Bodies of Water

De: T. Greenwood

Narrado por: Coleen Marlo

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.

In this deeply tender novel, T. Greenwood weaves deftly between the past and present to create a poignant and wonderfully moving story of friendship, the resonance of memories, and the love that keeps us afloat.

©2013 T. Greenwood (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Complex and compelling." (Eleanor Brown, New York Times bestselling author of The Weird Sisters)

Blindsided by summary

I grew up in the 1950's in a town near Boston, so can understand at some level how tough it must have been to have a gay relationship in that time and place. I am male and straight, but as a 15 year old at that time was approached on various occasions by gay males both older than and the same age as me. I did not understand what was going on and the only explanation I ever received was that these individuals were "queer" and vaguely dangerous. "Gay" in those days for me and my peers was an alien concept.

Interesting though the main theme of the story may have been, it wasn't enough to overcome the fact that I simply do not enjoy reading about gay relationships. Had the summary of the book mentioned that a gay relationship was involved, I would not have bought the book. But the summary did not mention this, so I felt blindsided.

Having said this, I have no criticism of the book itself. Like opera, I can appreciate quality in its own right, but it is something to which I do not enjoy listening. The author's exploration of her central theme, her character development and her story line were all well done. So, I admire her work. I just don't enjoy opera.

Loved it❤️

This was an amazing love story. It was well written. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Surprising story

If you are willing to invest your time, you will not be disappointed. Billie Valentine is a character that is immensely lovable, flawed, yet incredibly real. Eva is mysterious- the perfect foil to Billie. Frankie and Ted, as well as secondary characters such as Gussie and each woman’s children are well drawn. They all play essential roles in moving the plot to its ultimate conclusion. Powerful story of forbidden love in the early 60’s.

Beautiful, tender, layered story

Just one caveat here: in spite of my occasional frustration at the overused literary device of postponing for the reader a "big event" you know is coming, and filling in with meandering, anecdotal back stories, I loved this story and connected instantly with the issues facing that marginal generation of women who came of age in the 1960's. Torn between family and meaningful personal vocation, we all knew we should be doing something besides making dinner and babies, but what?? Yes, we were all college graduates, but that only seemed to complicate our situations.

However, that's simply the backdrop of this novel, which alternates between two time periods in the life of one woman, who finds herself caught up in a sensitive web of love, affection and commitment, through various breakups, re-starts, and her partner's escapes from a violent, controlling spouse. It's an at-the-time unconventional relationship that would sentence the participants to "disgrace", rejection and isolation from their peers.

I have become a T. Greenwood fan, and she is now my "go to" author when I have exhausted what's current from a Jodi Picoult or Elizabeth Berg, Sue Miller, and others in this genre.

I only have one minor bone to pick - at times I felt like a hostage, waiting for a key plot point to "happen", and wading through pages (minutes, hours) of not-so-interesting or relevant back story.

T. Greenwood is now on my short list. I've already read "The Hungry Season", which is a tighter, more compact family drama, and my review will come soon.

A full five stars!

not what I was expecting

Would you try another book from T. Greenwood and/or Coleen Marlo?

Probably not. The characters were well developed, but I didn't find any of them sympathetic. This authors view of the world is just too different from my own.

How could the performance have been better?

The pronunciation of the narrator seemed very unnatural to me, Perhaps it's an accent from a part of the country that I'm not familiar with. Still, I found myself mimicking words she had said all the way through the book. I was constantly thinking, "really?" as one word would be pronounced in a flat midwestern style and the next in faux London English. I've gotten used to various voices that I initially found irritating and by halfway through the book didn't know what had rubbed me the wrong way. This one grated right til the end.