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The Water's Lovely
The man who had died was Ismay's stepfather, Guy. Nine years on, she and her sister, Heather, still live in the same house in Clapham. But it has been divided into two self-contained flats. Their mother lives upstairs with her sister, Pamela. And the bathroom, where Guy drowned, has disappeared. Ismay works in public relations, and Heather in catering. They get on well. They always have. They never discuss the changes to the house, still less what happened that August day. But even lives as private as these, where secrets hang in the air like dust, intertwine with other worlds and other people. And, with painful inevitability, the truth will emerge.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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1,304 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Rendell
542Ìýbooks1,580ÌýfollowersA.K.A. Barbara Vine
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 515 reviews
March 27, 2011
I told Laurie, a previous reviewer of this novel that I could cut and paste her review and it would be exactly what I thought of the book (except better written than I could manage) and I think I will actually do that. So here's Laurie's review:
"Well, I suggested the book group read this, just because we previously mentioned reading something by Ruth Rendell, but boy, am I sorry. There are clearly characters, and a plot, but the book is missing a reason. Why read it? Indeed, why did she write it? This book is populated by assholes, morons, and crazy people, mostly psychopaths. That's it. Well, maybe Heather is okay. And Edmund ultimately turns out to be not as much of a schmuck as he started out being. Ismay is a moron, Andrew is an asshole, Marion is crazy, as is her brother, Edmund's mother is an asshole, Andrew's girlfriend after Ismay is a moron. Barry seems to be a moron. Oh, Ismay and Heather's mother is crazy, their aunt Pamela is a moron, her boyfriend is both crazy and an asshole. Some people get engaged, some get married, some people break up, some people blackmail others, some use others. Not a clever comment or insight to be found."
I can only add that the appalling ending, where the only two worthwhile people in the book get wiped out by a freaking TSUNAMI, really ripped it for me. Every single idiot in the book ends up getting REWARDED by getting exactly what they want and the two good folks get killed. I am normally a big Rendell fan (love the Wexford series), but this was just an awful book.
"Well, I suggested the book group read this, just because we previously mentioned reading something by Ruth Rendell, but boy, am I sorry. There are clearly characters, and a plot, but the book is missing a reason. Why read it? Indeed, why did she write it? This book is populated by assholes, morons, and crazy people, mostly psychopaths. That's it. Well, maybe Heather is okay. And Edmund ultimately turns out to be not as much of a schmuck as he started out being. Ismay is a moron, Andrew is an asshole, Marion is crazy, as is her brother, Edmund's mother is an asshole, Andrew's girlfriend after Ismay is a moron. Barry seems to be a moron. Oh, Ismay and Heather's mother is crazy, their aunt Pamela is a moron, her boyfriend is both crazy and an asshole. Some people get engaged, some get married, some people break up, some people blackmail others, some use others. Not a clever comment or insight to be found."
I can only add that the appalling ending, where the only two worthwhile people in the book get wiped out by a freaking TSUNAMI, really ripped it for me. Every single idiot in the book ends up getting REWARDED by getting exactly what they want and the two good folks get killed. I am normally a big Rendell fan (love the Wexford series), but this was just an awful book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2020
Ruth Rendell is one gifted writer. The more of her books that I read, the more I want to read.
The Water's Lovely is something of a mystery but also so much more. A central cast of characters to whom the reader becomes closely drawn, characters that are as genuine as anyone you might know in the flesh. Even the characters who are peripheral are integral to the plot, a plot that grows ever more convoluted.
This was one of those books for me left me feeling a bit stranded at the last page, not wanting to say goodbye to the cast or to the story itself.
The Water's Lovely is something of a mystery but also so much more. A central cast of characters to whom the reader becomes closely drawn, characters that are as genuine as anyone you might know in the flesh. Even the characters who are peripheral are integral to the plot, a plot that grows ever more convoluted.
This was one of those books for me left me feeling a bit stranded at the last page, not wanting to say goodbye to the cast or to the story itself.
May 9, 2008
Bah, humbug. This one was going along well enough, and it completely fell apart in the last 30-40 pages. What I like about Rendell is the way she sets multiple threads of plot in motion and inexorably draws them together into a web of revelations and ironically perfect fates for the villains. This book started out fine, lots of promising elements... long-ago mysterious death hidden by the family and never discussed (shades of The Minotaur and A Dark-Adapted Eye), sociopathic blackmailer, foreshadowing of old people to be bumped off for money, incriminating cassette tape moving from hand to hand, emotionally abusive relationship escalating, killer on the loose (shades of The ROttweiler), madwoman in the attic, loving couple whose happiness might be destroyed by an explosive secret... and where does it go? NOWHERE. Bupkis. I wouldn't have believed this could end in quite such an unsatisfying way. No web, no justice, no irony. Bah. Just a jumble.
The only plotline I enjoyed following was Marion's. And where did that lead? No place satisfying. Ismay and Heather were interesting at first, but they never changed or developed... just stayed as they were, and became tiresome.
The only plotline I enjoyed following was Marion's. And where did that lead? No place satisfying. Ismay and Heather were interesting at first, but they never changed or developed... just stayed as they were, and became tiresome.
August 8, 2009
AM I FROM THIS PLANET!? Do we seriously live in a world where women are only shrews, hypochondriacs, conniving blackmailers, or stupid super models, and the men are only hen-whipped, abusive assholes, petty criminals or idiots?? Really? I might have tolerated the story line of Ismay pining away for an emotionally abusive partner if a) we'd actually seen more of the cycle of abuse, good times, bad times, good times, bad times or b) if the other characters hadn't been so thoroughly unlike-able.
It's not even a murder mystery! You know the whole time whodunnit, because Ismay spends THE ENTIRE BOOK speculating about it INSTEAD OF TALKING TO HER SISTER ABOUT IT! Plus I guessed the "twist" 20 pages in, because the author was trying too hard to mislead me.
And the most appalling thing about this book is THAT I KEPT READING IT! I read all the way until the end. I kept thinking, "Surely Ismay comes to her senses. SURELY Marion gets hit by a bus. Surely THERE IS REDEMPTION AND DECENCY OR WHY ELSE WRITE THE BOOK?"
How naive of me.
I'm a harsh critic of books ... but this one ... I'm officially out of words.
It's not even a murder mystery! You know the whole time whodunnit, because Ismay spends THE ENTIRE BOOK speculating about it INSTEAD OF TALKING TO HER SISTER ABOUT IT! Plus I guessed the "twist" 20 pages in, because the author was trying too hard to mislead me.
And the most appalling thing about this book is THAT I KEPT READING IT! I read all the way until the end. I kept thinking, "Surely Ismay comes to her senses. SURELY Marion gets hit by a bus. Surely THERE IS REDEMPTION AND DECENCY OR WHY ELSE WRITE THE BOOK?"
How naive of me.
I'm a harsh critic of books ... but this one ... I'm officially out of words.
August 16, 2021
Ruth Rendell’s skill in writing psychologically based mystery/suspense novels is reaffirmed in each of my readings of her novels. I was not disappointed by this. She has again delved into the broad expanse of complexities of the human psyche. This intricate plot encompasses love, deceit, obsession, greed and chicanery, to name a few emotions.
It is remarkable to me that Rendell is able to spin her imaginative, mesmerizing tales utilizing her vivid, well-turned prose. This rich, meticulously paced story built in intensity and suspense until the final page.
I have continued to debate whether I prefer her style as Rendell or Barbara Vine. It is possible to discern some differences in each, but both seem to have similar attributes. It seems to me that as Rendell, she creates more suspense. I look forward to reading more of her numerous offerings- as either individual.
It is remarkable to me that Rendell is able to spin her imaginative, mesmerizing tales utilizing her vivid, well-turned prose. This rich, meticulously paced story built in intensity and suspense until the final page.
I have continued to debate whether I prefer her style as Rendell or Barbara Vine. It is possible to discern some differences in each, but both seem to have similar attributes. It seems to me that as Rendell, she creates more suspense. I look forward to reading more of her numerous offerings- as either individual.
July 16, 2012
My second Ruth Rendell novel, I’m absolutely blown away by this writer! I love her great characterizations; Marion Melville in particular is a vicious piece of work, totally despicable. The vulnerable people at the heart of this story are the Sealand family, particularly Heather who's assumed to have drowned her unsavory stepfather Guy in the bath. Characters include the above mentioned Marion Melville who cozies up to the lonely and aged in hopes of inheriting their property after she's poisoned them, and Marion's dumpster-diving brother Fowle.
Rendell throws in subplots including desperate romances & a killer lurking through London’s parks. Lots of plot twists, a total page turner masterfully written. Loved it!
September 10, 2021
For English version please scroll down
**
Nicht besonders gut gelungener klassischer englischer Krimi
Ruth Rendell gilt als eine der Grande Dames des englischen Krimis. Ich habe früher schon Bücher von ihr gelesen, die mir sehr gefallen haben. Ich frage mich, was sie geritten hat, als sie dieses Buch geschrieben hat.
Es geht um die beiden Schwestern Ismay und Heather. Im Teenageralter hatten sie einen Stiefvater, den Heather gehasst und Ismay ständig lolitamäßig angeflirtet hat. Eines Tages wird der Mann ertrunken in der Badewanne aufgefunden und seither verdächtigt Ismay Heather des Mordes und sieht sich fürderhin als ihrer Schwester Hüterin, spricht jedoch niemals mit Heather über den Vorfall.
10 Jahre später leben die beiden immer noch zusammen in einer Wohnung in Haus ihrer Kindheit. Im oberen Stock lebt ihre Mutter, die nach dem Todesfall verrückt geworden ist, betreut von der Tante der Mädchen.
Von diesem Ausgangspunkt entspinnt sich eine wirre Geschichte mit viel zu vielen Charakteren, die eigentlich nichts miteinander zu tun haben, aber durch merkwürdige Zufälle doch verbunden zu sein scheinen. Der Plot war für mich nicht nachvollziehbar und alle Charaktere bis auf Heather und ihr Mann, waren irgendwo im Spektrum zwischen unangenehm und absolut abstossend zu verorten.
Sehr gegen den Strich ging mir auch das Ende, das irgendwie zuerst nach friedvoller Einvernehmlichkeit und kurz darauf nach Gottes gerechter Strafe klang.
Erschwerend kam hinzu, dass die Story ziemlich langweilig war.
Das Buch kam 2006 heraus, zu einem Zeitpunkt als Ruth Rendell bereits 76 war. Ich frage mich, ob das oftmals merkwürdig altmodische und angestaubte Verhalten der Charaktere vielleicht am Alter der Autorin lag.
Ich kann den Roman leider nicht zur Lektüre empfehlen.
----------------------
Not a particularly well-done classic English thriller
Ruth Rendell is considered one of the grande dames of English crime novels. I've read her books before and I really liked them. I wonder what was wrong when she wrote this book.
It's about the two sisters Ismay and Heather. When they were teenagers, they had a stepdad who Heather hated and Ismay was constantly lolita-like flirting with. One day the man is found drowned in the bathtub and since then Ismay has suspected Heather of the murder and sees herself as her sister's guardian, but never speaks to Heather about the incident.
Ten years later, the two are still living together in an apartment in their childhood home. Their mother, who went mad after the husband’s death, lives on the upper floor and is looked after by the girls' aunt.
From this starting point a convoluted story develops with far too many characters who actually have nothing to do with each other, but seem to be connected by strange coincidences. The plot was incomprehensible to me and all characters except for Heather and her husband were somewhere in the scope between unpleasant and absolutely repulsive.
The end rubbed me completely the wrong way, somehow sounding first like peaceful consensuality and shortly afterwards like God's rightful punishment.
To make matters worse, the story was pretty boring.
The book came out in 2006 when Ruth Rendell was already 76. I wonder if the often strangely old-fashioned and dusty behavior of the characters was perhaps due to the author's age.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend reading the novel.
**
Nicht besonders gut gelungener klassischer englischer Krimi
Ruth Rendell gilt als eine der Grande Dames des englischen Krimis. Ich habe früher schon Bücher von ihr gelesen, die mir sehr gefallen haben. Ich frage mich, was sie geritten hat, als sie dieses Buch geschrieben hat.
Es geht um die beiden Schwestern Ismay und Heather. Im Teenageralter hatten sie einen Stiefvater, den Heather gehasst und Ismay ständig lolitamäßig angeflirtet hat. Eines Tages wird der Mann ertrunken in der Badewanne aufgefunden und seither verdächtigt Ismay Heather des Mordes und sieht sich fürderhin als ihrer Schwester Hüterin, spricht jedoch niemals mit Heather über den Vorfall.
10 Jahre später leben die beiden immer noch zusammen in einer Wohnung in Haus ihrer Kindheit. Im oberen Stock lebt ihre Mutter, die nach dem Todesfall verrückt geworden ist, betreut von der Tante der Mädchen.
Von diesem Ausgangspunkt entspinnt sich eine wirre Geschichte mit viel zu vielen Charakteren, die eigentlich nichts miteinander zu tun haben, aber durch merkwürdige Zufälle doch verbunden zu sein scheinen. Der Plot war für mich nicht nachvollziehbar und alle Charaktere bis auf Heather und ihr Mann, waren irgendwo im Spektrum zwischen unangenehm und absolut abstossend zu verorten.
Sehr gegen den Strich ging mir auch das Ende, das irgendwie zuerst nach friedvoller Einvernehmlichkeit und kurz darauf nach Gottes gerechter Strafe klang.
Erschwerend kam hinzu, dass die Story ziemlich langweilig war.
Das Buch kam 2006 heraus, zu einem Zeitpunkt als Ruth Rendell bereits 76 war. Ich frage mich, ob das oftmals merkwürdig altmodische und angestaubte Verhalten der Charaktere vielleicht am Alter der Autorin lag.
Ich kann den Roman leider nicht zur Lektüre empfehlen.
----------------------
Not a particularly well-done classic English thriller
Ruth Rendell is considered one of the grande dames of English crime novels. I've read her books before and I really liked them. I wonder what was wrong when she wrote this book.
It's about the two sisters Ismay and Heather. When they were teenagers, they had a stepdad who Heather hated and Ismay was constantly lolita-like flirting with. One day the man is found drowned in the bathtub and since then Ismay has suspected Heather of the murder and sees herself as her sister's guardian, but never speaks to Heather about the incident.
Ten years later, the two are still living together in an apartment in their childhood home. Their mother, who went mad after the husband’s death, lives on the upper floor and is looked after by the girls' aunt.
From this starting point a convoluted story develops with far too many characters who actually have nothing to do with each other, but seem to be connected by strange coincidences. The plot was incomprehensible to me and all characters except for Heather and her husband were somewhere in the scope between unpleasant and absolutely repulsive.
The end rubbed me completely the wrong way, somehow sounding first like peaceful consensuality and shortly afterwards like God's rightful punishment.
To make matters worse, the story was pretty boring.
The book came out in 2006 when Ruth Rendell was already 76. I wonder if the often strangely old-fashioned and dusty behavior of the characters was perhaps due to the author's age.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend reading the novel.
March 28, 2016
Throughout her amazing prolific career Ruth Rendell specialized in dark psychological crime dramas. Had she written a romantic one, it would have naturally also been dark. In fact it would have been very much this book. Told through many varied perspectives of London's denizens, the focus here in on love, couples in love, individuals looking for love. Of course, this being a Rendell book, mostly everyone goes about things in a sordid, secretive, underhanded, manipulative and otherwise wrong ways. It's the funny house mirror reflection of a romance novel...the sad, pathetic and amoral ones get rewarded, the virtuous don't. It's dark, warped with an utterly exasperating ending. The main drawback was the characters. While no one in the right mind should read Rendell for likeable characters, she has always made a point of creating a despicable, although oddly compelling, ones, in this book she really went all out. Most of the men are on the violently rapey scummy side, most of the women are backbone lacking desperate pushovers, eager for any attention they might get. It's a really terrible business, the sort that can put one off of dating for a while, if not permanently. Point is, they aren't as compelling as they are despicable here, the balance isn't quite there, so it was somewhat frustrating at times. Also stands to note, this is far more of a drama than a mystery or thriller. But as many of the author's books as I've read the case remains that the quality is always top shelf and, though far from favorite, this one still entertains plenty. That ending though...seriously.
January 12, 2011
Well, I suggested the book group read this, just because we previously mentioned reading something by Ruth Rendell, but boy, am I sorry. There are clearly characters, and a plot, but the book is missing a reason. Why read it? Indeed, why did she write it? This book is populated by assholes, morons, and crazy people, mostly psychopaths. That's it. Well, maybe Heather is okay. And Edmund ultimately turns out to be not as much of a schmuck as he started out being. Ismay is a moron, Andrew is an asshole, Marion is crazy, as is her brother, Edmund's mother is an asshole, Andrew's girlfriend after Ismay is a moron. Barry seems to be a moron. Oh, Ismay and Heather's mother is crazy, their aunt Pamela is a moron, her boyfriend is both crazy and an asshole. Some people get engaged, some get married, some people break up, some people blackmail others, some use others. Not a clever comment or insight to be found.
April 2, 2015
Listened to this driving to/from Charleston. I'd never read any Ruth Rendell, and was looking forward to an introduction; I'm not sure this was it. An utterly bizarre novel, it opens 13 years after a crime that becomes relevant again both suddenly and improbably; the improbabilities just keep coming while the narrative veers between not much happening, things happening for no real narrative purpose (the whole subplot about poor Aunt Pamela), and things happening way too neatly. And then there's the ending. When Hannah was little, I would sometimes end the book I was reading to her at bedtime with a line of my own after the last line: "And then they were all hit by a bus." This I did for comic effect; Rendell, however, offers an ending not far off from that, and while I'm not sure what to make of it -- tragedy? irony? cosmic justice? -- I can tell you I was not amused (especially since the simpering, pathetic protagonist was unaffected). Val tells me this isn't representative Rendell, so I suppose I'll try her again sometime -- not soon, though.
August 29, 2007
I've been a Rendell/Vine fan since I read "A Fatal Inversion". Nothing has ever come up to the breathtaking experience of that book, but nevertheless she remains one of my favourite writers.
I'm actually wondering about the Rendell/Vine distinction, which seems less clear as time goes on. Her Rendell novels used to tend to be more straightforward detective fiction (not only the Wexfords) and her Vine more in the realm of psychological thriller. "The Water's Lovely" seems to me to be more in the Vine category of things. Oh well...
It's a while since I read this one, so no particular comments, except that I know I was throughly immersed (deliberate pun
I'm actually wondering about the Rendell/Vine distinction, which seems less clear as time goes on. Her Rendell novels used to tend to be more straightforward detective fiction (not only the Wexfords) and her Vine more in the realm of psychological thriller. "The Water's Lovely" seems to me to be more in the Vine category of things. Oh well...
It's a while since I read this one, so no particular comments, except that I know I was throughly immersed (deliberate pun
January 24, 2012
This is the first book I've read by Ruth Rendell, but I don't think I'll be in any rush to read another. While Rendell is a passable writer, the characters in this book are utterly intolerable. There's a broad cast, but only a few of them have an redeeming qualities - and one of them is practically catatonic!
Ismay, the elder sister, is so self-centered she believes - with nothing but circumstanial evidence - that her sister committed not one, but two murders for HER benefit. And, rather than standing up to her prick of a boyfriend when he all but demands Ismay snub her sister and brother-in-law, she simpers and acquiesces. When said boyfriend leaves, Ismay is pathetic on the lines of Bella Swan from Twilight. She cannot survive without this man. Ismay spends the bulk of the book wondering if and when he will return to her.
The rest of the characters are made of the stereotypical, overbearing mother; a petty criminal who preys on the elderly; and her bum of a brother, among others. When two characters meet a tragic end, you don't feel sympathy. You feel relief because they no longer have to deal with these people.
Ismay, the elder sister, is so self-centered she believes - with nothing but circumstanial evidence - that her sister committed not one, but two murders for HER benefit. And, rather than standing up to her prick of a boyfriend when he all but demands Ismay snub her sister and brother-in-law, she simpers and acquiesces. When said boyfriend leaves, Ismay is pathetic on the lines of Bella Swan from Twilight. She cannot survive without this man. Ismay spends the bulk of the book wondering if and when he will return to her.
The rest of the characters are made of the stereotypical, overbearing mother; a petty criminal who preys on the elderly; and her bum of a brother, among others. When two characters meet a tragic end, you don't feel sympathy. You feel relief because they no longer have to deal with these people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2021
Ruth Rendell’s suspense novels can be a little hit-and-miss, but I think she really nailed it with this one.
Populated with classic Rendell characters and tropes, such as everyday folk with unbridled sociopathic tendencies; dark family secrets; callous infidelity; and the ever-present spectre of rape, you do not have to scratch far below the surface to find her reassuringly familiar if discomfiting take on lives lived in London’s western boroughs.
From the outset there is a sense of jeopardy, when it is revealed that Ismay believes her younger sibling Heather, acting to protect her, murdered their predatory stepfather, Guy, when she was barely a teenager.
Now in their twenties, when Ismay is spurned by the man she loves, who takes up with an eye-catching socialite, surely it is just a matter of time before Heather acts again?
Thence unravels a cleverly linked chain of relationships, where the audience can see connections of which the characters are unaware. Intriguingly, the author pits Ismay against the reader � for it is plain that the worst outcome is for her to achieve her misguided heart’s desire.
There are a couple of implausible coincidences, but ultimately these do not materially undermine the main foundations of the plot; and one loose end left unsatisfactorily dangling (a serious misdemeanour unpunished).
The ending is a little clichéd, but the strength of the novel is in the constant suspense, regularly refreshed.
Populated with classic Rendell characters and tropes, such as everyday folk with unbridled sociopathic tendencies; dark family secrets; callous infidelity; and the ever-present spectre of rape, you do not have to scratch far below the surface to find her reassuringly familiar if discomfiting take on lives lived in London’s western boroughs.
From the outset there is a sense of jeopardy, when it is revealed that Ismay believes her younger sibling Heather, acting to protect her, murdered their predatory stepfather, Guy, when she was barely a teenager.
Now in their twenties, when Ismay is spurned by the man she loves, who takes up with an eye-catching socialite, surely it is just a matter of time before Heather acts again?
Thence unravels a cleverly linked chain of relationships, where the audience can see connections of which the characters are unaware. Intriguingly, the author pits Ismay against the reader � for it is plain that the worst outcome is for her to achieve her misguided heart’s desire.
There are a couple of implausible coincidences, but ultimately these do not materially undermine the main foundations of the plot; and one loose end left unsatisfactorily dangling (a serious misdemeanour unpunished).
The ending is a little clichéd, but the strength of the novel is in the constant suspense, regularly refreshed.
January 4, 2016
One of Rendell's most smoothly and absorbingly written books, yet arguably one of her least satisfying -- certainly of those that I've read.
A dozen or so years ago, Ismay's younger sister Heather, then aged 13, drowned their stepfather in the bathtub while Ismay and her mum were out shopping. Or at least that's what Ismay assumes: she and mum have been acting on the principle that, if you don't actually talk something through, then it's easier to deny it -- and, besides, the cops and everyone else assumed it was an accident. Now Ismay and Heather live in the downstairs of the family home; upstairs, mum, driven bonkers by the death and its aftermath, is tended by Aunt Pat.
Ismay's boyfriend Andrew is a snobbish spoiled brat, and psychologically abusive of her; nonetheless, she's completely infatuated with him. Heather, by contrast, has just begun a wonderful relationship with Edmund; ironically, Edmund only ever asked her out on a date in order to dodge the ghastly Marion, whom his hypochondriac mother was trying to matchmake with him . . .
The stage is obviously set for melodrama, but it's a melodrama that never arrives (although there's another murder of a peripheral character). Instead what we have is an exercise in which it seems as if Rendell was trying to buck all the conventional rules of novel-writing. Bar two, every character in the novel is self-serving or self-engrossed, or is a ninny, or is pompously self-deluding, or weak, or airheaded, or downright criminal and potentially murderous. Furthermore, by the end of the tale, all of those characters, from deficient to vile, get what they wanted, or at least some degree thereof; the only people for whom there are no happy endings are the two we like and respect . . . one of whom is a murderess.
I'm perfectly happy reading about unsympathetic characters: I don't need the novels I read to be stuffed with Mr. and Ms. Niceguys. This aspect of The Water's Lovely I relished, as I did the strain of dark humor underlying much of the tale: the sociopathic Marion, for example, is both a fantasticated and a richly comic creation. It didn't bother me that I'd spotted one of the final twists by about page 10, especially since I don't think Rendell was particularly trying to hide it from us. And I found the book wonderfully readable. Yet there were two features that undermined the book so far as I was concerned.
First, a significant plot-point relied upon a quite outrageous coincidence. Yes, outrageous coincidences do happen in real life, but for obvious reasons they're extremely rare. This one must be a millions-to-one against, and yet it's treated as just one of those things.
Second, the very final twist, which I imagine was intended to be devastating, came across to me as trite, contrived and uneasily exploitative. It was unnecessary, and left a sour taste in my mouth.
Rendell has written some of the very best crime/psychological novels that I've read (I'm not so keen on her Wexford mysteries, which seem to me a bit plodding*), but alas I don't think this is one of them. It offers an easy and enjoyable ride to a destination you wish you hadn't reached.
* See what I did there?
A dozen or so years ago, Ismay's younger sister Heather, then aged 13, drowned their stepfather in the bathtub while Ismay and her mum were out shopping. Or at least that's what Ismay assumes: she and mum have been acting on the principle that, if you don't actually talk something through, then it's easier to deny it -- and, besides, the cops and everyone else assumed it was an accident. Now Ismay and Heather live in the downstairs of the family home; upstairs, mum, driven bonkers by the death and its aftermath, is tended by Aunt Pat.
Ismay's boyfriend Andrew is a snobbish spoiled brat, and psychologically abusive of her; nonetheless, she's completely infatuated with him. Heather, by contrast, has just begun a wonderful relationship with Edmund; ironically, Edmund only ever asked her out on a date in order to dodge the ghastly Marion, whom his hypochondriac mother was trying to matchmake with him . . .
The stage is obviously set for melodrama, but it's a melodrama that never arrives (although there's another murder of a peripheral character). Instead what we have is an exercise in which it seems as if Rendell was trying to buck all the conventional rules of novel-writing. Bar two, every character in the novel is self-serving or self-engrossed, or is a ninny, or is pompously self-deluding, or weak, or airheaded, or downright criminal and potentially murderous. Furthermore, by the end of the tale, all of those characters, from deficient to vile, get what they wanted, or at least some degree thereof; the only people for whom there are no happy endings are the two we like and respect . . . one of whom is a murderess.
I'm perfectly happy reading about unsympathetic characters: I don't need the novels I read to be stuffed with Mr. and Ms. Niceguys. This aspect of The Water's Lovely I relished, as I did the strain of dark humor underlying much of the tale: the sociopathic Marion, for example, is both a fantasticated and a richly comic creation. It didn't bother me that I'd spotted one of the final twists by about page 10, especially since I don't think Rendell was particularly trying to hide it from us. And I found the book wonderfully readable. Yet there were two features that undermined the book so far as I was concerned.
First, a significant plot-point relied upon a quite outrageous coincidence. Yes, outrageous coincidences do happen in real life, but for obvious reasons they're extremely rare. This one must be a millions-to-one against, and yet it's treated as just one of those things.
Second, the very final twist, which I imagine was intended to be devastating, came across to me as trite, contrived and uneasily exploitative. It was unnecessary, and left a sour taste in my mouth.
Rendell has written some of the very best crime/psychological novels that I've read (I'm not so keen on her Wexford mysteries, which seem to me a bit plodding*), but alas I don't think this is one of them. It offers an easy and enjoyable ride to a destination you wish you hadn't reached.
* See what I did there?
August 16, 2007
There are few authors writing in any genre that hold a candle to Ruth Rendell when she is at her best. Although she has a long-running traditional procedural mystery series featuring Inspector Wexford, in my opinion it is her stand-alone books written either as Rendell or Barbara Vine that best showcase her talents. She is one of the the best plotters in the business, setting up her characters and intrigues like an enormous chessboard where she knows the endgame before she lays a finger on the first pawn. This could make some readers feel somewhat manipulated, but I am always amazed. There is nothing wasted, no detail that does not have meaning, and this makes for a gripping read. Her latest would be a great entry into the Rendell/Vine universe. The The Water's Lovely, Ismay and Heather are sisters bound together by the death of their stepfather when they were children. His death and the possibility that Heather was responsible color the sisters' rapport as adults as well as so many of their other relationships. But what really happened that night? You'll want to read to find out.
June 14, 2014
Another paperback I picked up in a charity shop because of the author's name. A good story with twists and turns I did not guess. Writing in the third person, darting back and forth amongst various characters, much of the fun and suspense comes from the reader thinking he or she knows more about them than the characters themselves, or do we. It is also amusing to follow someone like Marion, then suddenly see her through another's eyes.
This is an example of a story set in a specific time so that real events become part of the plot.
This is an example of a story set in a specific time so that real events become part of the plot.
March 3, 2021
Een beetje een vreemd en verwarrend boek. Ik kon het af en toe niet echt volgen, mede door de opmaak van het boek. Het springt van de hak op de tak zonder witregels. Het verhaal op zich is ook vrij onrustig en ik kon de personages soms niet uit elkaar houden. Wel een heel onverwacht einde.
November 10, 2021
This really wasn't all that great.
Ismay is haunted by the death of her stepfather, he died in the bath, when she was fifteen. When I say haunted, barely a page goes by when the memory of the day it happened, and the role that her sister, Heather, might have played in his death, rattles around her head. To the point that when her sister meets a nice young man at work and they fall in love, Ismay decides the rational thing to do is rehearse telling the new boyfriend what her sister might have done and to commit that rehearsal to a cassette recording. Like you do.
Obviously, the recording goes missing when Ismay loses her bag and because the London that this novel is set in only has a population of twenty people, it ends up in the hands of another character who knows Ismay's prospective brother-in-law.
Coincidence abounds in this story and I can only assume Ruth was having a bad day when she put this together.
The ending was so awful, I just wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. I'm afraid two stars, as a rating, is probably generous.
Ismay is haunted by the death of her stepfather, he died in the bath, when she was fifteen. When I say haunted, barely a page goes by when the memory of the day it happened, and the role that her sister, Heather, might have played in his death, rattles around her head. To the point that when her sister meets a nice young man at work and they fall in love, Ismay decides the rational thing to do is rehearse telling the new boyfriend what her sister might have done and to commit that rehearsal to a cassette recording. Like you do.
Obviously, the recording goes missing when Ismay loses her bag and because the London that this novel is set in only has a population of twenty people, it ends up in the hands of another character who knows Ismay's prospective brother-in-law.
Coincidence abounds in this story and I can only assume Ruth was having a bad day when she put this together.
The ending was so awful, I just wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. I'm afraid two stars, as a rating, is probably generous.
June 2, 2009
Ruth Rendell is one of a small group of writers whose writing is so top-notch, it transcends the mystery genre. Her books are meticulously plotted, with disparate elements that come together in the last few pages. I have read nearly everything she has written over the years, and have come to hold her in high regard.
All that being said, I was disappointed by this book. It was fairly easy to see where the story was heading, and there were just too many neat coincidences to make the plot ring true. I still enjoyed reading the book, but it had none of the magnificence of her other work, and I missed the tension and final twist that the last pages of one of her novels usually bring.
All that being said, I was disappointed by this book. It was fairly easy to see where the story was heading, and there were just too many neat coincidences to make the plot ring true. I still enjoyed reading the book, but it had none of the magnificence of her other work, and I missed the tension and final twist that the last pages of one of her novels usually bring.
August 9, 2022
Can’t believe this book was written by Ruth Rendell.
November 6, 2021
Ruth Rendell’s The Water’s Lovely is more of a psychological study than a mystery read. The primary focus is on two sisters and the long term ramifications of the death of their stepfather. One sister, Ismay, has delusions of herself as “the watchful guardian� of her sister. The other sister, Heather, is infinitely more practical and faces the world head on. Their relationships cracks as each sister begins her own serious relationship. Ismay’s fantastical self absorption, that she reframes as concern for Hannah’s boyfriend, Edmund, becomes a focus. The plot interweaves storylines about both the men in their lives, the actions and death of the stepfather, and a grifter who targets the elderly. I do like Ruth Rendell’s writing. There is a developed sense of menace and you can sense from reading the first few pages that tings will not end well. However, this just seemed too long, too drawn out and just being too convoluted. I would still give this three starts because the actual character developments, the tension building at places, and individual scenes are so well done.
September 3, 2022
Reading is on hold for me at the moment due to cataract surgery and fell back to this audiobook.
The story surrounds a family with a dark secret of what did occur when Guy, their mother's second husband; was found dead in his bath when Heather and her sister Ismay were schoolgirls. This secret haunts the family through the years and affects the relationships between themselves and their various partners. Then on the scene comes Marion, intent on mischief.
A craftily woven plot full of characters good and bad that all need to be concentrated on not to lose the thread between them all. Good story and well read. 4 stars
The story surrounds a family with a dark secret of what did occur when Guy, their mother's second husband; was found dead in his bath when Heather and her sister Ismay were schoolgirls. This secret haunts the family through the years and affects the relationships between themselves and their various partners. Then on the scene comes Marion, intent on mischief.
A craftily woven plot full of characters good and bad that all need to be concentrated on not to lose the thread between them all. Good story and well read. 4 stars
December 29, 2016
The most recent book of the month for our book group was The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell. The author, Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, who also wrote under the pseudonym, Barbara Vine was an acclaimed English crime writer, known for her many psychological thrillers and murder mysteries and above all for Inspector Wexford. Although this is a genre I enjoy, I had never read any novels by Ruth Rendell, so I was pleased to have an excuse to read The Water's Lovely. This is a stand alone novel and not one involving Rendell's most famous character, Inspector Wexford.
The story starts about a dozen or so years ago when Ismay's younger sister Heather, then aged 13, drowned their stepfather in the bathtub while Ismay and her mum were out shopping. Or at least that's what Ismay assumes: she and mum have been acting on the principle that, if you do not talk something through, then it is easier to deny it. Besides, the cops and everyone else assumed it was an accident. Now Ismay and Heather live in the downstairs of the family home; upstairs, mum, driven bonkers by the death and its aftermath, is tended by their Aunt Pat.
Back to the present day, Ismay's boyfriend Andrew is a snobbish spoiled brat, and psychologically abusive of her; nonetheless, she's completely infatuated with him. Heather, by contrast, has just begun a wonderful relationship with Edmund. Ironically, Edmund only ever asked her out on a date in order to dodge the ghastly Marion, whom his hypochondriac mother was trying to match make with him. Almost every character in the novel is self-serving or self-engrossed, a ninny, or is pompously self-deluding, weak, or airheads, or even downright criminal and potentially murderous. Furthermore, by the end of the novel, all of those characters, from deficient to vile, get what they wanted, or at least some part of it.The only people for whom there are no happy endings are the two we like and respect: one of whom is a murderess.
I found this book a bit depressing in its portrayal of the characters. The Water's Lovely started out fine, lots of promising elements including a long-ago mysterious death hidden by the family and never discussed, a sociopathic blackmailer, the foreshadowing of old people to be bumped off for money, an incriminating cassette tape moving from hand to hand, as well as an emotionally abusive relationship escalating, a killer on the loose and a loving couple whose happiness might be destroyed by an explosive secret. Still, none of the strands of plot fully developed. The end twist did not surprise me either.
I am sure I will read other crime novels by Ruth Rendell in the future, but as an introduction to this author, The Water's Lovely was a bit of a disappointment.
Valerie Penny
The story starts about a dozen or so years ago when Ismay's younger sister Heather, then aged 13, drowned their stepfather in the bathtub while Ismay and her mum were out shopping. Or at least that's what Ismay assumes: she and mum have been acting on the principle that, if you do not talk something through, then it is easier to deny it. Besides, the cops and everyone else assumed it was an accident. Now Ismay and Heather live in the downstairs of the family home; upstairs, mum, driven bonkers by the death and its aftermath, is tended by their Aunt Pat.
Back to the present day, Ismay's boyfriend Andrew is a snobbish spoiled brat, and psychologically abusive of her; nonetheless, she's completely infatuated with him. Heather, by contrast, has just begun a wonderful relationship with Edmund. Ironically, Edmund only ever asked her out on a date in order to dodge the ghastly Marion, whom his hypochondriac mother was trying to match make with him. Almost every character in the novel is self-serving or self-engrossed, a ninny, or is pompously self-deluding, weak, or airheads, or even downright criminal and potentially murderous. Furthermore, by the end of the novel, all of those characters, from deficient to vile, get what they wanted, or at least some part of it.The only people for whom there are no happy endings are the two we like and respect: one of whom is a murderess.
I found this book a bit depressing in its portrayal of the characters. The Water's Lovely started out fine, lots of promising elements including a long-ago mysterious death hidden by the family and never discussed, a sociopathic blackmailer, the foreshadowing of old people to be bumped off for money, an incriminating cassette tape moving from hand to hand, as well as an emotionally abusive relationship escalating, a killer on the loose and a loving couple whose happiness might be destroyed by an explosive secret. Still, none of the strands of plot fully developed. The end twist did not surprise me either.
I am sure I will read other crime novels by Ruth Rendell in the future, but as an introduction to this author, The Water's Lovely was a bit of a disappointment.
Valerie Penny
August 26, 2022
Het is eigenlijk een gewoon verhaal van een aantal mensen die elkaar ontmoeten en meer gemeen hebben dan het in eerste instantie lijkt. Er wordt veel verteld over het dagelijkse leven. De dames in het boek hebben een redelijk slecht zelfbeeld en maken zich volledig afhankelijk van mannen. Bij de hoofdpersoon word je daar wel een beetje moe van.
Op geen enkel moment vond ik het boek spannend of zat er een plottwist in. Ook het einde is zeer onbevredigend en je vraagt je af waar dat voor nodig is.
Op geen enkel moment vond ik het boek spannend of zat er een plottwist in. Ook het einde is zeer onbevredigend en je vraagt je af waar dat voor nodig is.
January 8, 2010
A thoroughly interesting read and not at all what I was expecting. If you are looking for a cloak and dagger mystery, then this isn't the book for you. What it is is a thoughtful psychological thriller which builds suspence in a quiet manner. I was left with several thoughts as I re-read the last page, to make sure I got it right... fate is an unusual theme in this book and "oh what a tangled web we weave when once we choose to deceive."
September 26, 2017
I wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery so fast; I read until I gave myself a migraine. The story of a mother and 2 daughters who are connected and disconnected through the murder of the girl's stepfather. According to the EW review everyone gets their deserving end, I disagree, and really liked Heather and Edmund and I didn't approve of their cruel fate; however, Ismay got what she deserved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2018
The opening chapter sets up a crucial question which the main characters carefully avoid asking for the next 13 years, finally only ginning up the courage in the closing pages. We follow the activities of eight (more or less) interrelated characters in short (2 or 3 page) vignettes which move the plot at a glacial pace. None of them is particularly appealing, and several are downright irritating. The suspense was not killing me.
December 31, 2013
This one is a page turner which keeps the reader guessing throughout and then finishes with quite a surprise. Ruth Rendell always writes well and she makes the reader feel really involved with her characters. She also does not do what one expects with those characters - sometimes her goodies get the bad ending and the baddies live happily ever after. An unusual twist. Most enjoyable!
June 10, 2015
El final me ha dejado mal sabor de boca ...
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