The Knowledge of Water (Paperback)

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Review
This rich, sprawling, ambitious, likably ungainly story - a sequel to Smith's Victorian-period mystery, The Vanished Child (1992), and the middle volume in a projected trilogy - may frustrate connoisseurs of the well-made novel but will amply reward readers seeking a ripping yarn with provocative and substantial things to say. Talented pianist Perdita Halley and Baron Alexander von Reisden now find themselves in Paris in 1910, the year when the Seine overflows, flooding the city and climaxing a bafflingly intricate plot that includes the unsolved murder of a street prostitute nicknamed "Mona Lisa," a scheme to steal from the Louvre the famous painting that is her namesake, and the investigation of charges that the highly marketable works of the late Impressionist painter Claude Mallais may in fact be forgeries, and that Mallais's widow may be something other than the docile helpmate she appears. Smith adroitly grafts onto these intertwining plots the conflict that engrosses the embattled Perdita: whether to pursue the musical career she was surely born for, or to submit instead to her needful lover's embarrassed ultimatum ("I want to be more important than the piano"). The author convincingly evokes the period through hundreds of exquisitely selected details, and makes the vivid secondary characters - including unmistakable simulacra of Colette, Gertrude Stein, and Picasso - altogether credible both as distinctive individuals and as participants in the complex melodrama that surrounds, and unexpectedly transforms, her resourceful heroine. Though it's crammed to bursting with resonant particulars and stylish, often epigrammatic writing, the novel moves rather too slowly - and the convolutions of its narrative are a little too easily foreseen (for example, few will fail to guess the outcome of the Claude Mallais subplot). For all that, the thick ambience, the forthright feminist subtext, and especially Smith's gritty and appealing heroine make for intellectual stimulation of the highest order - and should make most readers impatiently eager for the completion of the trilogy. (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
The year is 1910 and the river Seine has overflowed its banks. A prostitute known as Mona Lisa has been murdered whilst someone is out to steal the painting of the same name. This novel brings together forgery, sex, love and murder.

6 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, excellent book, 5 May 1999 By A Customer This review is from: Knowledge of Water (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback) This was a selection for our book club, and it provided a lot to talk about. A number of us gave it a top rating. The historical setting is beautifully done and the author brings in a number of interesting issues, including feminism, men/women relations, questions of the disabled. The way the book builds to a flood that coincides with the climax is stunning. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Knowledge of Water by Sarah Smith, 20 Oct 1998 By A Customer This review is from: Knowledge of Water (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback) This book was excellent. I loved the images of turn-of-the-century Paris and its suburbs. I also loved the usage of the French language. The mystery was involving and kept the reader guessing until the resolution. I am now reading it for the second time and it is just as good. I intend to read the prequel to this (The Vanished Child) sometime very soon. Sarah Smith has a very unique way of words and describes scenes while leaving some to the imagination. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   0 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting take on Parisian Belle Epoque, 24 Oct 2000 By A Customer I picked this up at the airport, in search of something that would tide me over a 4 day trip. The good things in it were the descriptions of the hero's passion for a woman he feels he cannot fully win, and the roman a clef sections about Impressionists, Colette, Picasso and other avant-garde artists in Paris before 1914. The reason I gave it only 3 stars were because it was a sequel to a previous book which I had not come across, and I thought some of the characters and situations suffered because of that, and because there was a tired old plot irrelevance about the prostitute and the serial killer, which would have brought the book in under 300 pages and enriched it considerably to have left out. Also, the heroine, Perdita, is repeatedly described as being blind, but you get no real feeling of her being blind. So, yes, it was absorbing enough, but no, it wasn't brilliant, as some of the blurb reviews claim. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 6 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars Too many story lines, too little motivation! Perdita's struggle to balance career and love was well presented. However, the use of the artist community did nothing to carry the story line. Read more Published on 28 Jan 1998 4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, thought-provoking, and a good read. I found The Knowledge of Water to be an absorbing blend of mystery, period history and romance; but before you write it off as a bodice-ripper, let me add that the characters are... Read more Published on 31 Dec 1997 4.0 out of 5 stars Passionate study of women driven to excellence. Even though this book is set at the turn of the century, the choices and actions of women speak to the women of today. Read more Published on 28 Jan 1997 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 6 customer reviews...

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