Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Breathing Water: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Breathing Water: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Breathing Water: A Novel
    Ebook336 pages4 hours

    Breathing Water: A Novel

    By T. Greenwood

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A poignant, clear-eyed novel” about a Vermont homecoming and a reckoning with tragedy (The New York Times Book Review).
     
    Effie Greer has been away from Lake Gormlaith, Vermont, for three years. Now she is coming home. The unspoiled lake, surrounded by dense woods and patches of wild blueberries, is the place where she spent idyllic childhood summers at her grandparents’ cottage. And it’s where Effie’s tempestuous relationship with her college boyfriend, Max, culminated in a tragedy she can never forget.
     
    Effie had hoped to save Max from his troubled past, and in the process became his victim. Since then, she’s wandered from one city to another, living like a fugitive. But now Max is gone, and as Effie paints and restores the ramshackle cottage, she forms new bonds—with an old school friend, with her widowed grandmother, and with Devin, an artist and carpenter summering nearby. Slowly, she’s discovering a resilience and tenderness she didn’t know she possessed. And buoyed by the lake’s cool, forgiving waters, she may even learn to save herself, in this “impressive” novel of hope and absolution from the award-winning author of Where I Lost Her (Booklist).
     
    “Startling and fresh . . . ripe with originality.” —San Diego Union-Tribune
     
    “A vivid, somberly engaging book.” —Larry McMurtry
     
    “Greenwood sensitively and painstakingly unravels her protagonist’s self-loathing and replaces it with a graceful dignity.” —Publishers Weekly
     
    “With its strong characters, dramatic storytelling, and heartfelt narration, Breathing Water should establish T. Greenwood as an important young novelist who has the great gift of telling a serious and sometimes tragic story in an entertaining and pleasing way.” —Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateSep 25, 2012
    ISBN9780758279910
    Unavailable
    Breathing Water: A Novel

    Related to Breathing Water

    Related ebooks

    Psychological Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Looking For Fresh Reads? Western Authors Weigh In.

      Dec 1, 2020

      THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC may have disrupted much of what boosts new book releases — bookstores, events and author signings, attention spans — but Westerners need good reading material as much as ever. Fortunately, writers have obliged, with new works

      5 min read

    • Article

      May Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      May 4, 2020

      May brings continued social distancing and new books by Lydia Millet, Richard Ford, Tracy O’Neill, J.M. Coetzee, Kate Zambreno, Ilana Masad, and Emma Straub. The post May Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Milli

      7 min read

    • Article

      New Titles

      Oct 9, 2019

      By George Keithley George Braziller, Inc. “The Donner Party is one of the three or four finest book-length American poems ever written.”—Poetry. “Out of the western migration of the 1840s…Keithley has made a lean, taut narra-tive poem that moves with

      4 min read

    • Article

      The 15 Best Books of 2020

      Dec 24, 2020

      The 15 Best Books of 2020
      10 min read

    • Article

      New Titles

      Feb 13, 2019

      By George Keithley George Braziller, Inc. “The Donner Party is one of the three or four finest book-length American poems ever written.”—Poetry. “Out of the western migration of the 1840s…Keithley has made a lean, taut narrative poem that moves with

      4 min read

    • Article

      Fiction

      Apr 3, 2024

      Fiction
      9 min read

    • Article

      Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2018 Book Preview

      Jul 17, 2018

      Putting together our semi-annual Previews is a blessing and a curse. A blessing to be able to look six months into the future and see the avalanche of vital creative work coming our way; a curse because no one list can hope to be comprehensive, and n

      35 min read

    • Article

      September Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Sep 4, 2019

      September is for back-to-school, the big Vogue issue, and blockbuster books. This month brings new Margaret Atwood, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ann Patchett. The post September Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Milli

      6 min read

    • Article

      Most Anticipated: The Great 2018 Book Preview

      Jan 8, 2018

      Settle in, folks, because this is one the longest first-half previews we’ve run in a long while. Putting this together is a labor of love, and while a huge crop of great spring books increases the labor, it also means there is more here for rea

      33 min read

    • Article

      August Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Aug 3, 2020

      August brings titles from Helen Macdonald, Zadie Smith, Raven Leilani, Ali Smith, our own Ed Simon, and a whole lot more. The post August Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      August Preview: The Millions Anticipated (This Month)

      Jul 31, 2023

      New books from Elizabeth Acevedo, Jamel Brinkley, Ann Patchett, Lydia Kiesling, and many more—here's what we can't wait to read this month. The post August Preview: The Millions Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    • Article

      August Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Aug 1, 2017

      Here’s what we’re looking out for this month. The post August Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Jeff VanderMeer

      Dec 5, 2017

      As an omnivore, I define the word “enjoyment” as anything from a heady intellectual excitement at exposure to new ideas or narrative structures all the way to an uneasy/comfortable feeling that lives visceral in the gut and defies analysis. I’m not r

      12 min read

    • Article

      September Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Aug 29, 2023

      New books by Annie Ernaux, Naomi Klein Yiyun Li, Zadie Smith, C Pam Zhang, and more—here's what we can't wait to read this month. The post September Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Queer Canon

      Feb 12, 2019

      The Queer Canon
      2 min read

    • Article

      5 Books Making News This Week: Antiheroines & Alternative La La Land

      Mar 14, 2017

      Rick Bass’s For a Little While wins this year’s $20,000 Story Prize. The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist includes Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed, Mary Gaitskill’s The Mare, Eimear McBride’s The Lesser Bohemians, C.E. Morgan’s The Sport of King

      6 min read

    Reviews for Breathing Water

    4/5

    42 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I thought this book was alright but it didn't really stand up next to TWO RIVERS. I will give another by TGreenwood a chance!
    • 4/5
      Breathing Water is an emotional read. The main character, Effie, has been running from an abusive relationship for several years. While Effie is in Seattle, she discovers that Max has died of a drug overdose. Upon learning this, Effie returns to Vermont. As Effie comes to grip with her past, Greenwood takes readers on Effie's path to discovering herself. Although this is a gripping and at times a sad story, readers will find themselves rooting for Effie and her self-discovery. This is the first opportunity that I've read one of Ms. Greenwood's books, and I look forward to reading more of her books.
    • 3/5
      Effie was living in her grandparents' lake house in Vermont the summer of 1991 when she witnessed a terrible tragedy that may have had something to do with her violent boyfriend Max. As a result of this trauma, Effie fled to Seattle to escape Max and the psychological bond he had over her. Several years later, after hearing that Max had died of a heroin overdose, Effie returns to Vermont to restart her life. As she begins a new relationship with a handsome stranger who leaves her gifts of nature on her doorstep, Effie begins to revisit the events from that summer. With strong themes of domestic violence, this novel explores how far women are willing to go to help a lover overcome a history of trauma, and at what point they need to escape the relationship to save themselves.I thought this novel was somewhat weak, as I didn't care much about the main character, nor could I relate to her. The novel seemed to be based mostly on actions without a lot of internal processing. There were descriptions of what the characters did but not a lot of insight into why they behaved as they did. The poetic openings to each part of the book were, I assume, intended to be dramatic, but I thought they were melodramatic and vague. There were repeated themes of bruising, washing dishes under scalding water, hair washing, sleeping in a boat, and other random things that didn't seem to be related to anything in particular. Ultimately I found the female characters all pathetically passive and unable to change the course of their lives. While not an unreadable book, it was rather mediocre, though some might find it more interesting and engaging than I did. Additionally, the main traumatic event was never resolved, nor was there a resolution to the romantic relationship. In all, rather uneventful and unfulfilling.
    • 4/5
      I have never read anything by this author and have already ordered 2 more of her more of her works after finishing this one. The book was so nicely written, it flowed along with vivid detail and plot. It was a sad story but one that you really wanted to finish to see how things turn out. Great read and I am so happy I was picked ot review this book.
    • 3/5
      I have read several of T. Greenwood's books and have enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. I didn't realize this was her first novel and the prose and writing has stayed with her throughout her later ones. It is a story of a girl running....away from her life, her past, and an abusive boyfriend from college. She comes back to her favorite place which is her grandparent's cottage on a lake in Vermont. The ghosts follow her but in the end she finally finds some peace within herself. I enjoyed the writing style and the descriptive scenes.
    • 4/5
      I'd had this author on my radar for a while after reading some good reviews of her works, but hadn't managed to get my hands on any of them until an Early Reviewer copy found its way to me. Basically, the main character of Effie returns home to her grandparents' lakeside cottage in Vermont after a few years away following a "tragedy" at the lake. Throughout the novel, the reader gets small references to this alluded tragedy, but never quite gets the full story, although it's somehow related to Effie's earlier relationship with an abusive boyfriend.There are some beautiful passages in this novel and the prose is quite good for the most part, especially for a debut novel. I loved the lake cottage setting in Vermont and I instantly wanted to be there myself. But what kept me from enjoying this novel more was the character of Effie herself, I think. She was weak, and granted -- this was a story of recovery & healing, but I never really felt comfortable with the way she evolved. I enjoyed the way the story gradually unfolded via flashbacks, but I still felt like things were left unresolved by the end of the book. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I'd hoped, and I can't exactly put my finger on why that is. However, I do still want to pursue Greenwood's other novels & will seek them out in the future.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. Wonderful characters, wonderful setting, wonderful story. I read this book in a day. I read Undressing the Moon and did NOT like it, so I was reluctant to try this one, but I am so glad I did. I want to check out some of her other titles. This will be a definite handsell title for me at work.
    • 3/5
      Noting that domestic abuse was a theme of this book, I was interested to see how this topic would be handled - particularly from a psychological standpoint. I used to work with victims of domestic violence and know how difficult this cycle of abuse is for victims, families, friends, and abusers to understand and overcome. Greenwood did address the hurt, fear, and isolation. However, this was a predictable, somewhat superficial, and in many ways an unrealistic story. Her attempt did not say enough or come through with emotional impact. The book is mediocre in style, prose, and plot - not poorly written but not particularly impressive. A sense of place came through strongly as a lakeside community. Character development could have been stronger. About half way through the book my motivation to finish was stalled. It was a push to the end which was not particularly satisfying. There was a promise of potential that just fell short. It didn't grab me - but as a light read would suffice, I suppose.
    • 5/5
      "Do not ask me for haunted. Do not ever ask me for haunted, because I will give you haunted and you will never be the same. I will turn a nursery rhyme room into a prison of rhythmic sighs. Of mice screaming and clocks that will not stop their tick-tock, tick-tock. The closed eyes of dolls and animals will not open here, not even if you try to pry them awake with gentle, pleading fingers. I will make the record skip; the arm won't lift from the only song that has ever made you sad."What an opening paragraph. And what an evocation of domestic abuse, the malice and horror curled up inside the cozy, the everyday.Effie is recovering from an abusive relationship. First she ran away, as far as she could; now the death of her tormentor has allowed her to return to the scene of the crime, which is, ironically (as it is in these cases) also home -- her grandmother's house on a lake in Vermont. It is a ghost story, but Effie herself is the ghost -- a tiny woman, she is growing smaller and thinner still, her skin pale; she hides and sinks in others' clothes; her own reflections in glass seem other worldly and startle her. The people she meets who also live here along the lake bring her back to life.I was lucky enough to win this novel from Early Reviewers. I thought it was a new novel by T. Greenwood. Actually, it is a new edition of her very first novel. Sometimes first novels can be over-written, and there are one or two moments here where the language does try to too hard. But overall, I actually liked this novel better than Two Rivers, one of her latest (although that was also very good.) The world in this novel is so complete. Every detail of Effie's life at the lake is so concrete and real, the reader feels she is there with her; and this concrete everydayness saves us from the surreal quality of her memories of Max. A beautiful book. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      For three years Effie ran, away from home, an abusive relationship and a terrible tragedy. Finally she feels safe to return home to her families lake house. Three years later she tries to come to terms with what happened and finally stop running. I had never read anything by this author before but I will have to in the future. The writing was good (aside from the use of the word "yeh") and had be turning the pages to see where the story was going to go. While somewhat sad in tone I found myself rooting for Effie to come to terms with her past and want to be able to move on and rejoin society which she had been avoiding and running from fro years.
    • 4/5
      This book is beautifully written with wonderful descriptions of characters and scenery. That said it is not an easy read since it is about a relationship that was an abusive one. Effie and Max, her abusive boyfriend finally break up after the drowning of a young girl at a family cabin at a Vermont Lake. Effie then begins her wanderings, searching for redemption and escape. Three years later she learns that Max has died and she feels safe enough to return to Vermont and the 'camp' that she so loved. Here she is able to reconnect with the past and begin her healing journey. I felt uncomfortable with the abusive aspects of this story but can see how things like this can occur. They creep up on you until one is totally under water and under the spell of the abuser. The author did a great job with this. Effie does find redemption and is finally able to move on with her life when she confronts the truth of what happened, in her relationship with Max and the drowning of the young girl. Recommended!
    • 4/5
      After reading this author's latest novel "Where I lost her", I had to find more of hers, (gotta love Kobo, I can have the book immediately without even getting off the couch) even breaking my strange rule of never reading two books by an author back to back. I bought a bunch of hers and was thrilled to realize that this book featured the same characters and setting so I chose it to read first. I did just read a different review stating this was her first novel and that her novels got better with as they went. I did enjoy it, would give it a 3 1/2 but I wasn't wowed like the previous novel I had just read. The story is mostly Effie's story, after being away three years, she returns to her grandmother's summer cottage at Lake Gormlaith in Vermont. We go back and forth from the tragedy of the last summer she was there and the events surrounding it, to three years later, when she returns and feels it's time to start living again. I found the jumping around pasts and present rather confusing at times. Yes, the dates were at the head of the chapter but I found the chapters didn't flow smoothly and just a personal preference, I found it a little too poetic at times when I would wonder what she was trying to say. I love the descriptive way she writes, I can visualize everything, it's like I am there and I can feel with the characters. From the books I have read of hers so far, there's a lot of emotion packed into them. I look forward to reading more of her.
    • 3/5
      First let me thank Library Thing - I won a copy of this book in the early reviewers program! I guess I was expecting more from this book, from T Greenwood. I looked it up on Amazon and found that it's a re-release from 2000 which explains a lot for me.This is a story bounces back and forth between times in Effie's life. Earlier times when she is dating Max and at the mercy of his mean streak and feels the need to leave the lake when a young girl dies and later times when she returns to the lake and is learning how to live again - free from the monster, the purple bruises and the pain.The story is one of friendship and heartache and forgiveness.