We Are Water by Wally Lamb, a touching novel that will leave few unmoved, November, Harper Collins
Wally Lamb is according to his publisher, "The #1 New York Times bestselling master whose works have touched millions." I did not read "She's Come Undone" or any of his others. WE ARE WATER (November, Harper Collins) is my first encounter with Lamb's work. The novel kept reminding me of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." In that classic, the story was also told in alternating chapters so you get a range of perspectives. There are also psychological mysteries--awful secrets--at the heart of that book, which propel family members to their fate. Both authors have lyrical writing styles. Though Lamb hasn't the cadences of the south, he has the same poetry of nature with man and against him. Lamb's water metaphors, throughout WE ARE WATER, begin with an unpredictable flood, which parallels the all encompassing doom in "As I Lay Dying." Both books draw you into their emotional vortex. But while Faulkner can be painful to read, Lamb...