Customer Reviews

Waterborne

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

 

 

This is the first review that I have written. Bruce Murkoff is a writer of the first order. His evocation of turn-of-the-century America up to the Depression era ia astounding. Best fiction I have found in over a year. Abosultely, stunningly good. Writes like someone who has lived rather than someone who wants to be a writer....I only wish I had been so inspired on visit to the Hoover dam in 1980! ;>) Watch this book and author begin to gain critical acclaim. But that's not what's important, Mr. Murkoff has come out of nowhere and is better (way better) than authors who fill pages with junk. This is a talent of the first order.

This was a good book about three people, set at a time and place in American history we don't ordinarily get to see. Most Depression-era stories are about, well, the Depression; this story depicts the other side of American life, the side which didn't perhaps suffer as badly financially, but still had its difficulties and crises to contend with.

Murkoff paces himself and takes the time to truly develop his characters. Most pitiful and terrifying -- and most complex -- is Lew Beck. It would have been simple for Murkoff to make him wholly loathesome, but through crafty, patient narration, he manages to give the character depth and even a strange sense of decency.

I disagree with the reviewer who said Murkoff's narration was teeming with cliches. (I suspect that my definition of "cliche" differs from that reviewer's definition. I didn't even think the examples the reviewer quoted were cliches.) I thought that, on occasion, the descriptions of people and terrain went a bit far with their detail, but on the whole, his narration was layered and rich. This is the work of a patient writer.

Waterborne is a gritty, sexy tale of three people looking for redemption and fulfillment in a new life. Mr Murkoff does an excellent job of creating characters we can love, hate, empathize with, but never be indifferent about. What a talent!

The raging Colorado River and the construction of the Hoover Dam is an ever present metaphor throughout the story. Ingenious storytelling!

Once I started this book I didn't want to put it down but then nearing the end I didn't want the book to end.

This 2004 debut novel is making itself noticed and I can well understand why. It's set in 1932 and revolves around three different individuals who converge in Boulder City, Colorado, where the Hoover Dam is being built. Each one has a story and these stories get well developed during the first half of the book. When they finally meet, I felt I knew them all well.

First there is Filius, an engineer who has just suffered a tragic loss. He's extremely intelligent and this intelligence was cultivated in an upscale childhood in which his love of engineering and architecture was nurtured. The chapters about him contain the details of the dam building as well as wonderful metaphors about the land. Then there is Lena and her young son from Kentucky. They've also just suffered a tragic loss and are headed to Boulder City because it's the only city in the country where everyone has a job. And then there is Lew Beck. He's a short man who with a streak of cruelty and violence. At times he can be sympathetic but he also goes further than necessary when seeking revenge for any kind of slight.

This is also the story of a place and a time. It is the middle of the depression and the City of Las Vegas is just beginning to develop into the wild and woolly gambling capital of the world. There's a Wild West feeling to the whole atmosphere as well as the reality of building a dam to harness the Colorado River. The story is well paced and I was immediately drawn into it, especially because the characters were so well developed. I especially loved the parts about the dam construction because even though I didn't understand every technical detail, I was in awe of the difficulties encountered and the difficult working conditions for the men who built it. Now, I wish that when I visited Las Vegas, I would have included a visit to this man-made wonder.

The book did have its weaknesses though. Sometimes there was a bit of over-writing and the characters a bit stereotyped. But yet, I kept reading, I thought about the book all the time, and couldn't wait till I had a few precious moment to pick it up again and live in the world created by this writer.

In the same way that three streams begin in different places and converge to become a river, so too do the characters Filius, Lena, and Lew start in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and New York, each heading to the construction town of Boulder City, Nevada.

In the tradition of John Dos Passos (U.S.A. Trilogy), Murkoff tells one character's story, then breaks at the perfect moment to take up another character's story.

This is compelling reading!

I agree entirely with the previous reviewers. There is so much in this book; beautifully written history of the depression era, characters who you really care about (or fear), all in a style that is so well developed is sounds a little like John Steinbeck. I really can't understand why the book was not a bestseller. I can only guess that this author is not well known amoung the NY literary intelligentsia. I am doing my best to tell everyone about it. Mr. Murkoff, please continue to write such wonderful material.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The evolvement of the characters was convincingly developed. The descriptions of the environment from the capitol building in Madison, the lakeside harbors in Chicago, sailing on Lake Michigan, and the Colorado River and the construction of Boulder (Hoover) dam were vivid and accurate.

The only little error I noted was the reference to riding around in a "jeep" in the 1920's on page 158. I think jeeps came out of WW2.

I picked the book up on a mission to just try something new and different and was highly pleased with my choice.

Wonderful story of the building of Hoover Dam and the lives of three major characters. Framed by the hardship of the Great Depression, the plot grabs the reader, and will keep you bound to the last page.

I gave this two stars because I could get far enough into it really judge the book on it's merits. I simply found the style of prose to be unbearable. I agree with the one poster who says the writer tries to hard and seems to be saying "look at my stuff" (which isn't that great). "Creamy glow of headlights" and that sort of thing, such as one would expect in a student lit quarterly or something. For a western themed book that is much more daring,unique and successful I recommend Brain Hall's "I should be Extremely Happy in Your Company."

Matt

I found this to be a very good read, especially since I have 2 videos on the building of the Hoover Dam, and was able to tour it a few years ago. I could have done without one of the 3 main charactors being such a villian thoughout the entire book, since the other 2 charactors had enough of their own "life's setbacks". The other thing that bothered me a bit was some factual mistakes. In the book, people were watching Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers in cowboy movies, and riding in a jeep, in the late 1920s. The earliest actual dates for these were 1935, 1938, and 1941. We are not talking ancient history here, especially since the author was 51 when he wrote it.
All that being said, I'm very glad I found this book.