Babble Book Club's newest selection is Cool Water by Dianne Warren, an interwoven story about the inhabitants of a fictional Saskatchewan town. Warren has described this novel as her life's work as it is informed by the area she grew up in, the movies and books she consumed and partly her family history.
The final conversation will wrap up on Tuesday February 19 8:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. PST where the book will be discussed in its entirety. As always the thread is open for everyone to discuss the book and ask questions as they ease along on their reading process.
This book is widely available online, in bookstores, at the library or through the publisher Harper Collins.
Check out the blog post for more details on the book and the discussion or leave the below.
Also here is some praise for the book:
From the Governor General's Literary Awards Fiction Jury:
In this exquisitely constructed novel, Dianne Warren makes each moment shine; her narrative flows seamlessly from character to character, all stunningly depicted. The implied silences of her elegant minimalism amplify the lush prose. Cool Waterimmerses readers in the difficulties and joys of everyday life. This is powerful writing—gut-wrenching and inspiring. Its drama is quiet, but in the end you hardly know what hit you.
From Winnipeg Free Press:
Warren demonstrates a finely tuned understanding of the importance of everyday life that is reminiscent of Carol Shields' abilities to transform the quotidian into something meaningful
From Quill and Quire starred review:
The novel takes up the stories of a dozen of the town’s inhabitants. Particularly well-drawn are the portraits of Norval Birch, Juliet’s bank manager, and Vicki Dolson, a struggling mother of six. Although the two never meet over the course of the novel, their lives are inextricably connected, in the manner of folks who live in a small town. Birch is aware of Vicki’s situation and empathizes with her; thoughts of her and her family consume him throughout his day. Vicki, meanwhile, moves through the novel, herding her kids and demonstrating her sweet, clueless-yet-knowing nature with every word she utters. The two characters are simply and truthfully drawn, and Warren avoids the kind of cloying “just folks” attitude that could so easily overwhelm such portrayals.
