The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve (1998)
Read: March 2010

We were left this book by MJ when she came to visit. I was thankful that although it was fiction it wasn't the trashy kind, but looked more thoughtful than that.
The story follows a photographer on assignment to document the site of a murder in the 1870's on a small island. As she composes her shots, her story is intertwined with that of the survivor. Their family situation different, but similar themes emerge.
The scenes on the island, both in present day and in the survivors' letters, describe a bleak place where you have to work to survive. Maybe that is why the murders were motivated and why this group of five are drawn to it.
I feel sorry for the protaganist who gradually feels that she is being sidelined by her husband for another women. She often describes a scene implying she is just an observer, not active in it, and this is all happening around her. But then I also feel frustrated that she has let it come to this and wonder why she doesn't work harder at staying together for their daughter's sake.
But actually I realise that she is herself lost. Lost in emotion, lost in memory.
I surprised myself by generally enjoying this book - maybe it has helped put some of my faith back into reading fiction. As long as I need to think a bit then fiction is an option.