THE MEMORY OF WATER – Karen White
A Perfect 10
NAL
ISBN: 978-0-451-22303-6
March 2008
Contemporary Fiction

McClellanville, South Carolina – Present Day

Marnie Maitland comes back to her childhood home on the east coast after ten years. Her sister Diana, their mute grandfather, and Gil, Diana’s son inhabit the old house by the sea owned by their family since the revolution. All is not well between the sisters who were so close when they were children. After Diana’s boating accident with her son, Diana’s ex-husband, Quinn, called Marnie asking her to come and help her nine-year-old nephew, whom she has never met. Antipathy between the sisters is strong as Diana tells Marnie to leave and go back home, but is the love they shared as children so far behind the anger? Marnie is shocked to see how thin and ill her sister looks. Diana is a brilliant artist, as their mother had been, but unfortunately she also inherited their mother’s mental illness. She has been depressed since the accident, not getting along with anyone, refusing to eat, punishing herself, and not able to paint, which has always been her solace. The Maitland curse has been part of the family’s inheritance through the years.

Since the accident, Gil refuses to speak. Quinn has tried to maintain a close relationship with him, but Gil has shut him out. He refuses to go sailing, which he always loved; he is locked into his quiet world, only sharing time with his great-grandfather. He dare not speak, knowing that he would have to lie to protect his mother about what happened when he sailed with her two months ago. Teaching art to special-needs children in Arizona, Marnie hopes to befriend Gil by having him paint with her. Although Marnie does not have Diana’s talent, she is a good teacher, and Gil has artistic talent. Will she be able to help her sister and nephew? Marnie has her own issues -- she was an excellent sailor, but now she is fearful of the sea and wants nothing to do with it because of what happened years ago when her mother drowned. Will she be able to come to terms with her own fears while helping Gil?

THE MEMORY OF WATER is told in first person with viewpoints from the different characters. The pacing is excellent, and the descriptions of the ocean and surrounding area are breathtaking, making readers feel they are sitting at the shore with this sad, dysfunctional family. Beautifully written with excellent dialogue, your heart will go out to the Maitlands as they struggle with mental illness. Quinn is a healer who wants to fix everything as he would mend a bird’s wing or cure an animal in his veterinary practice, but he also has his problems getting over the death of his brother. Marnie has lost her spontaneity, is afraid of the water and wants to hide from trouble, while Diana, a brilliant artist, sometimes goes off of her medication causing havoc, and she's estranged from her son even though she loves him dearly. The sisters have a love/hate relationship. Gil is a sad little boy, very artistic -- Diana fears he will inherit the Maitland curse; the wise grandfather watches his family and uses his bible to communicate with them. They are all wounded characters badly in need.

A heart-felt and emotional tale, THE MEMORY OF WATER is a Perfect 10, a book readers will savor and bring to mind long after they have turned the last page.

Marilyn Heyman