We are Water - Wally Lamb

[junogirl]

Wally Lamb - We are Water



This book is about a woman who tears her family apart after twenty seven years of marriage by announcing that she has fallen in love with and is planning to marry, her art dealer, who happens to be a woman. Mixed in with this story is the tale of a negro artist who lived in the 1950’s and who was later murdered.

Annie has had some hard times in her life. She was physically abused by her cousin and her dad turned into a drunk after the death of her mother when she was a small girl. When she was growing up in foster homes, she had some good experiences with female friends as well as some bisexual occurences. None of these things did she communicate to her new husband, Orion, believing that his love would fix it all. Unfortunately, she bore three children and lived with these injustices in her head for twenty seven years. Her anger, the rage that fueled her art, many times struck out against at least one of her children; usually her son. Her daughters are confused by this anger but for some reason, they don’t turn to their dad with it, they keep their brothers’ secret.

The main focus of the book is Annie’s marriage to Viveca and the reactions of her family. We learn a lot about what goes on in Annie’s head that would previously only have been guessed at. I am not condoning this woman’s behaviour but nothing is ever as black and white as we may believe. This is a woman who has withstood some shattering truths in her life and basically dealt with them on her own. She is an extremely strong woman, whether she knows it or not, and there are many lessons to be learned here; from Annie, and her family.

Many of the issues in this book touch not only on Annie and her bisexual tendencies but also on the negro issues of the 1950’s. The racial issues were slowly coming to an end but there were still many people who couldn’t understand that blacks were now considered a part of the normal population. It’s sad to consider that this was ever the general consensus but at the same time, it’s important to study and know this part of our history because it illustrates who we are as human beings and hopefully, who we will never again become.

I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 because not only is it well written, but it touches on quite a few ‘taboo’ subjects that no one likes to talk about because it makes them uncomfortable. Racial issues, abuse, bisexuality….