Sweetwater

by: Roxana Robinson

Published by: Random House

Reviewed by Andrea Sisco

I love the written word and enjoy many authors. I enjoy them so much that I forgive inaccuracies and suspend belief for the sake of the story. I also forgive just adequate writing because an author's characters and plot are well developed. But with Roxana Robinson's novel Sweetwater, none of that was necessary. All I had to do was settle in and devour what has become one of my all-time favorite novels.

Isabel Green took a vacation from life following the death of her first husband. Then she met Paul Simmons, married him because it seemed right, and attempted to reconnect again with the world.

Seven months after her marriage to Paul, he and Isabel travel to the Simmons' summer lodge in the Adirondacks. There Isabel struggles to connect with and understand her husband, his complicated parents and his brother, who appears to have a thorny relationship with Paul. Isabel's time at the lodge brings up the painful reality of her first marriage and awakens feelings that she doesn't understand—and that evoke guilt.

Everything in Robinson's book is married to the environment, reflects the delicate balance between nature and the humans that inhabit the world, and speaks of the author's deep relationship with nature.

Robinson's prose is fluid; her character's are complex, rich with flaws and deep emotions. The plot is compelling and unique. It is expertly constructed and the ending is both sad and satisfying at the same time. I can't wait to read Robinson's other works.