The Waters

By Bonnie Jo Campbell,

Book cover of The Waters

Book description

On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp-an area known as "The Waters" to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan-herbalist and eccentric Hermine "Herself" Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations. As stubborn as her tonics are powerful, Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Waters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The novel is set in Michigan, in the Comstock region near Kalamazoo, near where I used to live. I could relate to the characters, even though they were all female. I loved the mythic and poetic language. I also loved that it was about three generations of women, one of whom was a healer. It was also about family dysfunction, magic, and community. I especially loved that Campbell loves the Oz books and named many of her characters after characters from The Wizard of Oz and its sequels and kept making references to the books.

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