Stillwater: A Novel
Product Description
In 1938, five towns in western Massachusetts were flooded to create a huge reservoir.
In this beautifully rendered novel of coming of age, of loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, and of bravery and an abiding love, Stillwater marks a significant literary step forward for William Weld in what has already emerged as a notable writing career.
Fifteen-year-old Jamieson, who lives on a farm with his ironic and strong-willed grandmother, watches life unravel for the men and women whose world is about to be obliterated. Some take refuge in whiskey or denial, some give in to despair, some preach hypocrisy — and some decide to turn a profit on their fellow citizens’ misfortunes.
Jamieson falls in love for the first and hardest time with the unforgettable Hannah, a dreamy girl from the poor farm. She enriches his sense of what is being lost by recalling lives that were lived in the Valley during the French and Indian War, the insurrection of Daniel Shays, and the War between the States. Jamieson feels in his bones that the living are surrounded by the dead.
As the seasons turn during the towns’ final year, events spin out of control. Church services are supplanted by pagan rituals in the woods, public morality is undone by the exposure of a “disorderly house,” and any semblance of a normal life on the farms is undermined by the impending flood. In September, the hurricane of 1938 completes the Valley’s destruction.
As Jamieson is losing the world of his boyhood, it is Hannah who opens his eyes to wider possibilities and helps him taste a measure of revenge on the men who sold out the Valley towns. It is not so difficult, after all, for the living and the dead to change places.
Weld has been praised by the New York Times for his “writer’s eye and ear.” Stillwater illuminates nature’s magnificence, man’s inhumanity, people’s courage, and the destiny of place that is characteristic of America.
Posted in Weld | 
Tags: America, Daniel Shays, french and indian war, Hannah, Jamieson, loyalty and betrayal, Novel, Stillwater, Valley, western Massachusetts, William Weld
5 Responses to “Stillwater: A Novel”
The story seemed forced and came out unnaturally. The premise was an interesting, but I found my mind wandering. The characters were not engaging at all! Also, their actions often seemed to come out of no where, with hardly any follow up. The beginning of the novel overall was too cutesy and corny for words. The ending was a bit better, but still didn’t make up for the first portion. I’m glad I’ve done reading it, so I can move on to something more interesting and better written!
Rating: 2 / 5
The strain of Weld’s prose was uncomfortable after a while- the effort of ambition, not artistry, is evident in this novel. The love scenes were gruesome in particular- the dialogue that is used to express a young man’s sexual desire, one of the most natural scenes to encounter in art and life, is here made irrevocably awkward and discomforting. My sense of the author was of a man who thought that writing simple thoughts down simply, and in relatively short sentences, was enough to make him the new Hemingway (he miscalculated). I also puzzled at the author’s photo that accompanied his bio on the back cover- is the anxious look upon this man’s face spotted with snowflakes supposed to remind me of the politically conscientious Redford? It looks more likely that he lost a cow in the snow off-camera.
Rating: 2 / 5
The story seemed forced and came out unnaturally. The premise was an interesting, but I found my mind wandering. The characters were not engaging at all! Also, their actions often seemed to come out of no where, with hardly any follow up. The beginning of the novel overall was too cutesy and corny for words. The ending was a bit better, but still didn’t make up for the first portion. I’m glad I’ve done reading it, so I can move on to something more interesting and better written!
Rating: 2 / 5
I liked this book very much. It is actually the first book in a year or so that I have been interrested enough to finish. It is a very quick read for those who don’t have much time. It has corruption, mystery and the outdoors. It is also a sad tale about the end of a leagacy for a young man and how the flooding of the river valley affects him and the other people from the 3 small towns. Anyway, give it a try. It will surprise you. Also, what got me interrested in this was seeing the author on NBC morning show. If you go to look at the segment on CNBC… it might just interrest you too.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a short, lovely novel about the drowning of the Swift River Valley in Massachusetts in 1938 to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Seen through the eyes of the narrator, Jamieson, a 15-year-old boy, Weld describes the people and places of the valley during the idyllic last summer before the flooding. The book is not exciting, packed with thrills, or a potboiler mystery. It is a quiet, beautiful accounting of a slower time when people could make a living off their farms. However, local corruption among self-serving politicians and false ministers is an undercurrent that darkens the over-all glow of the story.
Read this book and enjoy living in the Valley in 1938.
I also recommend “Letting Swift River Go” by Jane Yolen, which describes the same event in a lovely children’s book.
Rating: 5 / 5