Author: Karen White
Paperback: 315 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade; 1st Thus. edition (March 4, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451223039
ISBN-13: 978-0451223036
The human heart has hidden treasures,
In secret kept, In silence sealed;
The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,
Whose charms were broken if revealed.
– Charlotte Bronte
Marnie and Diana Maitland, grew up in South Carolina Low country. Two sisters who would eventually drift so far apart that a desert lay between them.
It all changed for the sisters the night their mother drowned. All three of them were on a sailboat when a storm hit, the details are unclear because each sister has her own version of what really happened that night. Marnie has her opinion and Diana has hers, the problem is they won’t talk to each other..
Marnie didn’t want to be anywhere near the haunted memories the water brought her, so she packed up as soon as she could and moved to the desert. Sedona, Arizona where the average rain fall is only ten percent. She became an art teacher for special-needs kids and never had to worry about water again.. at least she thought so.
“This is Marnie. She was raised in the Low country, same as I was. But I know that there are some things you can never run away from no matter how far you go. Surrounding yourself with a lot of desert is a bit like sitting in quicksand: Sooner or later the water will find you and suck you under” – Diana
Diana, she stayed behind with the ocean and painted. Painting, IS Diana. It’s who she is, what she does and what makes her, her. Her work is all over town, everyone wants a painting from the famous local artist. In Marnie’s eyes Diana’s got it all, everything she ever wanted. Marnie can’t paint like her sister, she doesn’t have the beautiful blond hair like her sister. But as Marnie’s mother always said “Be careful what you wish for” Her sister suffers from a mental illness, an illness that would bring Marnie back to the water after ten long years.
Marnie receives a call from Diana’s ex husband Quinn. Her sister and her nephew Gil were in a sailboat accident. The accident has left Gil traumatized and speechless. No matter what they try, they cannot get Gil to talk about the accident or anything for that matter. Knowing Marnie’s background with special-needs children, Quinn hopes that through art Marnie can get Gil to talk again.
Helping Gil requires Marnie to first help herself and face her issues with her own past. Two sisters haven’t talked in ten years, both not ready for the past but the present won’t wait another second. What happened in the past needs to be put to rest. But will Marnie be able to handle the truth? And will Diana be able to let go of the secrets she has held onto for all these years?
“I have found that there are some things you hold close to your heart and hide from the world. Because if you don’t, then you risk the world seeing you as you really are. And that’s a very scary thing indeed.” – Marnie
The Memory Of Water was a good book. I cannot say with honesty that it’s at the very top of my list of good reads. I can, however, say that I would recommend it because while it had it’s flaws, it also had a lot to offer. In this novel, you have two sisters who are so far apart, with so many secrets and issues from their past that it’s torn them apart. What would make someone who grew up by the ocean, move all the way to the desert where there is barely enough water to form a puddle? That’s where it get’s interesting.
The story itself was well thought out.. I think what bothered me about this novel was the fact that I figured out Diana’s secret way before I think I should have. It was predictable to me and easily figured out. I would of liked to been held in suspense, racking my brain for possible answers. Instead, I felt I was given the answer on a silver platter. Other than that, I enjoyed every bit of the book.
The characters were believable, they all had their own flaws. I liked that about the novel, because honestly don’t we all have our own flaws? None of us are perfect. I think I enjoyed Gil the most. He didn’t say much but he didn’t need to either. He was strong and brave although he was afraid. He faced all his challenges and kept moving forward, allowing Marnie and Diana to move forward as well. They both needed Gil to get them going and he was very successful at doing so. He brought the entire novel together and kept it going page after page, chapter after chapter.
I liked that it was narrated between characters.You get to know the characters a lot better, and you also get a better understanding of their point of view. I think the novel was written well and flowed from the first page until the last. I like when i can read straight through and not have to stop, I was able to do that with The Memory Of Water. Good story, Good characters, a few flaws but who really cares. Overall i think it was a good book and deserves a chance. I would recommend it. But honestly, I would have to recommend one of Karen White’s other novels, On Folly Beach over this novel. I loved On Folly Beach and plan to keep it to re-read sometime later. I’m looking forward to reading more from Karen White.
Other Quotes I Liked:
“I think you’ll find that people don’t always need to be fixed. Sometimes all we need is to be told which way the wind is blowing so we can adjust our sails accordingly. And to be allowed to find our own way”
- Quinn
“I look back on my childhood as a canvas splashed with vibrancy; the paint spurted from a wild machine, and I never realized how dangerous it could be if I got too close”
- Marnie
Author: Sheri Reynolds
