At the Water's Edge
Summary (from the publisher): In her stunning new novel, Gruen returns to the kind of storytelling she excelled at in Water for Elephants: a historical timeframe in an unusual setting with a moving love story. Think Scottish Downton Abbey.
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 and 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.
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 and 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.
Review: I received an advance copy of this novel from Net Galley.
Maddie Hyde enjoys a life of luxury and parties in Philadelphia with her husband Ellis and their best friend, Hank. However, after embarrassing the family at a social function, on top of the family's shame of Ellis' inability to enlist due to colorblindness, their life of ease comes to an end. Ellis' parents kick them out of the house and Ellis and Hank decide to travel to Scotland in search of proof of the existence of the Loch Ness monster with Maddie in tow. In Scotland, Maddie is forced to face the truth of her marriage and her life choices, while witnessing the inspiring lives of those living under wartime deprivations.
Maddie changes a lot over the course of the novel, moving from a silly young socialite to a young woman who cares about others, wants to do her part for the war effort, and displays a growing awareness of how trivial her life in America was. Ellis changes too, but not for the better. Although Maddie says early in the novel that "For four years, I'd stood by helplessly as the happy, confident young man I'd met in Bar Harbor eroded into the bitter, suspicious man currently raging in front of me," it's hard to see what ever attracted Maddie to Ellis, who seems cruel, selfish, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and who is most likely gay and never in love with Maddie at all. Although, Maddie did have a fairly awful childhood, so perhaps her marriage was an escape from that world. Early in the novel, Maddie says, "One time, I'd come into my room and found him at my dressing table with his face half made up. He let me finish the job, and then, for a lark, he donned my Oriental robe." Although I believe the author included it to provide the reader with suspicions regarding Ellis' sexual orientation, it was difficult for me to believe that Maddie wouldn't at least initially be shocked by her husband's behavior - especially given the historical context.
Ellis' increasingly evil characterization and dislikable nature was one of my least favorite aspects of this novel. He calls Maddie a bitch, leaves her alone for days at a time without so much as a note, threatens to have her institutionalized, and is constantly selfish and petulant. He seemed to lack a single redeeming quality. Hank seemed like a largely stock character, there to fuel Ellis on. It was hard to believe that Maddie ever actually enjoyed spending time with them or found Ellis a person worthy of marrying.
The search for the loch ness monster angle of this novel was sort of silly, however it was really a rather minor aspect of the plot, merely serving as the rationale for Maddie traveling to Scotland. Additionally, I found Maddie's relationship with Angus sudden and difficult to believe as they rarely even spoke to one another, however, he was far preferable to Ellis. In all, despite some implausible aspects of this novel, I did enjoy reading it and enjoyed seeing the evolution of Maddie as a character and the suspense of her escape from her rather awful husband.
Stars: 3
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