Customer Reviews

The Heiress of Water: A Novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a love story, a bit of a mystery, and a journey of the soul. The opening is a little slow and bumpy but the book picks up momentum as the story unfolds with a plot that is both intricate and satisfying, a little like a good Spanish telenovela (and I mean this in the nicest way!). You just want to keep turning the page, and Barron delivers the surprises. Alma's parallel between the sea and immortality gains lyricism as her metaphor gains depth and detail with the unfolding story, setting this story firmly in the genre of spiritual fiction. The ending is both beautiful and emotional revealing the unusual sophistication of this debut writer. Especially interesting is how the author gets into the mind of a catatonic patient struggling to regain consciousness, adding another dimension to this layered tale. There are many beautiful images, romantic scenes, and emotional explosions in this story. All in all it is very satisfying.

The Heiress of Water by Sandra Rodriguez Barron is a book i blindly picked up from the bargain bin when i needed something to read and was out of rented books. for that, it was pretty good. Partly set in El Salvador, and partly in Connecticut, it's a very latin american styled book, like Isabelle Allende, who is even quoted on the front. Lots of that magical realism sort of thing, but a little toned down from some authors. The book is about the sea, and 2 generations trying to find medicine from cone shells. This medicine can bring people out of a coma, supposively, or other benefits too. The main character is a woman whose mother was stolen from her by the sea, but just not in the way that she thinks. It's less boring than it sounds. There's a great deal of mystery, although nto who-done-it type mystery, in this book. I would check it out if you're looking for a book that's both smart and entertaining.

An inventive and beautifully written novel. I stayed up all night to finish The Heiress of Water just to see how it would end. I definitely recommend it.

"The Heiress of Water" is a fabulous book, and I am so happy that it's my first venture into fiction in a very long time! After obsessing on politics, political satire, and biographies for many months, this book provided a fabulous segue into reading about the trials and tribulations of other countries' volatility and unrest. I will read anything that Sandra Rodriguez Barron puts her name to!

Even though I couldn't wait to see what happened next, I kept rereading sentences because I wanted to savor the beauty of Rodriguez Barron's prose.

Excellent! I could not put the book down. It was engaging, interesting and well written. Definitely one of the best books I have ever read. Memorable. I recommended it to all my friends. Superb choice for book clubs!!

What a great book. Its full of love for family, love for a mate and the loves for nature. There are great theme, poor vs rich, family vs career, experimental medication or regular medication. The characters come alive and you can see yourself in this settings are beautifully drawn for you. The book is full of culture and traditions.

If you want a book you immediately are drawn into and can't put down until it's complete, go buy Heiress of Water. This novel of Sandra Barron Rodriguez transports you to the land of El Salvador on words woven like the finest of lace. This book is more than a story, it is an exquisite work of art.

Ms. Barron did an excellent job of taking us between the current tale and the past stories. The locations she describes are so vivid... I must say, she described El Salvador much more vividly than Connecticut... I felt as though I could smell the water and feel the sun around Negrarena and Caracol. Perhaps that was the point -- the stark difference in vividness between the two locations. The duality of Monica's two cultures are interestingly balanced in the book with the switching of Spanish to English and back. Overall, the novel is very well written, and easy to read, even while touching on a complicated subject such as brain injury and experimental treatments.

Author of The Get A Life Campaign

Rodriguez-Barron kept me glued to each word and page-turning happy. I could not manage to put this book down for more than a minute. It is such a colorful, intensely articulate, piece of work, and an awesome first for this magnificent writer. I was almost heartbroken to read the last page! Can't wait for her next collection of juicy pages!!!