Customer Reviews

The Body Is Water

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

 

 

A very mellow, well written book which keeps your attention, not due to suspense but for the mere pleasure of reading it. It is best described as "warm, witty and peopled by likable characters in ordinary circumstances. I enjoyed it the first time around, and the second, and the third! Looking forward to this type of book, by a very good author again. Sad to see it hasn't happened yet.

Set on the New Jersey shore, this easy reading book introduces the reader to a young woman who is about to become a unmarried mother. She is living with her father who was abusive to her as a child. She works through old and new feelings as she prepares for the birth of her child. The book is very gentle on the reader as well as on the main character. The supporting characters are also well developed. The story is realistic and engaging.

If you don't like emotional books where the characters are sad and thoughtful, then this is not the book for you. Julie Schumacher tells the story here of a family that is doing it's best to love one another, but sometimes our best is simply not good enough. Schumacher is adept at naming these often unnameable problems of life in stunning prose that at times just tore me apart--and this is the highest praise. A wonderful book by a wonderful writer.

One of the most interesting and well developed characters in modern fiction. You needn't have anything in common with her or her family to like them, and know they ring true. Ms. Schumacher has a wit matched only by Nelson Demille in "The Gold Coast". This type of author does not write often enough.

I enjoyed this book because the characters and setting appeared to be not very sensitive and sentimental. I grew up in a community with a very sensitive and sentimental environment, and I like to read about other cultures, viewpoints, and ways of life. They probably weren't sensitive enough, but it was nice to read about a family that wasn't as sentimental as I am accustomed to. Their feelings didn't seem to be very deep and touchy. But sometimes that's what it takes to get by - don't be too sensitive.

I read this book thinking it would be a great story. First of all, Jane's character is just not likeable - especially considering her lack of feelings for her unborn child. She seemed to have no real purpose and was boring. Bee was interesting you could say, but she wasn't any more likeable. What was with the Dad coming into Jane's room and telling her lies? I did not grasp that at all. The only characters I found somewhat interesting were the Dad and Mr. Denzer. This book started off okay for me, but quickly got boring and seemed to have no purpose. The ending was so awful that I just laughed. It would have been nice to know if Jane had ever bonded with her baby, or what she had done with it. Oh well, just my opinion. I think the story had potential, but was just kind of washed out.

I read this book after reading a description of it on-line. This book was OK but the author was very unclear in her ideas. Jane is miserable in her present and her past; it seems she can find nothing happy in her life. The only parts in the book I enjoyed were the descriptions of Jane's pregnancy, the beach, Mr. Denzer, and her relationship with Bee. Jane was not a very likeable character, the supporting characters made the book worth the time it took to read.

I did not like this book at all. I found Jane to be lazy and confused about Everything in her life. I didn't understand her father going in her room and telling her lies when she was young. Her mother must have been on her death bed for 20 years....and the sister was just beyond understanding her role due to the fact she wasn't nuturing just distant. The book made no sense to me at all.

From reading the summary I thought it was going to be a really good book. I was disappointed to find that it was boring, it didn't have a strong plot to pull me in. I don't recommend this book to anyone.