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Beside the Still Waters
Four towns, gone. Dismantled slowly while their inhabitants grieve for a history and heritage that has been voted away from them. The present threatens; the future belongs to the fearless.
“Beside the Still Waters” is a family saga based on an actual event which displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts for the construction of a reservoir. Today, the Quabbin Reservoir provides water for millions of citizens, primarily in the greater Boston area.
Families are divided between those who protest the construction project, those who give up and leave, and those who help to build it. The central character is Jenny, a girl who comes of age facing the extinction of her community, who becomes the guardian of her family’s heritage, and ultimately, the one to decide what happens to them.
A rift between two brothers, Eli and John Vaughn, at the turn of the 20th Century continues through to the next generation as John tries to use Jenny, Eli’s daughter, in a plot to regain the family farm from Alonzo, who now runs it, who is Jenny's love. John is broke and eager to sell the farm to the state, which is buying up area property for the coming reservoir. Both Alonzo and Eli refuse to sell their properties, and protest removal by eminent domain. Torn between loyalty to her family and heritage, and the allure of a future beyond the valley, Jenny refuses to remain powerless like the men she loves, but looks for a way to take control. A disastrous decision may prove fatal in a race against time.
“Beside the Still Waters” is a family saga based on an actual event which displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts for the construction of a reservoir. Today, the Quabbin Reservoir provides water for millions of citizens, primarily in the greater Boston area.
Families are divided between those who protest the construction project, those who give up and leave, and those who help to build it. The central character is Jenny, a girl who comes of age facing the extinction of her community, who becomes the guardian of her family’s heritage, and ultimately, the one to decide what happens to them.
A rift between two brothers, Eli and John Vaughn, at the turn of the 20th Century continues through to the next generation as John tries to use Jenny, Eli’s daughter, in a plot to regain the family farm from Alonzo, who now runs it, who is Jenny's love. John is broke and eager to sell the farm to the state, which is buying up area property for the coming reservoir. Both Alonzo and Eli refuse to sell their properties, and protest removal by eminent domain. Torn between loyalty to her family and heritage, and the allure of a future beyond the valley, Jenny refuses to remain powerless like the men she loves, but looks for a way to take control. A disastrous decision may prove fatal in a race against time.
243 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2011
About the author
Jacqueline T. Lynch
31 books16 followersJacqueline T. Lynch’s novels, short stories, and non-fiction books on New England history and classic films are available from many online shops as eBooks, audiobook, and paperback. She is also an award-winning playwright whose plays have been produced around the United States and in Europe, and has published articles and short fiction in regional and national publications. She writes Another Old Movie Blog on classic films, and the syndicated newspaper column Silver Screen, Golden Memories. For updates and special offers, please see her website: www.JacquelineTLynch.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 29, 2011
I love a good family saga. I love historical fiction. I loved the gilded age, and the turn of the twentieth century. I'm a massive WWI wonk.
So, when Beside the Still Waters, a family saga set in 1904 to 1938 landed in my review pile, I was a happy little reader. Probably a little too happy, I was so excited to see it, I put it in the to review pile even after thinking the beginning was a little choppy and rough.
Let's take a minute and talk about what a historical family saga entails. There should be a huge, sweeping collection of deeply rounded characters, in a vibrantly alive piece of time. John Jakes and Herman Wouk wrote my two favorite sagas, and those tales are massive, fully alive and breathing pieces of interactive history. Basically, if the author is doing her job, you get to join a family and live with them through some fascinating bit of history.
There should be a main story arc, this is usually the sweep of the chunk of history the book is set in. On this plot line the characters or more or less acting like tour guides, giving us an intimate view of life during whenever the story is set. This is the plot line that ties everything together, and should be a meta image of the smaller individual conflicts going on in the secondary and tertiary plot lines.
The secondary plot line will be some level of specific conflict involving different members of the family. This is usually the motive plot for the 'story' and will usually involve breaking different bits of the family off into different camps. The historical aspect of the story is often the fault line that divides different bits of the family into different camps.
Tirtiary (and on and on, a real saga can have at least one main plot line per main character, and often side ones for the side characters and so and so forth. After all, it's a SAGA; no one's worried about it coming out too long.) plots involve romances, coming of age stories, individual conflicts for individual characters.
And, if it's not clear from the above, or the fact they're called sagas, a family saga should be long.
So, basically, when I read a historical family saga, I want a huge, complex, well-researched book, brimming with fascinating characters, in depth locales, plot twists and turns, that all wrap into some sweep of history and a satisfying conclusion for all surviving family members.
Besides the Still Waters is well researched. In fact, I would have very happily read a straight up history of the Quabbin Reservoir by Lynch.
It fell well short on all of my other criteria for a good family saga.
"A rift between two brothers, Eli and John Vaughn, at the turn of the 20th Century continues through to the next generation as John tries to use Jenny, Eli’s daughter, in a plot to regain the family farm from Alonzo, who now runs it, who is Jenny's love. John is broke and eager to sell the farm to the state, which is buying up area property for the coming reservoir. Both Alonzo and Eli refuse to sell their properties, and protest removal by eminent domain. Torn between loyalty to her family and heritage, and the allure of a future beyond the valley, Jenny refuses to remain powerless like the men she loves, but looks for a way to take control. A disastrous decision may prove fatal in a race against time."
That's the back of the book blurb. It's a little choppy, but promising, right? I thought so. Here's the problem: at fifty percent through, the plot, as stated in the blurb, is just, barely beginning to get rolling. To use a historical example that most people are familiar with: if the main plot of this book had been wrapped around the American Civil War, the story would have started with the writing of the Declaration of Independence to get us familiar with the fight over slavery. Jenny (who is identified as the main character earlier in the blurb) isn't even born for the first third of the story.
The antagonist, John, shows up for less than three pages of on screen time, and then vanishes for a third of the book. Once again, a family saga should be long and complex enough to follow the antagonist as he runs away, blows his fortune, and then take him back to the main swing of things, so that by the time we get to the conflict, we're deeply attached to both sides of the argument. A family saga needs the depth to follow multiple characters through their lives while still pushing the main plot line forward.
The writing style is choppy. I'd be reading away, getting a little plot and character development, then into straight history, and back to plot, and back to history. From what I can tell this is intentional, but instead of highlighting how the meta history compliments the individual lives of the characters it's jarring and breaks the flow.
The writing style is non-fiction. As I said, I'd happily read a straight history by Lynch, but I don't want to read fiction by her. In non-fiction it's perfectly acceptable to tell your reader what happened, showing them is nice, but usually not the goal. In fiction the idea is to show your readers what is going on. But, if you pick 3rd person omniscient as your point of view, (the narrator voice) it's very easy to slip into telling your reader what is going on. And tell she does. So much telling that it's actually pretty rare to run into a scene that really is showing something, but when one does occur, a chunk of straight history will show up in a page or so and stop it dead.
And, just to make me grit my teeth, the formatting is wonky. I just wrapped the beta version of my latest novel, and my hubby wanted a version for his Kindle. (He doesn't like reading on his computer, so no Word doc for him.) Anyway, I put the beta version through the Smashwords' Meatgrinder with no prep at all, and got precisely the same sort of wonky formatting Beside The Still Waters has. Basically, it looks fine, and then for no real reason it suddenly changes font, and changes back, and forth again, all through the book.
As I said in the email I sent off to my beta readers, the kindle version looks like it was formatted by drunk weasels, drunk weasels that like Courier. It's not illegible, but it is annoying. Deeply annoying. And maybe part of the reason it annoys me so much is that I know how much work it takes to fix this (about an hour-hour and a half), and how ridiculously lazy it is to just leave it that way.
So, all in all, I'm not impressed by Beside the Still Waters. I wish it had been a straight history of the Quabbin Reservoir. I think I would have enjoyed that quite a bit.
So, when Beside the Still Waters, a family saga set in 1904 to 1938 landed in my review pile, I was a happy little reader. Probably a little too happy, I was so excited to see it, I put it in the to review pile even after thinking the beginning was a little choppy and rough.
Let's take a minute and talk about what a historical family saga entails. There should be a huge, sweeping collection of deeply rounded characters, in a vibrantly alive piece of time. John Jakes and Herman Wouk wrote my two favorite sagas, and those tales are massive, fully alive and breathing pieces of interactive history. Basically, if the author is doing her job, you get to join a family and live with them through some fascinating bit of history.
There should be a main story arc, this is usually the sweep of the chunk of history the book is set in. On this plot line the characters or more or less acting like tour guides, giving us an intimate view of life during whenever the story is set. This is the plot line that ties everything together, and should be a meta image of the smaller individual conflicts going on in the secondary and tertiary plot lines.
The secondary plot line will be some level of specific conflict involving different members of the family. This is usually the motive plot for the 'story' and will usually involve breaking different bits of the family off into different camps. The historical aspect of the story is often the fault line that divides different bits of the family into different camps.
Tirtiary (and on and on, a real saga can have at least one main plot line per main character, and often side ones for the side characters and so and so forth. After all, it's a SAGA; no one's worried about it coming out too long.) plots involve romances, coming of age stories, individual conflicts for individual characters.
And, if it's not clear from the above, or the fact they're called sagas, a family saga should be long.
So, basically, when I read a historical family saga, I want a huge, complex, well-researched book, brimming with fascinating characters, in depth locales, plot twists and turns, that all wrap into some sweep of history and a satisfying conclusion for all surviving family members.
Besides the Still Waters is well researched. In fact, I would have very happily read a straight up history of the Quabbin Reservoir by Lynch.
It fell well short on all of my other criteria for a good family saga.
"A rift between two brothers, Eli and John Vaughn, at the turn of the 20th Century continues through to the next generation as John tries to use Jenny, Eli’s daughter, in a plot to regain the family farm from Alonzo, who now runs it, who is Jenny's love. John is broke and eager to sell the farm to the state, which is buying up area property for the coming reservoir. Both Alonzo and Eli refuse to sell their properties, and protest removal by eminent domain. Torn between loyalty to her family and heritage, and the allure of a future beyond the valley, Jenny refuses to remain powerless like the men she loves, but looks for a way to take control. A disastrous decision may prove fatal in a race against time."
That's the back of the book blurb. It's a little choppy, but promising, right? I thought so. Here's the problem: at fifty percent through, the plot, as stated in the blurb, is just, barely beginning to get rolling. To use a historical example that most people are familiar with: if the main plot of this book had been wrapped around the American Civil War, the story would have started with the writing of the Declaration of Independence to get us familiar with the fight over slavery. Jenny (who is identified as the main character earlier in the blurb) isn't even born for the first third of the story.
The antagonist, John, shows up for less than three pages of on screen time, and then vanishes for a third of the book. Once again, a family saga should be long and complex enough to follow the antagonist as he runs away, blows his fortune, and then take him back to the main swing of things, so that by the time we get to the conflict, we're deeply attached to both sides of the argument. A family saga needs the depth to follow multiple characters through their lives while still pushing the main plot line forward.
The writing style is choppy. I'd be reading away, getting a little plot and character development, then into straight history, and back to plot, and back to history. From what I can tell this is intentional, but instead of highlighting how the meta history compliments the individual lives of the characters it's jarring and breaks the flow.
The writing style is non-fiction. As I said, I'd happily read a straight history by Lynch, but I don't want to read fiction by her. In non-fiction it's perfectly acceptable to tell your reader what happened, showing them is nice, but usually not the goal. In fiction the idea is to show your readers what is going on. But, if you pick 3rd person omniscient as your point of view, (the narrator voice) it's very easy to slip into telling your reader what is going on. And tell she does. So much telling that it's actually pretty rare to run into a scene that really is showing something, but when one does occur, a chunk of straight history will show up in a page or so and stop it dead.
And, just to make me grit my teeth, the formatting is wonky. I just wrapped the beta version of my latest novel, and my hubby wanted a version for his Kindle. (He doesn't like reading on his computer, so no Word doc for him.) Anyway, I put the beta version through the Smashwords' Meatgrinder with no prep at all, and got precisely the same sort of wonky formatting Beside The Still Waters has. Basically, it looks fine, and then for no real reason it suddenly changes font, and changes back, and forth again, all through the book.
As I said in the email I sent off to my beta readers, the kindle version looks like it was formatted by drunk weasels, drunk weasels that like Courier. It's not illegible, but it is annoying. Deeply annoying. And maybe part of the reason it annoys me so much is that I know how much work it takes to fix this (about an hour-hour and a half), and how ridiculously lazy it is to just leave it that way.
So, all in all, I'm not impressed by Beside the Still Waters. I wish it had been a straight history of the Quabbin Reservoir. I think I would have enjoyed that quite a bit.
November 8, 2012
I love historically set novels, and I was even thrilled to hear that this one was based upon actual events. The story is really centered around the Vaughn family which has lived in Prescott and its surrounding towns for over 200 years, but when Boston runs out of a source of fresh water to supply the growing masses, engineers turn to the valleys. By building a reservoir, and decimating the towns, they can sustain the city’s need, but what does that mean for the families who have spent their whole lives there, many never venturing out of the towns they were born in. Can they adjust to a new life when their traditions and lives are considered old fashioned?
Eli Vaughn was once a boy with big dreams for his life as a farmer, but as the second son he would not receive the family farm, and he would have to face the bitter reality his father lays before him. The family farm, the very one Eli spent his whole life working on would be given to his elder brother John. But there was a major problem, John did not want the farm, nor did he want to be a farmer, yet their father would not relent.
This would not stop Eli, and he did what most men did. He went out into the world and made his own way, working odd jobs and in factories. Along the way he fell in love with a girl from his childhood, and though she was educated and could have done more with her life, she chose to marry Eli and become a farmers wife. Together we watch as they fail and grow as a couple, and we get to see their children grow. Intertwined into their lives is the uncertainty of the reservoir. Many folks have sold off their land and started anew, a few refuse to leave altogether. Both Eli and his cousin fall into the latter, but while one fights to save what is his, the other begins to lose his mind to the fear of uncertainty. Can both the men find the will to push forward, or will they drown with their memories beside the still waters?
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but at times I did feel like I was sitting in history class, and seeing far too much of the world around the characters when I would have rather just had them. That being said I did feel the characters were well written, interesting, and overall likeable. John was confusing at times, and more of it was around the interest in his niece, Jenny. It seemed odd for him to take such a liking to her that at times felt almost predatory. It is entirely possible that the times were just different then, but it stood out to me is all I am trying to say.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historically set read. There is some romance, though it is greatly played down in exchange for the suspense, but even I enjoyed the light hearted side of the love story that unfolds here and there in the townsfolk’s lives.
Eli Vaughn was once a boy with big dreams for his life as a farmer, but as the second son he would not receive the family farm, and he would have to face the bitter reality his father lays before him. The family farm, the very one Eli spent his whole life working on would be given to his elder brother John. But there was a major problem, John did not want the farm, nor did he want to be a farmer, yet their father would not relent.
This would not stop Eli, and he did what most men did. He went out into the world and made his own way, working odd jobs and in factories. Along the way he fell in love with a girl from his childhood, and though she was educated and could have done more with her life, she chose to marry Eli and become a farmers wife. Together we watch as they fail and grow as a couple, and we get to see their children grow. Intertwined into their lives is the uncertainty of the reservoir. Many folks have sold off their land and started anew, a few refuse to leave altogether. Both Eli and his cousin fall into the latter, but while one fights to save what is his, the other begins to lose his mind to the fear of uncertainty. Can both the men find the will to push forward, or will they drown with their memories beside the still waters?
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but at times I did feel like I was sitting in history class, and seeing far too much of the world around the characters when I would have rather just had them. That being said I did feel the characters were well written, interesting, and overall likeable. John was confusing at times, and more of it was around the interest in his niece, Jenny. It seemed odd for him to take such a liking to her that at times felt almost predatory. It is entirely possible that the times were just different then, but it stood out to me is all I am trying to say.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historically set read. There is some romance, though it is greatly played down in exchange for the suspense, but even I enjoyed the light hearted side of the love story that unfolds here and there in the townsfolk’s lives.
November 30, 2012
I have to admit that as far as history, this book could not be beaten. Jacqueline T. Lynch is an amazing historian, and although her style sometimes seems a little dry, there is real meat in her book. If you are looking for fluff, don't turn to this book! It requires your mind to be engaged at all times. She seamlessly weaves the characters into the book--even though they sometimes come across as two-dimensional. After finishing this book, I felt like I had learned something about Massachusetts history that I did not know previously. This book is one of the reasons I love historical fiction--I learn while I read for enjoyment.
There are no sex scenes, and the profanity in the book is relatively mild. I appreciated the fact that these people had morals, and they went to church. However, she expertly showed how things began to change even over the course of the time period covered in the book. I did not feel overly emotional--even when bad things happened--but again, that goes back to the author's writing style. She is a historian, and her book often reads like a textbook. That can be good and bad. I actually feel that reading this book again would be good for me--when I was not up against a deadline. I believe there is much I missed the first time because this is a definitely a multi-level story.
I received this product through Outburst Media in exchange for my honest review.
There are no sex scenes, and the profanity in the book is relatively mild. I appreciated the fact that these people had morals, and they went to church. However, she expertly showed how things began to change even over the course of the time period covered in the book. I did not feel overly emotional--even when bad things happened--but again, that goes back to the author's writing style. She is a historian, and her book often reads like a textbook. That can be good and bad. I actually feel that reading this book again would be good for me--when I was not up against a deadline. I believe there is much I missed the first time because this is a definitely a multi-level story.
I received this product through Outburst Media in exchange for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews