Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
Water, Water and a Little Too Much Water
This is the intersecting story of a cast of many colorful characters. There’s Alberta, a University professor who wants to trade her two boyfriends in for a baby but no husband. There’s her boyfriend Lionel who is about to turn 40 and is still working at a television store. Alberta’s other boyfriend; Charlie is a "hot shot" lawyer. Then there’s Eli who lives in an old cabin where a dam has been built, but not in use due to his injunctions to stop it. The character list goes on to other supporting characters and some symbolic ones.
This is a very readable quirky book, interspersed with pages of magical realism and mythical characters. I truly enjoyed reading about the main and supporting characters. They were very lively and interesting souls with real, sometime quirky issues. However, I had a hard time getting into the magical realism and symbolic characters. They felt more throw in for good measure, then really fitting in. The other issue I had was the use of water as a symbol. The author made this symbol quit clear from the beginning but I felt like it was being pushed on me throughout the book. It just felt a bit like "over kill" to me.
That said, this is a well-written enjoyable book. Especially for fans of magical realism, but also for readers who can look past that to the wonderful characters.
3.5/5
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