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Waterland
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Publisher's Summary
This brilliant and compelling novel is at once a lyrical description of the Fens, a fictional autobiography, and an impassioned defence of history. The narrator, an English schoolteacher, and his interior world of memories combine with the exterior world of the bleak Fenland landscape to produce a multiplicity of stories. Swift weaves together tales of empire building, land reclamation, brewers and lock-keepers to construct a chronicle that spans three centuries.
Waterland is simultaneously a family saga, a novel of provincial life, a social history and a story of adolescent love.
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What members say
Average Customer Ratings
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kate J
- 18-12-2018
A slow but entrancing story
This book was not the type of thing I normally read or listen to but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
It follows a family for many generations and mostly flicks between the main character, Tom Crick’s, life as an adult history teacher and teenage years in the 1940s.
Similar to other books I’ve read by Graham Swift there is a lot of foreshadowing so you know so much of what is going to happen but are missing the key details until the final moments. I find this is a very engaging and natural way to tell a life narrative. There are fascinating deviations from the plot to explain natural history phenomena like the life cycle of eels, which then cleverly become metaphors for human components of the plot.
The characters are subtle, flawed, awkward and realistic.
I found the narrator very well suited to telling this story - a good balance of performance without being melodramatic. To my kiwi ears some of his voices of rural British folk verged on having American accents, but I’m not one to judge.
Overall a good yarn if you’re happy to invest for the long haul, particularly nice to unwind before bed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tamara
- 30-11-2019
Beautifully written story!
It is hard to know where to begin heaping praise on Waterland— the engaging story, gorgeous language, and fantastic narration by Christian Rodska all combine to make for a perfect and unforgettable tale and listening experience. This is wonderful escapism steeped in history and eels, lust and ale.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lauren
- 28-07-2017
It takes 2 reads, but the layers seem endless
If you could sum up Waterland in three words, what would they be?
layered, symbolic, internalized
What did you like best about this story?
The narrator. He tells the story as a memory and part internal conversation. He contradicts himself, because he is working through trauma. How the novel's structure mimics trauma is impressive and interesting to work through. The way he works through his trauma, the reader goes through it with him.
Which character – as performed by Christian Rodska – was your favorite?
No standouts. He does a good job making different voices for different characters.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It is best to, in order to pick up on the repetitions and parallels, which made the novel impressive.
Any additional comments?
The main plot is set during the narrators childhood, this memory is triggered by his current experiences. He frames the story with paralleled stories of the history of the Fens. At first, these historical stories are tough to attach to the main story--especially because of their lengths, but on the second read everything fits. It simply takes 2 reads.
The book questions reality and history--whether they are truly created and organized to distract us from the world's emptiness.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. Henderson
- 18-12-2015
Brilliant author, provocative style, great performance
In my second reading of this book, I also listened along (using whispersync). Graham Swift's flashbacks and flash forwards, with occasional historical interludes were fascinating and captivating. I think the spoken version alone might be difficult, especially for the first read. I recommend reading along.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Martin Minter
- 01-11-2016
A picture of rural England
A intriguing story of generations living on the Fens. Quite deep at times, but I felt a real warmth towards the characters involved. It had a similar feeling to a wartime Ealing studios film. It could have moved more quickly at times, but that may have taken away some of the period atmosphere. Not a fast read, though engrossing.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eccles
- 20-07-2015
Flat lands but no flat story
Where does Waterland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Its not the best book I've listened to but it is riveting and a page turner
What was one of the most memorable moments of Waterland?
The description of the flooded fenland and the effect it had on the local inhabitants
Which character – as performed by Christian Rodska – was your favourite?
They were all done so well it is impossible to choose. Perhaps the narrator came over most convincingly
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
In a land of water where water rules lives, life is as unpredictable as the waters.
Any additional comments?
The way this book is structured is a little difficult to follow at first, but once used to the way of it, becomes an important factor in the suspense. A slight niggle for me was the end which I felt was a bit drawn-out. Otherwise a well written gripping story.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Solaire
- 27-10-2017
The idea was better than the execution
I listened to this having read in a film review that Christopher Nolan was influenced by this book. And you can indeed see the influences with intercutting narratives over multiple timelines.
So the book is an interesting literary exercise, but the story didn't engage me at all. I could also have done without the incest, eels, and smut in the second half of the book.
The narrator does the best he can with the material.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Helen
- 28-03-2016
Brilliantly narrated and fascinating story
I have recently moved to the Fens and this story has made me feel right at home. I absolutely loved it, beautifully written and narrated.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Judith
- 07-06-2012
Woven words
A richly vivid tapestry of images and characters, brought to life by a compelling reading, it's almost a long lyric poem.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Pam Jolliffe
- 20-01-2019
Depressing
A long and depressing tale with a complex mix of recent and distant history in a jumble of timings.
Stories are started left and returned to like a jig saw puzzle where random areas are patched together.
Eventually the whole sad tale is complete. Life will go on but without either of the 2 families whose sad lives intertwine.
Maybe the story is really that history of ordinary people is as strange as great events The French Revolution say but all just ends in disappointment.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- croc fan
- 15-10-2016
Brilliant
I can't recommend this book highly enough! Superb reading complimented the excellent story. Such rich use of language.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-04-2019
Sublime
From beginning to end this truly wonderful book evokes a mysterious magical disturbing world....beautifully read too..... smashing stuff
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lipo
- 22-01-2019
Dark but brilliant
I remember struggling with the book, with story and subject matter that seemed almost overwhelmingly dark. But this narrator brought such reality and life to the 'history' - that I was gripped from first to last, even by the long passages about the fens, which other readers might find tedious, but which are in fact essential and atmospheric background setting. The ending is amazing, wonderful!