Memory of Water

Pros: lyrical prose, philosophical, characters face difficult choices

Cons: slow

In a world where water is tightly controlled by the military, Noria Kaitio is training as her father's apprentice to become a tea master. Tea masters historically had a duty to preserve sacred springs, and her family has kept the knowledge of one in the fells behind their house secret for decades. But Noria finds it hard to keep the secret as her best friend Sanja and their village suffer under harsher and harsher conditions.

This is a novel about the importance of water and how people survive under challenging circumstances. It'a a novel that questions motives and wonders who's trustworthy in a world where helping others will get you killed.

There's very little action and the story is unravelled slowly. There's foreshadowing of the ills to come and some gorgeous, lyrical prose. There's also a lot of contemplative passages, mostly about water, but also about being in the moment, noticing the little things that always escape notice. It's a novel about thinking deeply about life and appreciating the life you have, because life is always changing and you can never regain what you've lost.

Despite the slowness with which the plot unfolds, the novel is a quick read. The characters and the situations they find themselves in are intensely interesting.

It's a beautiful novel, and sad. And while it contains hope, it acknowledges that sacrifices are required and that not everyone lives to see better days.

Memory of Water is short, or I would not have finished it. It's written in a fluid, dreamy style that results in not much happening. What I found most interesting was the relationship between Noria and Sanja, and the history of the tea masters. I hung in there through some really, really stagnant parts. So many descriptions of housework and travel. Yawn. I don't think it's a spoiler but the main character makes some pretty stupid decisions and her biggest crime is waiting too long to take action, any action. While the reader waits, the story just stalls again. Overall, the writing is beautiful, but this is not a light or breezy read. It's also not the only book to tackle a future where water is scarce, and I don't feel it brought anything new to the genre. I think the gorgeous cover suckered me in (and Noria is described as having brown hair in the book).