Sunday, December 1, 2013

Water’s Edge by Jane Riddell

Publisher: ThornBerry Publishing (UK)
Pages: 273
Source: I received a review copy in exchange for my honest review
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Fiction

From Goodreads:
When Madalena invites her four children to Switzerland for a family gathering, she isn’t prepared for the excess baggage of their lives they bring along – secrets they are compelled to keep and those that must be divulged; the compromises they make, and, ultimately, what can and can't be resolved – for Madalena, too, has things about her past that she would prefer not to reveal.

Set against a backdrop of mountains and lakes, Water's Edge is a tapestry of love, lies and family

My Thoughts:
This is more than just a great story.  It is a story that makes us look at our relationships with our own family members.  In this story we have Madalena who owns a lake resort in Switzerland. She is wanting to pass the business on to one of her children and retire.  She invites them up for a celebration of their 40th year in business.  She has three daughters and one son. 

Portia is a divorced lawyer with a rebellious daughter.  Her daughter unexpectedly ends up at the reunion because she is kicked out of boarding school.
Vienne is a famous concert pianist.  All of her fame doesn’t make her happy  because she isn’t sure if her husband really loves her.  There are definitely some issues between Portia and Vienne.
Annie is part owner of a café. She is a chef.  She is having personal relationship issues.
Lawrence is the only son and is a journalist. 
All three of the girls live in the UK, Lawrence lives in Scotland.  They all go back to Switzerland, but not without bringing their issues with them.  Not only do we learn about their issues, but we learn that some of their underlying problems go as far back as to when they were younger and sent to boarding school.  Add to this the fact that their mother has always felt guilty about sending them off to boarding school and you have the setup of a lot of drama. 

Some of the issues get resolved and some of them don’t.  Anyone reading this book will be able to find themselves in one of the characters or situations.   The author does a great job of bringing us along to Switzerland.  The reader feels like they are there.  This is a book I would definitely recommend to other adults.

No comments:

Post a Comment