The Waters is a 2024 novel by Michigan author Bonnie Jo Campbell.

The Waters
AuthorBonnie Jo Campbell
LanguageEnglish
GenreFamily saga
PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
Publication date
January 2024
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pages400
ISBN978-0-393-24843-2
823

Plot

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On an island in the middle of a swamp in Michigan, a family has lived for generations. The matriarch, Hermine Zook, is a healer and herbalist who inspires fear and hope in the people of the local town, Whiteheart. Living on the island with her is her granddaughter, Dorothy, who is a budding mathematician and herbalist.

List of main characters

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  • Hermine "Herself" Zook – Herbalist and eccentric matriarch of the Zook family
  • Primrose "Prim" Zook – Herself's daughter, a lawyer
  • Molly Zook – Herself's daughter, a nurse
  • Rose Thorn Zook - Herself's daughter, beautiful and lazy
  • Dorothy "Donkey" Zook – Rose Thorn's daughter, a budding mathematician and herbalist
  • Titus Clay, Jr. – Rose Thorn's love interest, a farmer

Reception

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The novel was chosen as a Read with Jenna January 204 Book Club pick.[1] Ron Charles of The Washington Post described it as "pure magic".[2] The Los Angeles Times' Jane Smiley described the novel as "earthy" and a "thought-provoking and readable exploration of eccentricity and of all different kinds of love".[3]

References

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