Thursday, May 7, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

This is a book review for At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Madeline Hyde, a young socialite from Philadelphia, reluctantly follows her husband and their best friend to the tiny village of Drumnadrochit in search of a mythical monster—at the same time that a very real monster, Hitler, wages war against the Allied Forces. What Maddie discovers—about the larger world and about herself—through the unlikely friendships she develops with the villagers, opens her eyes not only to the dark forces that exist around her but to the beauty and surprising possibilities.

There were several things I liked about this book. I loved the prologue. The book starts in 1942 when a young woman loses her baby. A few days later, she receives word that her husband died in the war. The prologue ends with the young woman walking into the Loch and killing herself. Chapter One begins Madeline's story and takes place three years later. I was a bit confused as to what the prologue had to do with Madeline's story. It took me a bit to connect with Madeline. At first, I kind of hated both Madeline and her husband, Ellis. They were spoiled and entitled. Ellis's parents were rich and they lived with them. As far as I could tell, neither one of them had any skills or any plans to work at all. I know that back then, the women rarely worked anyway. But even Ellis didn't have any job prospects. His parents gave them an allowance, for crying out loud. They spent all their time drinking and partying. It was all very frivolous and silly. After a party where Maddy and Ellis get quite drunk and humiliate themselves, Ellis gets in a huge fight with his parents and they kick him out. It is at this point that Maddy, Ellis, and their best friend, Hank, decide to go to the Scottish Highlands in search of the Loch Ness monster. 

Another reason why I loved this book was the setting of Scotland. I loved Sara Gruen's descriptions. She made the Highlands seem both beautiful and desolate. I loved the castles and the lakes and the small town village. I actually liked the people who worked at the small inn and lived at the village more than I liked Maddy, Ellis and Hank. Despite the premise and their desire to find this monster, that search actually turned out to be a secondary plot to Maddy's character development. Ellis spent most of this time searching for this monster with Hank, leaving Maddy at the inn alone. It isn't until about halfway through the book that the connection between the prologue and Maddy's story becomes clearer. It is at this point that I also started feeling somewhat more connected to Maddy and I actually started liking her. I did think the author would insert random war statistics in the story that didn't make a lot of sense or have anything to do with the story. There were a few air raids in the book and there was a lot of talk about food rationing, but other than that, they seemed pretty far removed from the war. I also thought the ending was wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste. 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Borrow. It took me a while for me to connect with the main characters, but it was still an enjoyable read.

12 comments :

  1. I am excited to read this one - I am currently #20 on my wait at the library - Great review!

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    1. Thanks so much Grace! I hope you enjoy it as well. :)

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  2. Sounds good, despite flaws. I haven't "heard" this story before, which always gets me excited :) So many times we end up reading different forms of the same story over and over again. Great review!

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    1. Thanks so much Ramona! Yes, it has its flaws but was still very good. And different from other historical fiction than I have read, which is always good.

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  3. 1942? I am utterly obsessed with history revolving around the early 1940's through the 1950's, did the author touch on any of the World Wars surrounding this era?

    I could see how the decisions the characters carried out could be vexing, I don't even know if I would borrow it Cynthia ha ha! I love historical fiction, but narratives that leave a memorable aftertaste; I'm not sure about this one. Thanks for your honest approach! I always appreciate it :)

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    1. Thanks Claudia! It was an entertaining read. The WWII stuff was just an afterthought really. There were a couple of air raids, where the characters had to run to a bomb shelter so that was different. Other than that, they seemed pretty removed from it.

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  4. This book has been on my watch for what seems like forever, but can't seem to find them at my bookstore. I'm a big fan of historical fiction - especially one that's set in Scotland. I also have enjoyed Sara's Water for Elephants, so this one should've been a no-brainer. Definitely picking up a copy this weekend!

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    1. Joy, I LOVED Water for Elephants so I was super excited to read this one. I wouldn't say it was necessarily as good, but I still thought it was a worthwhile read. The setting was awesome! I hope you enjoy it. :)

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  5. Great review! I totally agree. I loved the Scottish setting and found the characters that lived and worked in the inn to be so likable. It also took me a little while to connect with the story but in the end I enjoyed it too.
    Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally

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    1. Thanks Cassi! I am glad you enjoyed it as well. :)

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  6. Oh you had me curious with the time period and sold me with the setting..I do think I would enjoy this one. Lovely review!!

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    1. Thanks Kimba! I do believe you would. The setting was beautiful and I love books set in that time period as well.

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