Stillwater

By William F. Weld

Book Overview

In 1938, five towns in western Massachusetts were flooded to create a huge reservoir.

In this beautifully rendered novel of coming of age, of loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, and of bravery and an abiding love, Stillwater marks a significant literary step forward for William Weld in what has already emerged as a notable writing career.

Fifteen-year-old Jamieson, who lives on a farm with his ironic and strong-willed grandmother, watches life unravel for the men and women whose world is about to be obliterated. Some take refuge in whiskey or denial, some give in to despair, some preach hypocrisy -- and some decide to turn a profit on their fellow citizens' misfortunes.

Jamieson falls in love for the first and hardest time with the unforgettable Hannah, a dreamy girl from the poor farm. She enriches his sense of what is being lost by recalling lives that were lived in the Valley during the French and Indian War, the insurrection of Daniel Shays, and the War between the States. Jamieson feels in his bones that the living are surrounded by the dead.

As the seasons turn during the towns' final year, events spin out of control. Church services are supplanted by pagan rituals in the woods, public morality is undone by the exposure of a "disorderly house," and any semblance of a normal life on the farms is undermined by the impending flood. In September, the hurricane of 1938 completes the Valley's destruction.

As Jamieson is losing the world of his boyhood, it is Hannah who opens his eyes to wider possibilities and helps him taste a measure of revenge on the men who sold out the Valley towns. It is not so difficult, after all, for the living and the dead to change places.

Weld has been praised by the New York Times for his "writer's eye and ear." Stillwater illuminates nature's magnificence, man's inhumanity, people's courage, and the destiny of place that is characteristic of America.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1451640161
• ISBN13: 9781451640168
• Release Date: April 2011
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This is a beautiful book

This is a short, lovely novel about the drowning of the Swift River Valley in Massachusetts in 1938 to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, Jamieson, a 15-year-old boy, Weld describes the people and places of the valley during the idyllic last summer before the flooding. The book is not exciting, packed with thrills, or a potboiler mystery. It is a quiet, beautiful accounting of a slower time when people could make a living off their farms. However, local corruption among self-serving politicians and false ministers is an undercurrent that darkens the over-all glow of the story. Read this book and enjoy living in the Valley in 1938. I also recommend "Letting Swift River Go" by Jane Yolen, which describes the same event in a lovely children's book.

Phenominal work of prose!

This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time. The descriptions of the time, place and characters are haunting. Although I have finished the book some time ago, it remains in my mind.Beautiful and sensitive! Maybe one of my all-time favorites!

A New Coming of Age Classic

Incredible in its breadth and brevity, William Weld's newest work, Stillwater, is destined to become a classic. Set in the late 1930's, he takes us back to a time both magical and surreal, yet as firmly rooted to the earth as Frost's poetry. The landscape of Swift Water Valley is to be soon flooded by a giant reservior, swallowing towns, farms, and innocence. Without giving the story away, let me conclude that the name of Jameison will one day be as familiar as Scout.

Couldn't put this book down... Very quick read.

I liked this book very much. It is actually the first book in a year or so that I have been interrested enough to finish. It is a very quick read for those who don't have much time. It has corruption, mystery and the outdoors. It is also a sad tale about the end of a leagacy for a young man and how the flooding of the river valley affects him and the other people from the 3 small towns. Anyway, give it a try. It will surprise you. Also, what got me interrested in this was seeing the author on NBC morning show. If you go to look at the segment on CNBC... it might just interrest you too.