Waters Luminous and Deep [Hardcover]

Meredith Ann Pierce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004

Meredith Ann Pierce’s acclaimed novels are the proof of a remarkable imagination. Here is more proof—eight shorter works of fiction, each with a strong heroine, a tangibly imagined world, and unforgettable imagery. Included here are the text to her only picture book, “Where the Wild Geese Go”; the tale that showed a teenaged Meredith that she was, indeed, a writer (“In Quest of the Icerose”); and a powerful novella originally commissioned by SFWA Grandmaster Andre Norton (“Rampion”). Waters Luminous and Deep encapsulates the evolution of one writer’s unmistakable style, and has all of the power of her longer work.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-A true storyteller's voice resounds throughout these tales, half of which are published for the first time here. As Pierce indicates in her introduction, water figures in all of the stories as demon, obstacle, or savior. The intricate thread of each selection will securely tie up readers' imagination and hold it to the end. The triumph of good over evil is a common theme as is the quest for independence and the strength and cleverness of women. In "The Fall of Ys," the author twists a traditional Celtic tale around. "Where the Wild Geese Go" involves an adventure that turns out to be a dream somewhat reminiscent of Dorothy's realization in The Wizard of Oz. In "Icerose," two friends work together to free their land from the power of the Icewitch. "Rafiddilee," written when Pierce was 14, is about a dwarf sold into bondage and his love for a young queen. A humorous tone underlies "The Sea Hag," while magic plays a part in "The Frogskin Slippers." The final tale, "Rampion," is the most intricate and has a welcome, unexpected ending. This is a rich and rewarding collection that will appeal to a wide audience.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. The title of Pierce's collection of "shorter fictions" is as descriptive as it is evocative. Water is the reigning element, and its power isolates maidens in waterbound castles, locks kingdoms in perpetual winter, and claims the lives of the innocent as often as the deserving. Echoes of fairy lore reverberate throughout, with characters reminiscent of the Snow Queen in "Icerose" to the Frog Prince and Cinderella in "The Frogskin Slippers." Pierce's fans will especially relish the confiding introductions that head each story and the inclusion of two tales she penned as a teenager, which reveal a talented writer already fascinated by the themes that so richly vein her later work: the yearning to chart one's own course, the aching transition from girlhood to womanhood. Such currents run especially strong in the concluding novella, "Rampion," about half-sisters who deal with their unscrupulous father in two very different ways. Pierce's longer tales are more engrossing than her shorter, filigreed mood pieces, but overall, this is a shimmering, stirring archipelago of tales. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670036870
• ISBN-13: 978-0670036875
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not her best work, May 24, 2004

By 

marie (Fort Walton Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waters Luminous and Deep (Hardcover)

Meredith Ann Pierce is hands down my favorite author of all time, but I really didn't see the point to this book. The stories were often scattered and irratic, lacking clear plot, character development and resolution. Some stories would have made better whole novels, and others, I am sorry to say, should have been left out of print. Still, I enjoy her writing style and the presentation of worlds in many ways similar to our own but with added elements of magic and fantasy. I hope Ms. Pierce's next endeavor is more along the lines of the Firebringer or Darkangel trilogies. Those were truly great works of literature.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "We Shall Go a Voyaging - Call the Boat...", June 30, 2004

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Waters Luminous and Deep (Hardcover)

Meredith Ann Pierce is definitely one of my favourite authors: her style, her narrative voice and her subject matter all appeal to me at the highest level, and after devouring all her other books I was incredibly thankful to find that she'd been published once more. Then I discovered that it was an anthology of short stories: if you've read any of my other reviews you'll know that I am not that fond of short stories: novels are more meaty and interesting to me. But in Pierce's hands, I had nothing to worry about. In "Waters Luminous and Deep" she presents eight pieces of writing that all surround the element of water, whether it be sea water, rain water, ice, snow, tears, or the still deep water at the bottom of a well. With her rich, beautiful imagery and her ability to take old fairytales and reshape them into something new and original, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves fantasy, folklore, legends or just storytelling at its best.

"Night Voyage" is the prelude to the book - a dreamy and quiet fragment that sets the mood and the theme of the rest of the book, of two children's experiences with the sea and moon.

"The Fall of Ys" is Pierce's retelling of the legend of Ys, a kingdom that sunk due to the sorcerous evils of the King's daughter (in some versions called Dahud, but here Myramond) and her father's noble/tragic decision to let her drown. Pierce takes a different slant on the story however, suggesting that King Gralond was the antagonist, his daughter the innocent, and the sea working not as a ravaging force of nature, but as an act of justice. Pierce also melds old tales of drowned suitors in the wave's crests and the Avalon-like priestesses of the sea-isles.

"Where the Wild Geese Go" is based on five pen-and-ink drawings (sadly not included) that touched Pierce's imagination and formed a story. A story reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen", given that it concerns a young girl on a quest through a wintry landscape. Truzjka is sent by her grandmother into the wild in order to ease her heart's desire to know where the wild geese fly, and in Pierce's hands the usual fairytale obstacles and characters that Truzjka meets on the way become fresh and original.

"Icerose" fits in the "Snow Queen" element that was missing from the previous story with the inclusion of a figure known as the Icewitch. In order to return summer to the world Gunther and Demian set forth to retrieve the Icerose from the terrible Icewitch's frigid grip. Pierce melds stunning imagery (a swan frozen in the midst of taking flight) and her eye for detail: as the heroes sit by the fire, tiny black salamanders scuttle through it and into the night. This is one of my favourites, and brilliantly showcases Pierce's ability to tell new stories that *feel* like ancient tales.

"Rafiddilee" was written when Pierce was only fourteen years old: it was the story that told her she was a writer, and tells of a mute dwarf that comes into the service of his beloved queen, and their years together before her mind strays toward the prospect of a husband. Sad, grim and bittersweet, you can tell by the angst and tragedy that a teenager wrote it! Still, it is a remarkable feat for such a young person, and a beautifully told story.

"The Sea Hag" is perhaps the weakest story of the bunch: Pierce herself admits she isn't much of a humorist, and this attempt at comedy doesn't quite mesh. A young man takes to the life of piracy, but when the captain turns on him it would seem his only chance for survival lies with marrying a withered old sea hag. This story seemed stale for me because I was well aware of the myth on which it was based, and apart from a gender-switch, Pierce takes little effort to move away from it: that of the "Loathly Lady" of Arthurian lore, who demands the answer to a riddle: what is it that women most desire?

However, things pick up once more with "The Frogskin Slippers", which gets back to her more subtle technique of recognisable elements in a new light: this time she takes the idea of the Frog Prince, and here her humour is much more successful and natural. Rose is the daughter of her tyrannical mother, the mistress of Elverston Hall. When she rescues a small frog, she is visited nightly by a handsome prince named Rane, who whisks her away to a faery ball - and with her own fairy godmother and a pair of frogskin slippers, Rose begins to reach for the day when she is free of her stifling world.

The book ends with "Rampion", a novella concerning Alia, a young girl living on a tiny dull island, who discovers her half-sister Sif and the cruelty of her own father. Here Pierce has the time to create a larger world and more complex characters, with a story that stretches over several years and a nice twist at the end.

All in all a fantastic collection, and all I can hope for now is that the rest of the stories that Pierce mentions in her introduction are one day published!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful collection of stories, May 27, 2004

By 

Margaret Johnston (Seabeck, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waters Luminous and Deep (Hardcover)

This is a marvelous collection of shorter works by a writer who is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. The title is nicely evocative, as all of the stories have to do with water (or ice or snow) in some way, and "luminous" is an excellent description of Pierce's beautifully clear and expressive writing. The stories range in length from just a few pages to novella-length, and in tone from the utterly charming "The Frogskin Slippers", a witty take on the fairy tale of "The Frog Prince", to the more serious "Rampion", a novella of two half-sisters, their lives on an isolated island, and the very different ways in which they rebel against their unscrupulous father. I find Pierce's longer fiction even more engrossing, but these shorter pieces still show off her wonderful imagery, strong heroines, and lovely writing.