It's an interesting concept, an interesting title, that we are water. For water is many things, and often conflicting ones at that: powerful but often uncontainable; clear but sometimes murky; resilient as a liquid but able to shatter as a solid.
I'm intrigued by the analogy, but not surprised.
Wally Lamb does a magnificent job of portraying characters who embody every quality I can think of as pertaining to water. I began his novel with fervor, enjoying it more than She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True. But, halfway through I bogged down, holding a great resentment toward Annie Oh: the wife, mother and soon to be bride again.
She was everything I disdain: selfish, abusive, secretive, lost.
I almost abandoned the book, and yet, I'm glad I reached the conclusion where if the reasons as to her behavior aren't necessarily justified, they are explained. And who am I to judge what her circumstances have made her become? We are each ultimately responsible for the person we evolve into, and some are apparently unable to overcome the wounds of their youth.
I liked the way Lamb explored the dynamics of family, the way he took time to give us each character's point of view, and the dialog which was spot on. It is a beautifully written book which looks at the sorrows we often endure and how we cope with them.
