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    Castle of Water: A Novel
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    Castle of Water: A Novel
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    Castle of Water: A Novel
    Ebook295 pages3 hours

    Castle of Water: A Novel

    By Dane Huckelbridge

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    "A unique, inventive exploration of love, loss, and survival." —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale

    "A moving, harrowing, and downright literary novel." —Michelle Gable, New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment

    "Brilliant, clever, riveting—pick your adjective, they all apply." —Thomas Christopher Greene, bestselling author of The Headmaster's Wife

    Two very different people, one very small island.

    For Sophie Ducel, her honeymoon in French Polynesia was intended as a celebration of life. The proud owner of a thriving Parisian architecture firm, co-founded with her brilliant new husband, Sophie had much to look forward to—including a visit to the island home of her favorite singer, Jacques Brel.

    For Barry Bleecker, the same trip was meant to mark a new beginning. Turning away from his dreary existence in Manhattan finance, Barry had set his sights on fine art, seeking creative inspiration on the other side of the world—just like his idol, Paul Gauguin.

    But when their small plane is downed in the middle of the South Pacific, the sole survivors of the wreck are left with one common goal: to survive. Stranded hundreds of miles from civilization, on an island the size of a large city block, the two castaways must reconcile their differences and learn to draw on one another's strengths if they are to have any hope of making it home.

    Told in mesmerizing prose, with charm and rhythm entirely its own, Dane Huckelbridge's Castle of Water is more than just a reimagining of the classic castaway story. It is a stirring reflection on love’s restorative potential, as well as a poignant reminder that home—be it a flat in Paris, a New York apartment, or a desolate atoll a world away—is where the heart is.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 4, 2017
    ISBN9781250098238
    Author

    Dane Huckelbridge

    Dane Huckelbridge has written for the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, The New Republic, and New Delta Review. He is the author of Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit; The United States of Beer: The True Tale of How Beer Conquered America, From B.C. to Budweiser and Beyond; and a novel, Castle of Water, which has been optioned for film. A graduate of Princeton University, he lives in Paris.

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    Reviews for Castle of Water

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Fabulous book. A plane crashes in the Pacific, and a single American ex-bond salesman, and a French architect on her honeymoon are the only survivors. He washes up on shore with little but his contacts & she washes up a day later in a life raft with some supplies. The island has no name & because the pilot cut corners, no one is looking for them in the right area. They manage to carve out a life on the island that they dub the "Castle of Water", after a year becoming lovers, and then into year 3, parents. But Sophie's delivery goes horribly wrong...and Barry is forced to leave the island to save their daughter. Interesting beginning to each part of an American tourist visiting an art museum, until you see how it interweaves in the end.
    • 3/5
      I surprised myself by really liking this novel this hard to describe novel. The author has a unique style and I had to get into his rhythm before I embraced it. Barry was a passenger in a small plane that crashed in the South Pacific. He survived and made it to a tiny abandoned island. Sophie was also on the plane, honeymooning with her husband. The death of Sophie's husband was beyond traumatic. She subsequently drifted to the same island in a small lifeboat. When Barry found her she was traumatized and incoherent. What follows is three years they spent on the island, depending on each other for survival. Neither one liked the other at the beginning but they quickly learned tolerance and appreciation for the talents they each had. As the months pass, their relationship deepens as do their conversations. For a book about two people on a desert island for over three years, it wasn't long enough. The almost ending is unexpected and sad but overall the book is very uplifting and positive. I have to add that from the first page of the book to the end the author's wry sense of humor often made me laugh out loud. One would not think humor and castaway life would blend but they did. Kudos to Dane Huckelbridge.
    • 4/5
      Castle of WaterBy Dane HuckelbridgeNarrated By Max WinterPublished 2017 by Dreamscape Media, LLC7 hours and 33 minutesI received a free audio copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.Whenever I see a book or movie featuring castaways on deserted islands, I tend to run the other way. I’m not sure what compelled me to choose this one but I’m so glad that I did. Sophie and Barry are the only two survivors of a small plane crash somewhere in the South Pacific. Although they were strangers from different countries, their survival depended on them finding a way to work together. What made this story different for me was the fact that I barely knew anything about either of the characters before the plane crash. I had no emotional investment in the characters when tragedy struck. This lack of emotion made the whole experience of watching two castaways who had lost everything seem less devastating and hopeless. I felt like I was on the same journey that they were—getting to know each other for the first time under some of the worst circumstances imaginable. As I began to connect with the characters emotionally, each victory and failure seemed more momentous and compelling. This story was an amazing roller coaster of emotions all the way up to the heart-wrenching conclusion.This book was narrated by Max Winter. This was my first experience with this narrator and it wasn’t love at first listen. Max has a deep, gravelly voice and took quite some time for me to adjust to his reading style.
    • 5/5
      Yes, this is a great read and I enjoyed the characters very well, and yes, like my daughter was crying at the end. I can't believe this was a first novel, so full of life and death, but told with joy!