Customer Reviews

The Season of Open Water: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the reviews here it's apparent folk love or hate this novel. Color me in the love category over and over again, then roll me over for more. This brilliant novel is one of those for which the word "spellbinding" is made -- the story, plot, language, exquisite sense of place and time, exquisite texture, gorgeous weave, and a hefty measure of soul. Read it soon.

Tripp has done it again! This time in Westport Point, a place described with such exactness, just as in her first memorable novel, Moon Tide, it's a character in an of itself, we meet three generations of beachside inhabitants, beginning with Noel, a former whaler, who's had to readjust for economic reasons and build boats instead of chase whales. The family becomes entangled in the illegal dealings of the rum trade, during Prohibition and everyone's integrity and definition of a just survival is challenged. In addtion to the aptly evoked historical context, there's an undercurrent of seeking true love despite the constraints of class. Tripp gives the reader a rich,texturted story with characters who linger in the reader's mind long after the last word is read. Can't wait for her next novel!

This is a beautifully written and well researched novel. It is very difficult to write absorbing novels set in historical periods, yet Dawn Tripp has managed to do just that. She brings the period of rum running alive while engaging the reader with the story of Bridge and her love affair with Henry Vonniker, the shell-shocked doctor from a wealthy family. Anyone who knows this area of Massachusetts knows what an accurate depiction this is of a coastal community with long-time families from many different social levels and backgrounds. But what I really find takes this novel up another notch is the rich descriptions of people in the context of what they are doing, whether digging for clams, building boats, escaping in a rum runner from the Coast Guard, planting vegetables or eating dinner at the local Grange. The author also has deep insights into how the difference in social backgrounds affects the love affair of Bridge and Henry. And how economic pressures and the taste of adventure draw locals into the dangerous world of rum running. Not many writers today have this deep sense of place. Too many modern novels are all talk, have cliche characters and do not seem to be rooted in a definite locale. Anyone who likes language, complex characters and history will find it an absorbing read.

A wonderful book to follow Moon Tide. Setting becomes a character in this moving and evocative novel of love and loss. So much here is original and well-felt--the characters, the conflicts, the language and descriptions. Each scene is so visual, so poignant, so artfully rendered. There is never a doubt that we are in the hands of an accomplished writer.

Dawn Clifton tripp can write, there is no denying that. The books opening told from the grandfather Noel's perspective of his day fishing aboard a whaler is exquisite. And the story starts off well. Good characters, gorgeous prose, a deliciously conceived and rendered setting, all against the background of an interesting period of New England history. Tripp's writing skills have become more accessible without some of the strange metaphors and analogies that characterized her first book. I moved through this compelling landscape following the progress of the lives of these people until the end when I put the book down and thought, "What the heck was that all about?"

Tripp has obviously done a great deal of research and she had the makings of a fascinating tale but most of the characters (with the exception of Henry Vonniker) manage to cruise through the entire book without giving you any sense of what the point of their existence is. And when the sudden, sad, empty end comes you have to make a decision --- was it worth the read for the way the book transported you into another time and place or was it all just a pretty landscape projected on a blank wall with no more substance than the salt air that infused the story? I loved reading it --- I just wish it had left me with something worth remembering.

I loved this book. Tripp does a fantastic job of establishing time and place - it's a great look at a small, isolated New England town during the prohibition era. The characters are well-drawn and stick with you long after you finish reading, especially Bridge. There are moody, evocative descriptions, but there's also a strong plot that ends with a dramatic twist. The last pages are among the most haunting and bittersweet I've read in a long time. Usually books rely on atmosphere or on character or on plot - it's a pleasure to find a novel that is equally strong in all three areas.

Not sure I read the same book the other reviewers did. I found Tripp's 2nd novel even better than her first. A unique approach to telling a story weaved with a historical back drop makes for a really good read. The author finds intrigue and depth and great character development. Westport details abound and she grasps many aspects of life at the ti me. I felt like I was there!

While this book is well written from a literary sense, I did not find the characters realistic (there was virtually no real communication between any of them, and everyone just had to "guess" how the others were feeling), nor did I find the plot believable. In fact, I felt it jerked around the emotions of the readers and came up with the most cruel - but improbable - possible way to end the book. The series of events did not follow one from another, and I felt that the author just wanted to evoke an emotional reaction with the murder of one of the main characters, which was neither essential to the plot nor probable.

Usually I like a challenging book- it makes me feel a tiny bit superior to celebrity culture of most books one finds lining the bookshelves. But just because something is different doesn't always mean it's good. Such is the case with this book's very convuluted plot and prose. It truly is an effort that I doubt very few will be willing to wade through. It is the kind of book I suspect many at first would think they want to read- but because of the stagnant plot and too many narrative voices I'm sure most will never finish.

Being a reader who likes historical novels with lyrical prose, I was sure this would be a great read. To the contrary, it was a tedious journey to nowhere. Although the author can turn an improbable phrase, she can't tell an engaging story. I made myself finish the novel and was relieved when the end came. I'm sure the author was trying to bring the novel to life in vivid detail but it became lumbersome just plodding through it. In small sections, the book seems to hold promise, but the overall effect is unsatisfying.