The weight of water - Anita Shreve [0]
Reading group guide copyright © 2004 by Anita Shreve and Little, Brown and Company
Excerpt from Testimony copyright © 2008 by Anita Shreve
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
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Originally published in hardcover by Little, Brown and Company, January 1997
First eBook edition: January 1998
Back Bay Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. The Back Bay Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
ISBN 978-0-316-07351-6
Contents
Copyright Page
By Anita Shreve
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Maren Hontvedl’s Document
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgments
Reading Group Guide
On the Origins of The Weight of Water
Reading Group Questions and Topics for Discussion
About The Author
Look For These Other Novels By Anita Shreve
PRAISE FOR ANITA SHREVE’S
The Weight of Water
“Mesmerizing… quietly spellbinding.… A kind of mystery forged of romance and danger.… Part of the book’s power is of the conventional whodunit variety.… Equally strong is Shreve’s evocative prose style.… The Weight of Water is well-crafted entertainment that also plumbs the depths.”
— Dan Cryer, Newsday
“Spellbinding.… Shreve’s triumph here is in creating a pace that brilliantly mimics the frenzy of one who acts in a moment of searing passion.”
— Leah Odze Epstein, Nashville BookPage
“It’s impossible not to keep turning the pages, as Shreve, with somber voice, leads us on.”
— Susan Dooley, Washington Post Book World
“Riveting… haunting.… Shreve is equally adroit at spinning a yarn and etching fine prose.”
— Kate Callen, San Diego Union-Tribune
“Powerful.… This taut thriller is based on the true story of the murder of two women on a small island off the coast of New Hampshire in 1873.… Shreve has fashioned together two memorable dramas into a single narrative that explores jealousy, trust, and betrayal.”
— Barbara James Thomson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Spare, tightly plotted, and compactly written… a novel powerfully driven by plot and language.… Shreve displays an intriguing range of style and tone. It is as if an Ibsen drama had erupted in an Ann Beattie novel.”
— Maureen McLane, Chicago Tribune
“Both stories move slowly and surely through the dark and distorting medium of water toward tragedy.… Both stories feel primitive in their passions, as if the characters were bereft of language and necessarily reliant on gaze, gesture, and touch.… This is a powerful achievement.”
— Barbara Fisher, Boston Globe
“Absorbing and suspenseful.… The writing is controlled and evocative, the novel mysterious and disturbing.”
— Orlando Sentinel
“Gripping.… The speed with which lives unravel is at the heart of both strands of Shreve’s stunning tale. There is plenty for the reader to ponder and savor in this accomplished inquiry into the ravages of love.”
— Heller McAlpin, Los Angeles Times
“Shreve manages to surprise — her imagination never fails her.… The Weight of Water accrues power through its sharply described detail and carefully controlled language.… It is impossible not to admire Shreve’s considerable craft.”
— Jocelyn McClurg, Hartford Courant
“An engrossing tale.… A cryptic long-lost narrative inside an impending family tragedy wrapped in a true-crime murder mystery framed by the aftermath of all of the above.… Ms. Shreve unravels themes of adultery, jealousy, crimes of passion, incest, negligence,