We Are Water by Wally Lamb

I really like Wally Lamb's writing style.  It flows with the thoughts of all characters.  He introduces all the significant characters a little at a time and seamlessly interweaves the characters together - either physically or emotionally.  

Kent's chapters were a hard read. Quite disturbing. As we know, abusers were often abused themselves. (I wonder what the percentage is on that?) I disliked him though, nearly from the start. But, his mother should have listened to him when he initially told her over and over that he didn't want to go over to Irma's!!  If his mom had listened to him and made other arrangements for his care, his whole life would have probably turned out differently!  Why don't parents stop and listen to their children??  Kent's life might have turned out differently also if Sunny and Grace had not died.  So many events outside of Kent's control helped make him the awful person he turned out to be.  That makes me sad.

And speaking for abusers.... I really had a difficult time with Annie's abuse of Andrew! How awful for Andrew and his sisters to have their mom be so abusive. She could have killed him or left him permanently injured. She was so incredibly self-absorbed. I guess in the end, I was happy that she found someone to take care of her (Viveca) and that she dedicated her time and effort to take care of Orion.

I liked Orion the best.  He seemed to try so hard, but he simply met too many roadblocks in his life which made him change direction each time.  He may not have given Andrew the best advice after the death of Kent, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same.  As time went on though, the stress of that secret was affecting both of them (as it would me) and even though we don't know what decision Andrew actually makes, I'm betting that he turned himself in.

So, secrets can be damaging if kept, which is clearly demonstrated in this novel!! I am hoping that the cycle of abuse is broken now so that Ari, Andrew, and Marissa's children - or potential children - will not be affected by the previous generation's tragedies.

Really good read!

Wendy's Rating: ****