the primary narrator of this story。 Donkey and Herself live on a remote island， and this story is mostly about how Donkey's mother， Rose Thorn， comes back into their lives。One on hand， I was mesmerized and didn't want to put the book down。 On the other hand， there were spots where it dragged on and it felt like it took me a long time to read this。 The townsfolk can be grating， especially the men who seem to all feel ownership of Rose Thorn。 There are multiple scenes of animal violence。 I also had absolutely no clue what time period this book was set in， which bothered me。 But the main characters were interesting， and there were subtle twists revealed throughout， which I enjoyed。 。。。more
Tag
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Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Waters
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Waters&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Waters&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0