The Water Dancers

by Terry Gamble

Book Overview

A stunning debut novel from a new voice in literary fiction, set on Lake Michigan following World War II, The Water Dancers limns the divide between the worlds of the wealthy elite "summer people" and the poor native population who serve them-and what happens when those worlds collide.

When Rachel Winnapee first comes to work at the March family summer home on vast and beautiful Lake Michigan, she quickly learns her place. Servants are...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060542675
• ISBN13: 9780060542672
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

mesmerized by Water Dancers

I was spellbound by this book- the depth & originality of the characters, the nuance in which their drama unfolds, the richness of the different worlds & settings they inhabit. A great read!!

A reader from Vermont

I loved this book. It is spare and poetic and packs a real punch. I could feel and see and smell the setting (Beck's Point) in Michigan, and felt that the characters were real and compelling. It was hard to let them go. I bought three other copies to give to friends. This love story is set among the richest AND the poorest in American society--their interactions and assumptions about each other, and Rachel and Woody's attempts to bridge the gap are wonderfully rendered. I hope Terry Gamble writes another novel soon. I'll be first in line at the bookstore.

Water Dancers is a great read

In this thoroughly enjoyable first novel, Terry Gamble tells the story of a young Native American girl, Rachel Winneppee. Rachel find herself in the employment of a wealthy family and becomes the caretaker of the family's son Woody who has lost a leg in World War II. Their relationship, which forms the core of the book's plotline is rendered with great care and originality. The story takes some unexpected turns as the lives of Woody and Rachel intertwine. At one point the story takes a deeply sorrowful turn, but by the end a hopeful and forward looking resolution is reached. Read this book for the engrossing story, but as importantly, look for the character development. These are people you care about. Several of the minor characters, such as Ada and Bliss, two older women who look after Rachel are delightfullydrawn and help keep the book balanced between its somewhat somber central theme and more lighthearted moments.It is obvious that Gamble is at home with language; one only wishes that some of the descriptions of the northern Michigan land and seascapes were allowed to be a little longer. The writing is, however, elegant and spare, often poetic, especially when probing the inner lives of the people who inhabit the book. This is a wonderful read.

A haunting rendition of class and culture

With sparse but image-rich prose, this book follows the lives of two "tribes" -- one wealthy and white, one poor and Native American -- through two generations. Full of loss, longing, love and redemption, this book hung with me long after I (too-quickly) finished it. The place is vividly rendered, the characters believeable. Though sometimes brushing the edge of sentimentality, Gamble is never preachy, and her rendering of class is right on.

Woody's pain blends with her sad understanding

In Terry Gamble's novel, The Water Dancers, a poor orphan teen Native American comes to work in a family summer home in post-war summer 1945, and finds her life changed through her assignment to the family's emotionally shattered son Woody, who has lost a leg in the war. Woody's pain blends with her sad understanding to bring about an uncertain romance which will change both their lives.