At The Water's Edge

I think I pinched a nerve in my back and spent the day on the couch trying not to move in order to avoid any pain.  Susan Gruen's book At The Water's Edge help make the day pass quite quickly.  I started the book int he morning and finished it as the sun went down.  With a few breaks for food and such I could not put this novel down.

This book by Susan Gruen, author the Water For Elephants, has done what many authors find hard to do.  She has written a second book that, I think, is even better than her first.  Water For Elephants was a national best seller and told terrific story.  She has outdone herself in this new novel.  At The Water's Edge grabs the reader right from the Prologue and does not let you go until the very last page.

It is a story of love and betrayal beautifully portrayed by the main character, Maddie Hyde.  It is 1944 in Philadelphia and while a war rages in Europe the wealthy families of Pennsylvania are living a blissfully ignorant lifestyle parties and worrying only about their social standing.  When young Maddie's new husband, Ellis and his friend, Hank find themselves embarrassed by their behavior at a New Year's party they decide to reestablish their good names by traveling to the Scottish Highlands to hunt the Loch Ness monster.

Gruen uses factual newspaper stories from the time period to create the story of these three oblivious young socialites stumbling into the realities of World War II in the Europe.  Gruen admits to playing loosely with dates but she does a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere of small town life during the blackout and food shortages the war brought to every town.  The war continually runs through the background of this story.  Slowly Maddie becomes aware of how real the war is as she sees wounded soldiers being shipped home and reads articles in the newspaper as the concentration camps are liberated.  These incidents along with blackout curtains, food rationing and trips to the air raid shelter help to change Maddie into the likable character she becomes as the story progresses.

By the end of the book you are rooting for her,  hoping the book will give her the ending she deserves to live happily ever after.    This book is a terrific character study of the different people confronted by hardship, war and money.  We are shown the motivation of the privileged society and how that can destroy you.  The book is about the Maddie's awakening to the realities of the people she has surrounded herself with.  There are monsters everywhere, some hidden like the Loch Ness monster, some out in the open like real life monster, Adolf Hitler and some that you find out about as you experience life.