We Are Water audiobook

Update: This is a $2.99 Kindle special today. I 'still' think about this novel --and remember fine details. It was one of those books (kinda like "Setting the Kites of Fire" was for me the other day) --that was such an emotional read for me --a book that touched a 'range' of emotions -that my body wasn't really ready to 'write' a full review. This book changed my outlook on things --Its heavy and its long -- It deals with abuse -paedophilia --and 'many' life issues to look at deeply -from all sides - look inside ourselves while following the characters story -at the same time.I know it got mixed reviews when it came out -- but IMO -- It was a very ambitious novel to write. Wally Lamb did an outstanding job. If you are a mother --who ever even once screamed at your child --there is value in this book IMO.I'd almost read it again myself now --if I didn't have so many other books on my plate waiting my attention. .........older review is below: Wow! Wow! Wow! Note: If any of my local book club friends are reading ---This novel would be a GREAT PICK for our group!*Cathrine* already wrote a BEAUTIFUL review of this GEM -of a novel ---I, too, have a 'quote' to add: (This quote will not spoil the story)"But then I read an article in 'TIMES', YOUR-BRAIN-ON-FICTION, and what a gift. The article talked about studies that examined how the language of fiction -metaphors, sensory details, emotional fireworks between characters -activates different parts of the readers brain. The olfactory cortex and motor cortex were being stimulated in the same way as if these subjects were experiencing the real deal: smelling, feeling, textures, running away from the bad guys."The above quote pretty much sums up the spaces I went through in reading Larry Lamb's gift. (He's got to be one of the world's best storytellers)!!! This book has EVERYTHING in it!!!!!

Well. I guess I can't put this review off any longer. First things first. I love Wally Lamb.That's right - LOVE HIM. You know when that really exciting moment comes when a friend who for some ungodly pathetically stupid reason doesn't really read ever asks you for recommendations? And then you can barely contain yourself and rattle off about ten titles in two seconds and get this from them?: And then you're all like: Well, anyway...when these wonderful gem moments come along, I always say these two books first: She's Come UndoneI Know This Much Is TrueAlways. I read these books after my sister recommended them to me years ago. Years ago when she worshiped Oprah from the couch, and I made fun of her every chance I got.Huh. Oprah sort of lead me to Wally Lamb. I'll give credit where credit is due. Imagine my delight in seeing a new 576 page (because with Mr. Lamb, the longer the book the better) book. After reading both She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True many times, I have come to put Wally Lamb on a pedestal. Uhhh, not quite what I was looking for, Google. But close enough.To recap in case I have lost you already: I have Wally Lamb on a pedestal because I loved those two books so much that I will gush about them to anyone who will listen or who dares to ask me for book recommendations. Expectations were high. My palms were sweating in anticipation as I flipped it open (a sincere apology to my local library for the "water" marks). I had all electronics off and complete silence, so I could lose myself in 576 blissful pages. Letter to Mr. LambDear Wally, I regret to inform you that I do not feel like this book lived up to my expectations.Sincerely and still-ever-so-lovingly, NatalieResponse from Mr. LambI'm sorry. It was just too much.There was too much of everything. Imagine taking one of those salad shakers and throwing in religion, homosexuality, incest/rape/molestation, abuse, alcoholism, and racism. Shake it up and dump it out. It is murky. It doesn't taste as good as you thought it would. Yes, people like to read about suffering (and sometimes overcoming said suffering), but this was an overload of suffering. And it wasn't even done in a way that made my heart hurt from all the suffering. The characters were well done although there were too many of them. This wouldn't have been such an issue if they didn't all get chapters (meaning that one chapter is the dad's POV, one is the mom's, etc). I start to get attached to characters when this happens and want them to have their own book. Then I feel cut off and empty when they only get a small portion of the book. I do have to admire Wally Lamb for having this skill, however. This is the reason I wouldn't mind if his books were 2000 pages long. I get very interested in his characters. What disappointed me in this one was that there was not one particular character who stuck out more to me or that will stick with me long term like Dolores Price did.I know I sound like I am nagging a lot, which may be unexpected given that I am giving this four stars. Why so many stars? Wally Lamb is an amazing story teller. As I mentioned, I put him on a pedestal, so for him to get a 5 star rating from me it needs to feel like a ten. He may have verged on corny a few times in this one, but I still appreciate the family bond (and quirks) presented. I like the idea that we may forgive those we love, but that doesn't mean that we won't be shaped by it. I like the reminder that we often romanticize a relationship after it is over. I like the connection of the past to the future. I like the reminder that we (as a country) haven't necessarily come as far as we think we have with race, sexuality, tolerance (we've come a ways but c'mon - we can be MUCH BETTER). I like that there are some beautiful moments but not exactly a fairy tale ending (because let's face it - there usually isn't). Not his best but certainly worth a read. Four Wally loving stars-------------------------------------------------------------------------What?WHAT?!How did I not know Wally Lamb had a new book? This just made my day. Maybe my whole year.Wait a second. It's not out for TWO MORE MONTHS?! NOOOOOOOO!!!I will wait not at all patiently patiently.

Wally Lamb - you are the master when it comes to storytelling. You manage to gift wrap issues of child abuse, assault, incest, religion, homosexuality, art, biracial relationships into a neat and compact story. I have to admit, a quarter way through I wasn't sure you'd be able to pull it off. This narrative pivots around the wedding of Annie Oh, who leaves her marriage of 27 years to marry another woman. The leading up to that day is done through the perspectives of herself, her ex-husband, her 3 children, a cousin and a few others. How the secrets we keep are self-sabotaging and destructive to relationships. Water is a recurring theme throughout the story - how circumstances change the fluidity of our lives and pulls us into directions that shape and define who we are. I have to admit, I did get protagonist confusion and frustration at some points; however, I plodded on and found I will remain forever a loyal Lamb fan. A solid 4 star read☆

Wally Lamb pulls your emotions in so many ways and he continues that with his latest book, “We are Water.” Characters you feel you should hate become more than just black and white; all of a sudden they are tinged with gray. You can’t seem to tell who the bad guys and the good guys are in this story.Ultimately this book tells the tale of outsiders; that society considers to be different from the “norm.” It tells the story of Annie and Orion Oh through their own tales, those of their family and those who shaped their lives. Annie and Orion were married for 20+ years before Annie left Orion for a relationship with her art dealer, who just happened to be a woman. The majority of the book focuses on the time surrounding Annie’s upcoming wedding with Viveca. But it delves in deeper by sharing flashbacks and narratives from their friends and family. By the end you feel as if you know the Ohs and you can’t help experiencing their stories deeply. I think this is Lamb’s most powerful book since “I know this much is true.”

An intense novel!Annie Oh is a woman who discovered her art later in life, in middle age after her children were born and raised. It gave her an outlet for her emotions, but it also ruined her marriage. Known to many as a quiet, meek woman, her art exhibited a surprisingly angry, manic energy. Where did her anger come from? After 27 years together, and three children, Annie told her husband, Orion, a psychologist, their marriage was over and she was marrying her art dealer, a wealthy, sophisticated Manhattanite, a woman named Viveca. Leading up to the weekend of Annie and Viveca's wedding in Three Rivers, Connecticut (a location familiar to Lamb's audience), readers are given a history of Annie's life and that of the Oh family, changing narrators along the way. The alternating narrators show the mixed reactions to Annie's wedding to Viveca, as well as their own histories. The chapters from Orion's point of view are especially startling as the hidden secrets of his ex-wife's life are revealed to him, shattering what he thought he knew of his own family. The closer to the wedding they get, the more difficult and brutal the secrets are to hear.The characters in We Are Water, are unmistakably Wally Lamb's - flawed, raw, emotional, and real. We want to dislike them, as it would be easier that way. Instead, we are drawn into their story, their past and their present. Lamb slowly reveals the secrets of the Oh family to his readers, as they reveal them to one another. No matter how wrong some of these characters are, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for them. We Are Water is a monster of a book at just under 600 pages, but even with the heavy themes and intense emotional scenes, Wally Lamb has a way of drawing his readers into the pages. Anyone who has read his previous work (She's Come Undone; I Know This Much Is True) understands exactly what I mean by this. Don't be intimidated by the size of the book, the pages will turn quickly!I cannot even begin to share all the different themes surrounding this novel. A book club would need hours, and a good moderator to keep them on track, in order to get through them all. Themes of family, secrets, racism, gay marriage, celebrity, wealth, sexuality, abuse, art, violence, loss, psychology, and forgiveness envelop the chapters.We Are Water is an intensely emotional, gripping unraveling of secrets that rocks a family to its core. Not to be missed!

What a gorgeous book--and after reading reviews and comments, I think it's perhaps better on audio than print. Great readers--Guidall, Ballerini, Ferrone, Gilbert, Read, and the author himself--read separate sections and become that character, that voice, interpreting other characters and events and adding layers to the story. Organized as it is with sections told be each of the major characters (and their stories intertwine as the characters reappear and reveal more), this is an elegantly written story of families and secrets and memories and how the past affects the present and future. Each telling reveals more, a different past and a slightly different present, reflected through the character's perspective. I didn't realize the author read the part of Orion Oh, the husband/father, until the very end, and he is wonderful. I don't generally believe authors should be allowed to read their own novels, but either he's exceptional, or his sections were broken up enough so that he could sustain the narrative, or, as is often the case for me with memoirs read by the author, his voice perfectly captured character and tone. There are issues too: abuse, racism, lesbian relationships, Christian Fundamentalism. Beautifully written, rich in issues and characters, framed by art, family relationships, memories.

I just love Wally Lamb! In everything I've read from him, he has such a gorgeous knack for creating real, flawed characters that we can fall in love with (or at least understand, even the worst of them). We Are Water is no exception. It's a beautiful, heart-rending look into what makes a family, what makes art, what makes us human. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll read the final pages slowly because you don't want it to end....

I love Wally Lamb`s books; they are so character driven and I always find myself fully absorbed in his writing. Wonderful.

I had high hopes for this novel as I'm a Wally Lamb fan but did not like his last novel much. This one however I liked very much I'm happy to report. It was a bit long but I certainly didn't feel it, I could have gone on to read more about this family without complaint. The Oh family face many troubles, just like any family would. From career troubles to religion questions & sexual orientation truths to bad marriages, unexpected pregnancies, & moral dilemmas. Just to name a few, but there was certainly a lot more going on. The most interesting parts for me were the back stories of each character as it brings to light how much a person's past can sometimes dictate their futures. I felt a deep dislike for Annie Oh, I found her extremely selfish & flawed beyond redemption & I didn't feel the love she supposedly had for Viveca, or understand why she fell for her in the first place but her back story was still one I couldn't help but be interested in & she had everything to do with everyone else's story so I was ok about having to put up with her. I loved the chapters skipping around from one character's story to the next & though this can sometimes be annoying if not done well, Wally Lamb had no problem executing this successfully. The ending was bittersweet & I had to wait at least 5 minutes to start my next book so I could let everything sink in & then let it go, it's that touching. Loved the story, loved the writing, loved the title. Can't wait to read more from Wally Lamb!