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Waterland (Paperback)

by Graham Swift (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; New edition edition (Nov 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330336320
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330336321
  • Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.9 x 2.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 119,504 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #3 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Swift, Graham

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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

20 Reviews
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3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A mesmerising river of a novel., 5 Nov 2005
By R Hamblyn (London) - See all my reviews
This novel flows like a river through time and space, taking history and misfortune as its central themes. Told from the perspective of a London-based history teacher at the end of his school career, the narrator takes us (and his class of pupils) back to the lost Fenland of his youth, to revisit the past in an effort to understand what is happening to him in the present. As a meditation on history and the historical process, it is second to none. As a meditation on place - including London, where, after all, the memories crowd in - it is a worthy inheritor of the likes of Thomas Hardy, John Cowper Powys and Ronald Blyth (of Akenfield fame); and the description of the launch of Coronation Ale (which is surely based on Adnams' deadly Broadside; or maybe even Green King's IPA) is one of the best accounts of mass drunkenness in all literature.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Re-writing the Fens, 26 Jul 2004
By A Customer
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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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly evocative, 16 Nov 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Waterland (Picador thirty) (Paperback)
Last Orders won the Booker and is a brilliant read but, nevertheless, Waterland is my favourite of Swift's books.
It's one of the best novels I have ever read for evoking a sense of place and for tying the characters and their actions in with that place. In Swift's hands the flat watery fens become a place of mystery and beauty - the people who live there take on a phlegmatic character.
The descriptions are masterful and haunt you for a long time after reading them, the prose is majestic and a sesual pleasure to read. The plot's gripping too - real human drama. I can't recommend this one enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Didn't get bogged down
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... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Barney McGrew

2.0 out of 5 stars 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 6 months ago by bloodsimple

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 14 months ago by Yorkshire Lad

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply, the best book I have ever read
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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

3.0 out of 5 stars Struggling through the middle
There are parts of this book that I enjoyed immensely, and even contains thought-provoking ideas which I have found myself quoting to others - but there is no denying it flags in... Read more
Published on 20 Jul 2003 by Lightheart

2.0 out of 5 stars It's the tale, not the teller...
I like a lot about "Waterland": the moods, the landscape, the times. The people, to me, remained sketchy and unfinished. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2002 by Markus Isch

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