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In Great Waters (2009)

by Kit Whitfield(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0345491653 (ISBN13: 9780345491657)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Del Rey

review 1: The Tudors meets Anderson's The Little Mermaid. By this I mean that In Great Waters is not really a feel-good, fluffy, happily ever after merfolk fantasy book. Incredibly creative, well written, and kept me interested, but I didn't fall in love with the characters, or even really FEEL much for them. I will look into the author's novel Benighted, because this was an interesting and engaging read, and her creative reworking of history was unique and refreshing.
review 2: This read was for the 2012 Theme Park book club, April theme: Under the SeaI finished In Great Waters several weeks ago and I generally always find it difficult to go back and remember precise details, put words on weeks old impressions for a review. Not for this novel though, it's stayed with me... more ever since I finished it and I catch myself thinking about Anne and Henry every now and again. A sign that I probably need to read the author's debut, Bareback.In Great Waters' premises is fascinating. Imagine mermans (or deepsman as they are called here) coming out the sea and taking over Venice and whose half human, half merman offspring slowly grow to rule over all of Europe. I am making this sound simplistic and naive when it really isn't. Whitfield manages to make this not only plausible but believable as well. She cleverly mixes history, politics and fantasy to create this rich and vivid parallel world. Several reviewers have pointed out that the names Henry and Anne echo that of Henry VIII and his wife (well one of them!), Anne. But to be quite honest, given the extent of my historical knowledge, I can't quite see the resemblance beyond their names. In Great Waters should not be admired just for its world-building (although it definitely is one of its strong points) but also for the strength and depth of its characters. While Anne is a more likable character, there's something to Henry that I felt inexplicably drawn to: our rules cannot apply to him. He clearly doesn't belong to the world of men but then neither did he belong to the world of deepsmen as a young child. In the end, he manages to make a place for himself as some sort of in-between which was a relief really because the idea of Henry as king, ruling over human subjects when he struggled so much to understand them, would have been a total let down for me.Whitfield blew me away during those first few pages when Henry is first faced with the world of humans. His incomprehension of such basic things as clothing, decorations, symbols and colors was amazingly described. The way his sight adjusts and how he grows and starts to see what humans see was illuminating. Strangely enough, I never found the fact that he was so alien, alienating.Anne is an equally interesting and strong character and I couldn't wait for a confrontation between these two. With Anne, the tone changed a bit, echoing that of the unsaid intrigues of the court. While I found that by the end of the novel, the reader knew as much of Henry as he did of Anne, some details in Anne's story and her feelings were left to the reader's speculation, especially when it came to sexuality and abuse.An element to the fantasy setting that I particularly enjoyed was that Whitfield's hybrids had little to do with the little mermaid. They were not beautiful, elegant creatures born to be kings and queens. Quite the contrary, Anne and Henry's legs aren't strong enough to support them on earth and in the sea, the fact that they have two legs instead of one strong fin, means that they are slower than deepsmen. I liked the idea that they were victim of limitations in both worlds and in a way, it explains Angelica's (Anne's ancestor - the first Queen) initial apparition out of the sea. As Henry rightfully points out, Angelica must have spent some time among humans before her apparition or she wouldn't speak perfect Italian and be familiar with human ways. Like Henry, Angelica had probably struggled for years in both worlds and never quite found a place in either before she saw an opportunity to bridge the two worlds and make a position for herself. I really enjoyed the almost biological explanations of Henry and Anne's strange bodies, how it affected their everyday lives on earth and in the sea. There are almost anthropological and sociological elements to this novel what with the way the author looks at habits, customs but also language and physical attributes, pointing out things we take for granted and never question. There's clearly a lot to admire in this novel. Some might be disappointed by the peaceful resolution that wraps things almost a bit too neatly but to be quite honest, I was a relieved that Anne and Henry didn't have to endure any more hardships and horrors at that stage.Some of the reviews I read prior to reading the book referred to it as challenging, not for everyone but that if you pushed beyond the first 50-60 pages, you would find it rewarding. While I can see their point, I must say that I didn't find it difficult to get into the novel. Henry's alienness is exactly what grabbed me and made this book special in my eyes. While it takes its time, I really don't see how this story could be told in any other way. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it. I didn't find it challenging because you have to bare with the first bit, not at all, it's challenging because it questions perspectives and details you've probably never questioned before. In a strange way, it does what some great scifi works do by highlighting our assumptions and what we take for granted. And that I think this is the work of a very talented writer. less

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