WARNING: - THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD
I will just go ahead and tell you right now, that this book opens with three of the most unlikeable characters you can possibly imagine. You might even ask yourself why you would want to continue reading several hundred pages about the vapid lives of a bunch of over privileged American brats. In response I say, just go with it. The story gets better. Maddie, her husband Ellis, and their best friend Hank, publicly disgrace themselves at a New Years Eve party in the upper crust of Philadelphia society and embarrass their family to the point of being cut off financially. In order to win back their money and their place among society's elite, they travel to Scotland, amid the horrors and dangers of WWII, in order to capture photographic evidence of the famed Loch Ness Monster. (There is a backstory that validates this move, I promise). Once in Scotland however, and ensconced in a local inn, Maddie's relationship with Ellis begins to change as colors start to fly true under the weight of an uncertain future.
What I loved: Scotland: - I'm a total sucker for this country. Any story, set in any time period in Scotland, is guaranteed to catch my interest. Holding it is another thing for sure, but I felt like Gruen populated her story with interesting local characters and folklore.
Local Characters: - Yes, the Scots outshone their American expats in leaps and bounds when it came to integrity, honor, and love. Meg and Angus were my favorites.
Folklore and Superstition: - I'm a sucker for this stuff too. I don't mind a bit of the fantastical in my stories as long as it isn't too heavy handed, and I really thought this was handled very nicely.
What I disliked: Romance: - Just to clarify - I do not dislike romance in general. I just wasn't too happy with the way it was handled in this book. I read another review that said the latter half of this book read like a paperback romance novel and I laughed out loud because Yes. That really is exactly how felt. The back half of the book was so very different from the first part. Only, I don't feel like the development was all there. It was like suddenly, halfway through the book, these characters realized they loved each other. There was hardly any buildup and I would have liked to have seen more development before hand.
WWII: - I just didn't feel like the elements of war were blended into the story very well. There were periodic air raids and rationing of food and supplies, but we would go for lengths of time without any mention of war and then come to a chapter where a load of facts and info were suddenly dropped into our laps - how many Jews had been liberated at a concentration camp, how many German soldiers annihilated by the Russian army, refugees and fallen cities, and horrific tales of Nazi cruelty - usually gleaned from radio broadcasts or the local paper. I kind of think the war was touching the character's lives enough already and we could have done without the surplus information.
Ellis & Maddie & Angus:
**Here's where I gets really spoilery.**
**Seriously...YOU"VE BEEN WARNED!!!**
As I was reading along I thought to myself, hmmmmmm...where have I seen this before...
The answer? Water for Elephants of course.
Let me explain: Maddie is married to Ellis. Ellis turns out to be a lying coward of a douchebag who fakes being color blind so he can avoid the draft. (He also "won" her in a coin toss with his best friend) He is an alcoholic and an addict who steals Maddie's "nerve" pills and pops them hand over fist all day long, chasing them with whiskey or beer or whatever the hell else he can get his hands on. He has no clue how to please her sexually and is verbally and emotionally abusive as hell when he's wasted - which is pretty much all the time. He actually wants to have her lobotomized and tries to gaslight her by convincing her that she really is paranoid and crazy. In short - he's an abusive ass. Enter Angus - an ex war hero with a tragic past. He's lost his entire family. He now runs the inn that Maddie finds herself staying in, mostly by herself as Ellis and Hank leave for days on end for "research". Maddie finds out about Angus's past and the wife who drowned herself in Loch Ness when she got a telegram that told her Angus had died in battle (he hadn't, obviously, the information was incorrect). When Maddie goes down to the Loch herself thinking about suicide, a force of some kind comes out of the water and knocks her back. We get the indication that this force is Angus's dead wife, whose body was never found. She essentially becomes the mythical creature in Loch Ness for the sake of this story. Angus and Maddie begin to develop a relationship and when Ellis finds out, he tries to get Angus arrested for poaching - a sentence that would carry a two year prison term. When Maddie finds out what Ellis has done, she confronts him and he tries to kill her. Only Angus rescues her, and when the police go to arrest Ellis for attempted murder, he's found drowned at the edge of Loch Ness in less than two inches of water.
So here we go: Water for Elephants/At Water's Edge
Marlena/Maddie: Both are girls who were born into less than fortunate circumstances in different ways and were raised up to higher levels by dubious men in their lives who only want to use them for their own personal gain.
August/Ellis: Both complete asses. Both very controlling of everything about their wives. Both abuse their wives verbally, mentally, emotionally and physically. Both attempt to have their rivals removed from the situation in dastardly ways. There is a lot at stake for both men to lose - and their wives are not at the top of that list. Both die at the end by the hands of something not human: August by Rosie the Elephant. Ellis by the "Loch Ness Monster".
Jacob/Angus: Both men lose their entire families. Both men fall in love with the fragile women that are forbidden to them. Both men show these women more love than their own husbands ever have. Both men succeed and get the girls after their rivals have died.
Rosie/Nessie: Both are the creatures around which our characters gather and develop. Both have incredible effects on revealing the true natures of certain characters and tearing one couple apart while bringing together another. Both are responsible for the deaths of the most reprehensible characters.
So there you have it. At Water's Edge is essentially Water for Elephants, set in Scotland, with the Loch Ness Monster instead of Rosie the Elephant. Don't get me wrong. It was an enjoyable story, though I rate Water for Elephants much higher. I just hope that Sara Gruen will find herself a new formula before her readers catch on, because I do think she's a talented and creative writer and hopefully not a one trick pony.
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