I knew that author used plot and character to ask questions to our society and John did that job meticulously: Water by John Boyne is hunting profound expedition – Book Review

Water
Author – John Boyne
Genre – Novella
Pages – 176
Rating – 3/5

Some books make me confused, I don’t know what to write sometime because I find the writing extremely strong but the character wasn’t convincible, it could be disappointing yet the author fulfilled his aim to draw a remarkable question to our society.

She has unbearable pain but I couldn’t hear her sobs, she is in agony, but is it pain or shame? I find her in an escapist mindset rather than the pain of losing someone she loved. She is always resourceful and just wants to hide it, this is not pain. Her constant sense of escapism and entangled thoughts, self-reflection, guilt, are portrayed very well and that is why I didn’t like this book.

I am confused after reading this book, I held high hopes after reading “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, expecting something soul-stripping like that book, but this book didn’t work as I was expecting.

This time author wrote on the element of water. No doubt John Boyne wrote it fantastic still I couldn’t fathom my brain to register the protagonist and her pain, couldn’t make any emotional connection with Vanessa Carvin or Willow Hale whatever you wanna call her.

I can’t tell you the story because that is the main theme which is unraveled slowly and the USP of this book is hidden here. But I can tell you it is a mother’s story and I didn’t find her relatable, that makes me strange!

I knew that author used plot and character to ask questions to our society and John did that job meticulously, a very well-executed clever plot that asks some mind-blowing facts, revealing the true downfall of our ethics. John effortlessly asked some questions that were powerful enough to shatter the mask of society.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“Water has been the undoing of me. It has been the undoing of my family. We swim in the womb. We are composed of it. We drink it. We are drawn to it throughout our lives, more than mountains, deserts, or canyons. But it is terrible. It kills.”

“And it’s women like us who allow it to happen. Because staying quiet is easier than causing a fuss, isn’t it? Sometimes I think we’re just as bad as they are.”

“You wear your loneliness like an overcoat”;

“There are widows. And widowers. And orphans. But there is no word to define a parent who loses a child.”

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