The Season of Open Water

by Dawn Tripp

Book Overview

From the critically acclaimed author of Moon Tide comes a mesmerizing novel of love and violence, family and betrayal - the passionate, searing story of a young woman coming of age in a New England... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400061873
• ISBN13: 9781400061877
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Loved this finest-kind novel

From the reviews here it's apparent folk love or hate this novel. Color me in the love category over and over again, then roll me over for more. This brilliant novel is one of those for which the word "spellbinding" is made -- the story, plot, language, exquisite sense of place and time, exquisite texture, gorgeous weave, and a hefty measure of soul. Read it soon.

Breathtaking Prose

Tripp has done it again! This time in Westport Point, a place described with such exactness, just as in her first memorable novel, Moon Tide, it's a character in an of itself, we meet three generations of beachside inhabitants, beginning with Noel, a former whaler, who's had to readjust for economic reasons and build boats instead of chase whales. The family becomes entangled in the illegal dealings of the rum trade, during Prohibition and everyone's integrity and definition of a just survival is challenged. In addtion to the aptly evoked historical context, there's an undercurrent of seeking true love despite the constraints of class. Tripp gives the reader a rich,texturted story with characters who linger in the reader's mind long after the last word is read. Can't wait for her next novel!

Heart and Mind

A wonderful book to follow Moon Tide. Setting becomes a character in this moving and evocative novel of love and loss. So much here is original and well-felt--the characters, the conflicts, the language and descriptions. Each scene is so visual, so poignant, so artfully rendered. There is never a doubt that we are in the hands of an accomplished writer.

Evocative and gripping

I loved this book. Tripp does a fantastic job of establishing time and place - it's a great look at a small, isolated New England town during the prohibition era. The characters are well-drawn and stick with you long after you finish reading, especially Bridge. There are moody, evocative descriptions, but there's also a strong plot that ends with a dramatic twist. The last pages are among the most haunting and bittersweet I've read in a long time. Usually books rely on atmosphere or on character or on plot - it's a pleasure to find a novel that is equally strong in all three areas.

riveting historical novel

This is a beautifully written and well researched novel. It is very difficult to write absorbing novels set in historical periods, yet Dawn Tripp has managed to do just that. She brings the period of rum running alive while engaging the reader with the story of Bridge and her love affair with Henry Vonniker, the shell-shocked doctor from a wealthy family. Anyone who knows this area of Massachusetts knows what an accurate depiction this is of a coastal community with long-time families from many different social levels and backgrounds. But what I really find takes this novel up another notch is the rich descriptions of people in the context of what they are doing, whether digging for clams, building boats, escaping in a rum runner from the Coast Guard, planting vegetables or eating dinner at the local Grange. The author also has deep insights into how the difference in social backgrounds affects the love affair of Bridge and Henry. And how economic pressures and the taste of adventure draw locals into the dangerous world of rum running. Not many writers today have this deep sense of place. Too many modern novels are all talk, have cliche characters and do not seem to be rooted in a definite locale. Anyone who likes language, complex characters and history will find it an absorbing read.