~ At the Water’s Edge, by Sara Gruen ~
This period romance novel, set in the 2nd World War, features a young protagonist called Maddie, newly married, of the upper crust set in Philadelphia. She does little except enjoy herself with Ellis, her husband, and best friend Hank.
My life consisted of waking at noon, meeting up with Hank and Ellis, and then bouncing from eye-opener to pick-me-up-cocktail to night-cap, and staying all night at dances or parties before starting all over again the next day. It was full of luxurious trappings and shiny baubles, and that had blinded me to the fact that nothing about it was real.
p158
After a particularly raucous new year’s party, Ellis insults his father, with the result that his father throws him out of the house and cuts him off without a penny. Ellis decides to rush over the Scotland notwithstanding the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic, to hunt down the Loch Ness monster which his father lost his reputation over, having faked evidence of the monster many years ago. Hank and Maddie go with him, convinced Ellis needs this for recovery of his spirits and his relationship with his father.
The three Americans arrive in the Scottish highlands and stay at The Fraser Arms, a hotel which seems devoid of the creature comforts they are so accustomed to, even in war time. In this sojourn, while the two men hunt for Nessie, Maddie learns the truth about her marriage, makes friends with the locals who seem won over by her all too easily, and slips into life in Scotland nearly seamlessly. Her romance with the war hero, Angus, is predictable, and the humble hotelier turns out to be the local ‘Laird’ or lord, complete with a castle. Maddie who was entirely dependent on her husband suddenly finds herself an heiress because of the timely demise of her unloving father. Ellis, who is a inveterate drunk and drug abuser, is presented as increasingly malicious, dastardly, vile, completely without scruples, and Hank appears not to have realised any of this, still believing in his friend being a gentleman and good husband.
The writing is extremely pleasant and nearly convincing, but things are just a little too simplified, a little too black and white in this novel. The characters are quite endearing, but they seem stock characters rather than real. Meg, the gorgeous barmaid becomes Maddie’s best friend in no time, and competing for that spot is Anna, the maid. Maddie begins working at the hotel while Ellis and Hank are often away, hunting the monster. It is all too easy, all too convenient. Many instances are contrived where Angus is shown in heroic light, shooting down planes with just a rifle, rescuing damsels in distress, beating up wrong doers, even being the local Robin Hood, feeding the local population by poaching game. He is cast as super handsome, battle scarred, tragically mourning his wife and baby, determined, righteous, dashing, gallant, and of course madly in love with Maddie. Not that this is not a pleasant state of affairs given the reader’s partiality as contrived by the author, but it is just a tad too predictable and cosy.
This tale lacks narrative tension. But it does not lack readability.
Recent Comments