- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Picador; New edition edition (Nov 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330336320
- ISBN-13: 978-0330336321
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 226,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Waterland
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More About the Author
Product Description
Independent
'Swift's 1983 masterpiece - a wonderfully rich novel that, as this 25th anniversary edition shows, has weathered the passing years.'
Product Description
Tom Crick, a history teacher in the Fenlands, is driven by a marital crisis and the provocation of one of his pupils, to forsake his teaching and relate the story of his family who have lived in the Fens since the 18th century. Graham Swift won the 1996 Booker Prize for Fiction for "Last Orders".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Seldom have I read anything as powerful as 'Waterland'. The sense of place is as strong as anything in Wordsworth, Lawrence or Hardy. During the reading of this novel, your imagination becomes eaten-up with the frighteningly flat landscape of the Fens, with its canals and dykes and eals and, most frightening of all, its people. The story is at once epic, huge, and yet insular and particular. As Tom Crick leads us through the sometimes bizarre, occasionally horrific, history of his family, we see his generation become the most bizarre, the most horrific yet. His family history culminates in the end of history his pupils so dread.
'Waterland' attacks some of the biggest issues of late twentieth century life: the first world war, the change in culture since the second world war, the threat of the third world war, loss of identity, loss of meaning, anarchy, incest, family, love.
This was the first work I had read by the author, and since reading most of the others, by far his best in my opinion.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Graham Swift's study of life and history in the fens of South Eastern England is not what I'd call an easy read; the story opens with a History teacher and former lock-keeper's son, Tom, telling of how he saw a local boy drowned in the river some thirty years ago. Flash-forward to the present day and Tom's post is being gradually eroded - as is his marriage due to his wife's issues with her inability to have children - so he decides to forget the syllabus he is supposed to teach and teach from his own experiences growing up in the fens...
Swift's themes are the nature of history, provincial life, and adolescent love; he never pulls his punches and consequently the novel needs to be perservered with at times. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Swift's most acclaimed novel didn't win, however it remains a powerful and moving story and one that should be read.
Swift's themes are the nature of history, provincial life, and adolescent love; he never pulls his punches and consequently the novel needs to be perservered with at times. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Swift's most acclaimed novel didn't win, however it remains a powerful and moving story and one that should be read.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Swift paints a landscape that breathes history and and also critiques its validity. The Fens are brought to life before us in a moving and impressive manner. Although at first it took me a while to engage with the characters, I soon became engrossed in the narrative and couldn't put the book down! Anyone that has ever driven or taken a train through the dreary, isolated Fens will appreciate this novel: anyone who hasn't will want to visit this unique land and see it for themselves. A truly great read and worth your time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
wonderful
Lovely book, quite a lot of history in there but beautifully written! I recommend it. I had to read it for my A levels, but unlike some of the others books I read, I thoroughly... Read more
Published 9 months ago by katie94
wonderful
This is one of my favourite books. I lived for a number of years in East Anglia and the book conjures up all the characteristics of the region and the behaviours of the people. Read more
Published 20 months ago by lesharris
Excellent
I first read Waterland over ten years ago and liked it.
I recently saw that it had been re-issued as a special edition after 25 years and I did what I rarely do, I... Read more
I recently saw that it had been re-issued as a special edition after 25 years and I did what I rarely do, I... Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by Bob from Beds
Hampered by a lack of structure...
I'm not altogether sure what to make of this book. Considering its lofty reputation, for me it misses by a country mile. Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by bloodsimple
Atmospheric and Thought Provoking
This is a wonderful book on many levels. Swift creates a magical Fenland world as atmospheric as the marshes in Dickens' Great Expectations. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2008 by Yorkshire Lad
In my top 10 books of all time
Similar to my fellow reviewer, Waterland has sat on my shelves unread for years. Sometimes coming close to being the final selection as I ritually choose my next book. Read more
Published on 24 May 2007 by Edwin O'Sullivan
Engrossing and Beautifully written
This is a special novel, special because it has sat on my bookshelves as they moved around the country from London to Leeds, Leeds to Sheffield, Sheffield to York always unread,... Read more
Published on 10 April 2007 by York8500
One of the most atmospheric books you will ever read.
Water and land, land and water, the battle between the two in the Fens of East Anglia serves as the setting for this most atmospheric of books. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2007 by Sam J. Ruddock
waterland
Waterland by Graham Swift is a history of the brooding, stubborn marshland, intractable rivers and development of The Fens as much as of the fictional character, history teacher... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2006 by Leyla Sanai
Totally engrossing, lyrical masterpiece
This is a book that deserves to endure for years, an absolutely compelling story told through amazing writing. Read more
Published on 22 May 2006 by Readerbloke
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