Waterfall Girls

by Kimberly White

Legend has it that the first waterfall was created when an angry sea god threw his trident into a cliff with such force that the cliff split open, spewing water like a volcanic eruption. Through the eyes of Nereid, daughter of this angry sea god, we witness the evolution of this primal waterfall into a powerful symbol of beauty, danger, and sacrifice. Through Nereid, we witness the stories of women and girls who commit suicide by waterfall, beginning with Nereid herself, and the waterfall otherworld into which they awaken.

Unfolding in spiral rather than linear fashion, this bible of shifting realities and portals between life and death shines light and dark into a world never before imagined. An afterlife which is neither heaven or hell, it is as uncertain as it is beautiful. Intertwined with the tales of Nereid and others in her world is the commonality of the Waterfall, whose elemental/diselemental voice adds its own layers to Nereid's bible.

When the Waterfall speaks, we taste the purity of the first waterfall, we catch the scent of primal element, we are enchanted by the face of magnificent beauty, and we feel the very heartbeat of water as we drown in the roar of the falls. From Nereid's lifetime of water, through the hidden pools and passages of her watery world, Waterfall Girls is but a small sampling of legends inspired by waterfalls, woven into the heartbreak of suicide.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy

234 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2021

Reviews

[Steph Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This one had no room for rage; in her time and place, rage was the privilege of men. A woman’s place allowed no rage.”

A Nereid is the first inhabitant of an enigmatic waterfall afterlife—the first of many women who end up there after choosing suicide by waterfall as their way out. She witnesses their last moments in life, their first moments in conscious-death, their evolutions as they adjust (or refuse to adjust) to Being in this post-desperation state.

As with death, there are no easy answers in this book (or any answers at all, really). You don’t, as a reader, learn about why these women exist here, what else is out there, how they may ever be able to leave. You only know what they know: that they are dead, that they killed themselves, that they are now there. Poetic vignettes of raw female grief, mourning, pain, and the lingering discontent of taking your own life.

[Kenzie Aucoin · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn’t have the most consistent plot or really any set storyline or conclusion, but every time i see a waterfall now i think of this book and how even the smallest command attention. good book, i just have a short attention span

[paulína · Rating 4 out of 5]

na moje vlastné prekvapenie som prekvapená, že sa mi kniha páčila. najprv som bola veľmi skeptická, lebo nemá dej. ale za to má neopísateľnú atmosféru. nevedela som prestať čítať, bola som pohltená fiktívnym svetom.

[Barry Paul Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kimberly White’s language is gorgeous, and the ethereal nature but harsh reality of the expression of what’s on the other side of This Thing (life) through a simple and sometimes vague action was really engaging. I got lost slightly in some of the world-building elements of the characters. It’s a unique and balanced expression involving a triggering subject of suicide, but quite recommended if that hooks you.

[goodfellow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive, racist, and annoying. This book does not contain anything special and its core statement is tedious at best. I would not recommend it.

[MegaBo33 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a poetic and powerful book, with no one plot or message but a collection of stories and lessons.
Hard to read at times due to both difficult topics and descriptive language so detailed you forget where you are.
One of the more powerful chapters was very early on however I was determined to finish and I’m glad I did.
I think people will take away many different things from this book but what stuck out to me was how in each place, life or death, is what you make it. And it’s up to you to learn how to live, or die with your demons.