I'm sure it's all been said already. Incredibly moving, thought provoking novel about the little mistakes that can change everything. From the beginning to the end, the novel is quickly paced, taut with foreshadowing and suspense, and the modern day story mixed in with the past is seamless in it's telling. I stayed up until 3 am reading it - truly one of my favorites!

Complex and sensitive.
There is the story surrounding the murders that occurred on Smuttynose off the coast of New Hampshire, and there is the story of the photographer who is many a photojournal 100 yrars later. As with all things, there is the event, and there are the complexities of the lives around the event. The lives of the 1800's and the lives a hundres years later are more interesting perhaps than the event.
The book is complex and sensitive.

A disturbing story, but the writing is excellent. You must pay close attention as parallel stories weave in and out without warning. Some inexplicable moments....what exactly happened with Evan and Maren?

This was an intriguing book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Covers some very strong emotional issues, and grief is one of them.

The author unravels themes of adultery, jealousy, crimes of passion, incest, negligence, loss and guilt; ultimately creating an almost intolerable tension. It seems to have something for every reader.

"I wonder this: If you take a woman and push her to the edge, how will she behave?" The question is posed by Jean, a photographer, who in 1995 arrives on Smuttynose Island, off the coast of Maine, to research a century-old crime. As she immerses herself in the details of the case-an outburst of passion that resulted in the deaths of two women-Jean herself enters precarious emotional territory. The suspicios that her husband is having an affair burgeons into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately propels Jean to the verge of actions she had not known herself capable of-actions with horrific consequences. Everywhere hailed for its beauty and power, The Weight of Water takes us on an unforgettable journey trhough the farthest extremes of emotion.

I really didn't like this book at all. I read it under the pretense that it was based on a true story, only to find after research that great liberties were taken. This always turns me off. If you're an Anita Shreve fan, you might like this one.

I loved this book. It was well written, and it explored several issues including incest and grief. Anita Shreve is one of my favorite authors and this is one of my favorite books.

A novel set in new England, winner of the Winship Award and contains a reading group guide. It is a story of the death of two women in 1873 on Smuttynose Island and it is the story of uncovering the facts and fictions needed to make a modern novel. Some say this is Anita Shreve's best. I think they are all good.Read it and enjoy...

Dual story of a modern day marriage in trouble and a historical account of of a mysterious muder on an island. I thought it was interesting, though definitely not a page turner

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This is one of those times where I saw the movie prior to reading the book and I enjoyed both. There are some variances between book and movie, and the next moment lines from the film are verbatim from the novel. That works, because I've seen the movie a few times and there are some scenes I didn't quite "get", and the book sort of filled them in, but also there's a twist or two that is not in the movie. This is so well-written that I have a tough time distinguishing fact from fiction, and I feel that's exactly what a good novel should provide.

this was an excellent book. If you saw the movie on HBO and liked it you will really like the book. Huge difference between the movie and the book. The book has a lot more info and if you saw the movie you will be totatly surprised by the ending of the book.

The story started out slow,about a quarter into it I COULD'NT PUT it down. Very good story line,keeps you thinking til the end. I loved it!!!!!
Jolained

Cover is from the movie

A major motion picture from Lions Gate Films. Not the same cover that is shows but has the cover of the movie.

Jean,a photographer,who in 1995 arrives on Smuttynose IslaND,oFF THE COAST OF mAINE,TO RESEARCH A CENTURY-OLD CRIME.

In 1873, two women living on the Isles of Shoals, a lonely, windswept group of islands off the coast of New Hampshire, were brutally murdered. A third woman survived, cowering in a sea cave until dawn. More than a century later, Jean, a magazine photographer working on a photoessay about the murders, returns to the Isles with her husband, Thomas, and their five-year-old daughter, Billie, aboard a boat skippered by her brother-in-law, Rich, who has brought along his girlfriend, Adaline. As Jean becomes immersed in the details of the 19th-century murders, Thomas and Adaline find themselves drawn together-with potentially ruinous consequences. Shreve (Where or When; Resistance) perfectly captures the ubiquitous dampness of life on a sailboat, deftly evoking the way in which the weather comes to dictate all actions for those at sea. With the skill of a master shipbuilder, Shreve carefully fits her two stories together, tacking back and forth between the increasingly twisted murder mystery and the escalating tensions unleashed by the threat of a dangerous shipboard romance. Written with assurance and grace, plangent with foreboding and a taut sense of inexorability, The Weight of Water is a powerfully compelling tale of passion, a provocative and disturbing meditation on the nature of love.

well written

I enjoyed this book. It took me about two days, and I really enjoyed the switch between what was happening now and the historical piece. Good beach book!

Ever since the "Pilot's Wife", I have read Shreve's books. This was a great read.

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