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The Waters
By Bonnie Jo Campbell
W.W. Norton & Company, October 2024, 416pp.

The Short of It:

A bit too much romance for me but brimming with strong, independent women.

The Rest of It:

On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp–an area known as “The Waters” to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan–herbalist and eccentric 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 estranged daughters. The youngest–the beautiful, inscrutable, and lazy Rose Thorn–has left her own daughter, eleven-year-old Dorothy “Donkey” Zook, to grow up wild. – the publisher

The Waters is an interesting read. Never in my life would I have picked it up on my own. Why? Seemed a little flowery to me at first glance. A little too “woo-woo” with the lotions and potions. You know what I mean? My book club chose it for November so I found a copy and hunkered down.

Not long after starting it, I was sucked into the lives of these women. Herself, she literally calls herself this, has been providing medicinal potions to the town of Whiteheart for as long as people can remember. She lives on the island, with her girls, mainly Rose Thorn, another odd name. The island is controlled by a drawbridge of sorts to keep the men out. This becomes important later.

So here she is, Herself and Rose Thorn, living by themselves. The other siblings, Primrose and Molly have gotten themselves off the island and live fairly normal lives but their lives continue to be intertwined with their family on the island because for one reason or another, they are always called back.

Rose Thorn. The name is odd but appropriate. Beautiful like a rose but thorny, stubborn. She does what she wants. She seems to be the only thing, besides the lotions and potions tying the island back to Whiteheart. But Rose has her own demons. Raped and impregnated, she leaves the island only to return when her daughter makes her appearance. Her daughter, Donkey, AKA Dorothy. This family and their crazy names!

Donkey is a force to be reckoned with. She’s inherited some of her grandma’s talent with lotions and potions. She understands the value of those medicinal tonics, the waters, so to speak. She’s also desperate for a relationship with the father figures around her. The identity of her own father is buried in secrets.

As these women find their place on this island and outside of it, the rest of the town falls under the spell of these women and cannot stay away. They gather just outside of the island, eager to be around Rose Thorn and her desire for love becomes complicated when her soulmate finds that the obligation to his farm, outweighs actual desire.

There were times while reading this that I groaned over the romantic aspects of this novel. Was Rose Thorn really such a hot commodity that the Whiteheart men just fell to her feet even when attached to their own families? Yes, and no. They are most definitely drawn to her but loyalties come into play and it all culminates in an odd and frustrating conclusion.

I really liked walking along with Donkey, but there were times where I just wanted to shake some sense into her. All the talk about the poisonous plants, the snakes, and the like. A child growing up on an island like that is going to encounter some interesting things, and she does.

Overall, this was a very different read for me. I am not much into lotions and potions and the woo woo benefits that such things can bring, but this is a strong circle of women. I wish there was less of the romantic stuff and more of the family stuff. That would have made this a perfect read.

Recommend. Should be good for discussion.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Cat’s Eye
By Margaret Atwood
Vintage, 1998, 480pp.

The Short of It:

What a read. Took me forever to get to it, but so glad I did.

The Rest of It:

Cat’s Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. ~ from the publisher

When I chose this book for club, some online readers immediately warned me that it was a rough read. Oddly enough, I didn’t get that at all. Yes, maybe some childhood trauma in relation to bullying but honestly, I’ve experienced much worse. Instead, what I felt was a return to our younger years. The formative years where what others say, shape you.

Also, the impact of friends and their parents. You never know what a child is remembering or how any act of kindness or cruelness is perceived. Elaine Risley runs around with a pack of girls, a pack. You know the kind. The kind with a ringleader. The kind where every action is scrutinized and your membership in the group hangs on every word that comes out of your mouth.

Elaine is a painter though. Everything that she takes in, eventually comes out on a canvas. Her art is controversial. Criticism abounds and yet, she manages to find places for her work to be displayed and has made a name for herself. She calls herself a painter but not an artist. Interesting. As if just the title of artist means something less than what it is.

But those girls. It made me think about gender and how it plays a role in cruelness. Girls can be mean. Very mean. Their words are like daggers and their criticism can slice right through you. Boys can be mean, but I’d argue that they tend to be more physical. They can duke it out in a fist fight and be friends again by the end of the day.

The impact of those relationships in childhood is never ending. As we discussed the book, we could not help but revisit traumas we experienced in childhood. Bigger evils, lesser. It’s all relative but what happens to you in childhood sticks.

Atwood is an amazing storyteller. She can pivot on a dime and does. Her depiction of childhood is spot on. Highly recommend.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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