Book Review: In Great Waters
What's this? A book review?
OKay, so....last Christmas I got two $50 giftcards for Borders. Naturally I was thrilled; what book-nerd wouldn't be? I picked up the books I wanted then spent the next three hours loitering and perusing to find something to spend up the last bit on my giftcard.
To say the least, my family was not pleased, but as I told them: You can't take an diabetic into a candy shop and not expect them to at the very lest moon about and stare longingly at everything they cannot have. Anyway, I ended up drawn in by the enchanting cover of Kit Whitfield's In Great Waters. I only got around to reading it a few days ago, which is really a sad thing because this is truly one of the great ones.
Now, I usually don't like stories where the lead character switches back and forth, but Whitfield managed it very well. I wasn't interested more in Henry or Anne's story more than the other, and I didn't get bored and started to get that bothersome urge to skip a few pages.
Whitfield has a really great way of writing. She wasn't overly descriptive or not enough for my detail-loving tastes. She was easy to follow but still managed to keep this other-worldly quality to her style.
She paints the world with her words, making the two opposing but jointed worlds of Land and Sea captivating and shockingly real. She makes it abundantly clear this is not Ariel's Under The Sea and gives it a realistic ideal of what life would really be in the churning currents of the deep.
Likewise, she does not make life on land a fairy-tale of beautiful princesses and charming knights. The lives of royalty and courtiers are filled with suspicion, plots, assassinations and constant fear of treason.
I glanced through the reviews and found many people saying the same thing: "Good writing, but depressing stories/characters."
I found none of it, however.
For me, the characters were real, thought-driven and inspiring. They read as being intensely human; they each had their flaws and dark thoughts, but each was striving for something better. Even side characters, such as John, Philip and Samuel had their own distinct personalities, something we find rarely in fiction these days. It threw me off a little when reminded of their ages compared to their mature actions, but I also had to consider the times this story was set in; where children often had to mature quicker than their ages.
Without revealing too much, I would say I really adored Henry and his interaction with others, particularity Anne, John and Allard. The way he spoke and acted with others made it all the more convincing he was not from any social interactions we understood or accepted. Henry's character drove this book to the five-star rating. Absolutely wonderful story!