Waterland

‘Waterland’ is the third novel of Graham Swift, published in 1983. His 'Last Order' won the 1996 Booker Prize, but it is often said that his best novel is ‘Waterland’.

Fifty-two-year-old Tom Crick whose wife arrested for snatching a baby is a history master, living in Greenwich where world time begins, and being asked to bow out. He speaks to his students, "Children ..." and starts his strange history class.

He speaks about the history of Fens where he was born and brought up, the history of his maternal ancestor, the sex with his wife Mary in their young days, his intellectually disabled brother Dick, the murder of Freddie Parr, French Revolution, the eel life, incest, abortion, madness, ghost... The author quests for "what history is" through the postmodern way.

Fens, in East Anglia, was a waterland since ancient times. It was the Atkinsons that converted this region into the farmland for barley by dainages. The end of the 18th century, Tomas Atkinson begins to run a brewery there. His young wife Sarah who was with lovely face with due signs of decorum and restraint loses her mind and words for life after an unhappy incident with her husband. She had been watching for Fens from the window until she was 92 years old and died. At the day of her funeral, Fens has heavy rain and is covered with water again. Sarah becomes a myth.

In the begging of the 20th century, the Atkinsons is being brought to ruin. Ernest Atkinson who is a great-grandchild of Sarah fails to be a statesperson and loves his beautiful daughter, Helen. Helen loves her father, too. The father hopes his baby to Helen, and he believes the baby will be "a Saviour of the world". Helen decides to marry Henry Crick, a wounded soldier and a lock-keeper.

Thus the daughter tried hard by two men at the same time, both of whom she loved, to become pregnant.  (chapter 30)

Mary was a young girl who was curious about sex. She was interested in Dick's big penis. She became pregnant, but the father of the baby was not Dick because his penis was too big to make love. She told Dick that the father of the baby was Freddy Parr. Next day Freddy Par was found in the river. Mary and Tom went see a witch, Marsh Clay, and got an abortion. (That's why Tom and Mary have no child.)

The elaborate storytelling is very different from that of ‘The Shadow of The Wind’. It is the story of contemporary literature that postmodern age shows.

This book was very difficult for me and I often thought to give up reading this. I managed to read, but I couldn't enjoy reading. So I don't recommend this book for English learners. If you are an English learner, I recommend you to read this book translated into your mother tongue.