At the Water's Edge

by Sara Gruen

After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year's Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis's father, a former army Colonel who is already embarrassed by his son's inability to serve in WWII due to his being colorblind. To Maddie's horror, Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father's favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster. When he finds it, he will restore his father's name and return to his father's good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. And Maddie, now alone in a foreign country, must begin to figure out who she is and what she wants. The novel tells of Maddie's social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and finally, to love.

• ISBN10: 0385523238
• ISBN13: 9780385523233
• Publish Date: 31 March 2015 (first published 1 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 6 April 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Spiegel & Grau
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Several years ago I happened to purchase Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen on audiobook. I was fascinated by Sara’s storytelling abilities. Water for Elephants is one of the few audiobooks I listened to while doing something other than driving. And when I learned that Sara would be visiting Cedar Rapids this summer, I decided to pick up her latest release, At the Water’s Edge and give it a shot.

At the Water’s Edge had several things going for it. Set in NYC and Scotland during World War II and involving the Loch Ness monster, I was sucked in almost from the word go. I had visions of Claire (from Outlander) and her mysterious encounter at Loch Ness and I was intrigued that someone else might use the history of Loch Ness to weave a story.

I did race through At the Water’s Edge quickly. It was one of my summer vacation reads. Through most of the story, I felt like Gruen was just skimming the surface. Like Loch Ness, there is so much more going on below the surface, but Gruen doesn’t want to dive further. The characters seemed one note and the love story plot fell flat. It seemed as if the characters were supposed to get together because that was what was expected of them.

The most rewarding part of the story was Madeline’s discovery that living the high life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. The little snatches of life in the Highlands during wartime and Maddie’s desire to become more that who she was kept me reading. I wanted to know where her journey would take her as her started seeing her husband and his friend for who they really were.

Is At the Water’s Edge a bad book? No, but it is a tad formulaic and the major characters are not likeable people.

Is there a Loch Ness monster? I’m still not sure, but sometimes the biggest monsters in our life are not the ones in the deepest of loches, but those secrets that rear their ugliest heads when we least expect them.

Reviewer’s Note: I did meet Sara when she visited Cedar Rapids in June. I did ask her my one burning question about Ellis and Hank. She confirmed that my suspicions were correct and that it wasn’t my English major brain reading between the lines.

[violetpeanut]

Maddie, Ellis and their friend, Hank are wealthy socialites who live a life of luxury. They are spoiled and rude and entirely unlikable. After making the perilous journey by ship to Scotland (during war-time I might add) the two men pretty much abandon Maddie while they hunt for the elusive Loch Ness monster. Throughout the rest of the book we follow Maddie as she turns from a spoiled, pampered brat to a strong woman who develops new friendships, learns compassion for others and discovers what true love is really like. Readers looking for a story with a great setting and lots of character development will enjoy this one as I did.

The book is relatively slow moving. There's not a whole lot going on in terms of plot except Maddie getting to know the locals, and herself. Her wealth and privilege have sheltered her from most of the horrors of war and her realizations of how the other half lives is staggering for her. As the book progresses, Maddie slowly turns from a spoiled socialite into a woman who cares for others and wants to help. She starts to understand the ridiculousness of the world she used to live in. Her husband, Ellis, and their friend, Hank, have no such epiphanies so when they return their scenes are increasingly uncomfortable for both Maddie and the reader.

I especially loved the setting. The descriptions of the countryside, the people and even the rooms in the inn really make you feel like you're there with Maddie. You can feel the cold, see the water, the castle, the bomb shelter.

There were a couple of things I didn't really like. First, the romance here didn't really feel as developed as it should have. We go from lots of glances and a couple of words to full on bedroom scene with not a whole lot of development in between. I wouldn't call it insta-love, but I would have liked more. Second, the ending was all a little too neat for me. All the loose ends were wrapped up in a pretty bow and I just wasn't buying it.

Overall, despite those things, I really enjoyed this book. I loved reading about Maddie's personal journey. I loved some of the supporting characters and really loathed others - as the author intended. The romance was sweet and there's a happy ending which is always nice. I loved the descriptions and setting and the general atmosphere. Over the couple of days it took me to read it, I was always eager to pick it back up. Readers looking for an adventure about looking for the Loch Ness monster will be disappointed. Readers looking for an in-depth story about WWII will be disappointed. However, readers who enjoy character development, a great setting, historical fiction and light romance will enjoy this one. I recommend it.