Customer Reviews

Blue Water: A Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Every parent's worst nightmare is to lose their child, and for Meg Van Dorn and her husband, Rex, this nightmare comes to life when their young son--a miracle, late-in-life baby and their only child--is killed by a drunk driver. But the situation is further complicated by the fact that the driver, Cindy Ann, grew up with Meg, and at one point in time, she and Meg had been close friends. Although Meg and Cindy Ann had drifted apart, their paths crossed again when Cindy Ann's sister began dating Meg's brother, and then yet again when Cindy Ann, driving her three daughters to school, hit the car driven by Meg, with her son Evan in the back seat.

In order to escape the constant reminder that Cindy Ann and her children lived on while Evan was dead, Meg and Rex decide to rent their house and fulfill Rex's life-long dream of sailing wherever the wind should take them. Leaving the baggage of their previous life behind, they rejoice in the freedom of their new world--for a time. But with the one-year anniversary of Evan's death comes changes, including the siren call of the past which refuses to be silenced.

I enjoyed this book very much. Ansay paints an accurate portrait of grief and loss, skillfully depicting the complexities involved. She casts doubt upon the common assumption that drunk drivers are always the "bad" guys (or always guys, for that matter), showing that the effects of tragedy are wide-spread and suggesting that forgiveness might be more important than justice. The novel's conclusion, which might be seen as unconventional, realistically follows from the events of the plot. Blue Water showcases the intricacies of life, love, and death, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it; I also plan to seek out other works by this author.

Losing your only child in a drunk driving accident is devastating enough, but when the inebriated driver behind the wheel turns out to be an old high school friend, an unthinkable volcano of emotions erupts. That's the scenario Megan Van Dorn and her husband Rex are facing when they decide to leave their lives behind and find solace on the deep blue ocean. Alone and adrift, Meg and Rex soon find that while you might be able to run from your circumstances, you can never hide from the haunting memories. On their journey, the Van Dorns encounter other sea-drifters, just like them, who are trying to escape their own demons, and through these individuals they discover that there are never easy answers. In Blue Water, Ansay asks the burning question: "How can one live in a world like this, and then keep on living, after it happens?" The novel brings to the light the varying ways in which we grieve and move on with our lives following an unspeakable tragedy. As someone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driver, I can attest that it does so quite effectively.

A story of loss and the devastation it reaps is poignantly and beautifully written. Having lost my son five years ago and been given many books to comfort and soothe, this one is authentic and really nailed what it is like better than most. The book is honest and redemptive. I highly recommend it!

Blue Water is a powerful story of love and loss and the myriad complexities that surround them. The book is written in an exquisitely beautiful and compelling prose, a style that continues to earn praise for Ansay as of the best contemporary fiction writers out there.

Typical of her novels, Ansay writes in memorable, intricate, edgy scenes that live with the reader long after the book is put down. This is her best yet. I'm buying Blue Water as gifts for several friends and family.

Five WONDERFUL Stars!! BLUE WATER is a beautifully written novel full of charged emotion and deep sensitivity. A horrible accident involving two families leaves one family in unassuaged grief. In the case of both families, whose wives were once best friends, life must go on, but how? A change is dictated and the grief-stricken family makes it happen by leaving town and taking to the "blue water". In the process they leave the locus of their problem and attempt to let time do the healing. But the departure is not clean and neat, issues remain.

Their journey becomes a remarkable story that will captivate and mesmerize the reader. Chapter 1 of Blue Water is as mesmerizing a chapter of writing as I have read this year, defining and pushing the storyline along briskly, taking us from the 'solution' to the heart-wrenching 'problem' and back again. The final resolution, if one can call it that, is true to life, and the final scene had me holding my breath.... This novel reminds me of the phrase: "you can run but you can't hide". Indeed! Brilliantly written and Highly recommended!! Five Stars!

(Notes:
*This review is based on an EBook digital download in Adobe Reader 7. Save a tree, download your books when possible.
* With "Blue Water", I have placed A Manette Ansay on my literary "watch list" and I look forward to her future books. Because of "Blue Water", I recently bought a paperback of her novel, "Vinegar Hill" and it is my next read.)

I loved this book. It captured me from the first page and wouldn't let me stop reading until I was done. The characters are so well developed and real that the reader feels like you really know and understand them. The story was well developed and took readers on a great journey.

As with her other books, including "Limbo" and "Read This and Tell Me What is Says," Mansay's prose in "Blue Water" is quiet, precise, full of gentle rhythms, and believable in every detail. I was convinced while reading that Mansay had to have personally experienced every single event in the book--including having her boat struck by lightning--so powerfully did she evoke every thought, every response of her characters. Mind you, I was a resisting reader; I was determined that I would not forgive Cindy Ann, even if Meg did; I was determined I would not see Cindy Ann's point of view even when the first-person narrative crossed the usual point-of-view boundaries and brought me into Cindy Ann's head, then the head of her daughter Amy. I refused to believe that the world could be at once so loving and so terribly destructive. And yet Mansay pulls everything off beautifully, quietly, weaving all the strands of grief and loss and shame and determination and anger and hope into a lyrical, balanced minuet. There is no redemption for any of the characters; there are only the choices they make, which seem at once painful and utterly real. I read this book in one sitting and finished it with tears in my eyes, so surprised and moved was I by where Meg's journey had finally brought me. You don't need to know sailing or small Midwestern towns to understand how setting has shaped Mansay's characters, nor do you need to have experienced devastating grief or shame to understand the emotions that drive them; the superior writing does that work for you. All you need to do is open the book and listen.

I have read several of A. Manette Ansay's books and each time I find them hard to put them down, as I want to shut out the world and continue to read until I am finished the book. Ah but, life doesn't allow that. Her exceptional writing pulls you in and you feel you connect with her characters and you are in the places she describes in the book. I love to read but never had a particular favorite author and was more into non-fiction until I read one of A. Manette Anay's books. Now she is my favorite author and I look forward to her writing new novels in the future. This book and her others are a must read.

Christine

and this one did not disappoint! All of her books read wonderfully, you can imagine yourself being right in the midst of the story.

I was so happy to see BLUE WATER on Amazon. It was an easy read, rich with emotion. Make sure you have some kleenex by your side.

As always, Ansay's characters are real and the story line moves along. This was a somewhat sad book, yet full of life. Reading about children dying always makes me uneasy; however, this book handled the subject very gracefully and I can honestly see how it would be therapy for people who find themselves in this horrible situation.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. And if you haven't read her other books, treat yourself and do just that.

Please, Ms. Ansay, another book soon!

Thanks -- Pam