Bodies of Water

4.5 of 5 Stars

In 1960, Billie Valentine is a young housewife living in a sleepy Massachusetts suburb, treading water in a dull marriage and caring for two adopted daughters. Summers spent with the girls at their lakeside camp in Vermont are her one escape - from her husband's demands, from days consumed by household drudgery, and from the nagging suspicion that life was supposed to hold something different. Then a new family moves in across the street. Ted and Eva Wilson have three children and a fourth on the way, and their arrival reignites long-buried feelings in Billie. The affair that follows offers a solace Billie has never known, until her secret is revealed and both families are wrenched apart in the tragic aftermath. Fifty years later, Ted and Eva's son, Johnny, contacts an elderly but still spry Billie, entreating her to return east to meet with him. Once there, Billie finally learns the surprising truth about what was lost, and what still remains, of those joyful, momentous summers. (from Amazon.com)

I will admit I set this one on my shelf for a long time and it wasn't because I didn't want to read it. Any time Miss Greenwood releases a new book I am ready to devour it. She is one of my absolute favorite authors and I still pride myself in finding her book, by sheer luck, at a Barnes and Noble a few years ago. That being said, she's got a new book coming out, The Forever Bridge, and I'm ecstatic for its release. 

Bodies of Water does not disappoint. Greenwood treats the story with her signature pizazz and knack for capturing the right words. I was constantly impressed with the imagery of water throughout. Water becomes an extended metaphor throughout the entire novel. The story is captivating. A gift of Miss Greenwood's is to take a story that may seem predictable at face value but she captures the reader with her distinct prose. The character of Ted Wilson seems a little stereotypical, for example, but Miss Greenwood still manages to make it interesting. 

If homosexual romances offend you in any way, but you have read Miss Greenwood before and loved it, still give this one a chance. It may just alter your view of homosexual men and women. I think it was meant to be a twist in the plot, or at least a secret, since the synopsis on the back of the book doesn't really say anything about it. Whatever your response is to it I certainly hope it doesn't force you away from finishing the book. This is one book that explores the nature of love. What it really means to love and how freeing it is to follow your heart. Billie and Eva are a believable couple and their story is something that gives hope to any who long for love. 

I highly recommend this novel and any other work by Miss Greenwood.