The Forms of Water - Softcover

Barrett, Andrea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007114915 ISBN 13: 9780007114917

Publisher: Flamingo, 2002

Synopsis

Set in New England, `The Forms of Water' is a superb exploration of the complexities of family life, grief and the ties that continue to bind us to the past.At the age of eighty, Brendan Auberon, a former monk, is now confined to a wheelchair in a nursing home. As a last wish, he is desperate to catch a final glimpse of the two hundred acres of woodland on which once stood his parental home. Half a century ago, the owners of the land were evicted from their homes and the land was flooded to create a reservoir which would provide water for the big city.`The Forms of Water' is the story of what happens when Brendan convinces his staid nephew Henry to hijack the nursing home van to make this ancestral visit. What begins as a joke becomes infinitely more complex as the family roles begin to rearrange themselves.A rich and absorbing look at the complexities of family life, at grief and at the ties that continue to bind us to the past.

About this title

About the Author:

Andrea Barrett lives in Rochester, NY. She is the author of five novels, and two collections of stories, `Ship Fever', which won the National Book Award in 1996, and `Servants of the Map'.

From Library Journal:

After spending his productive years in a monastery near his childhood home, 80-year-old Brendan Auberon is now confined to a wheelchair and a nursing home, where his family pay him occasional obligatory visits. When Brendan convinces his nephew Henry to help him return to the home of his youth, now covered by a reservoir supplying water to the city of Boston, Brendan steals the nursing home van for the adventure. The trip doesn't turn out as planned, but with Brendan and Henry on the run, and various family members in pursuit, it is anything but dull; Brendan, through his last capricious act, serves as the catalyst to set errant family members on the right path again. Barrett ( The Middle Kingdom , LJ 2/1/91) combines family dissension and adventure with healthy doses of faith and optimism. The result is a satisfying analysis of family dysfunction in the spirit of Sue Miller.
- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Flamingo
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0007114915
• ISBN 13: 9780007114917
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1