Three Views of Crystal Water
Govier, KatherineMotherless at the age of six, Vera is left in the care of her grandfather, who spends long periods away at sea. When teenage Vera is taken by her grandfather's mistress to a small island in Japan, she finds a place where she can feel comfortable after years of loneliness. The women of the island take her in and she learns to dive for pearls. But Vera is an outsider, and when war is declared in Europe, she must go home to Vancouver. Vera never forgets her island life and to regain the passion and joy that she once knew, she must return to Japan, to the one place that she truly belonged.
Comments from Groups
One considered it was her [most] favourite ever! Everyone enjoyed it to varying degrees. Motueka 002 Half the group loved this book. The subject was new to us and very interesting. The other half were more critical [and] luke warm about it.... Nelson 040 Some members found the book hard to get into. Others enjoyed it and found it had many strands to it. The description of the diving was particularly captivating and one of he beautiful "gems" in the book. Otorohanga 003 Positive discussion on this one, although two people found it not to their liking and didn't finish it......Auckland 134
Pages
417
417
Year
2005
2005
Reviews
08-06-2022
Everyone enjoyed the book - learnt a lot about pearls and life in Japan. Most liked the style of writing.
22-10-2021
Enjoyed the book. A few skipped over the more wordy descriptive parts but enjoyed the different relationships within the book.
12-04-2019
Very divided opinions on this book, although we had lots of interesting discussion. All thought there was too much information that did not add value to the story.
12-04-2019
Very much enjoyed by the group.
12-04-2019
Most of the group enjoyed the book.
12-04-2019
Not all of our group finished reading this book - it certainly isn't a quick read! Those of us who finished it thoroughly enjoyed the book - fantastic descriptions which really made you feel you were in the water with Vera. Lovely ending!
12-04-2019
Interesting discussion on the culture of Japan, but we felt that the 3 views were often confusing.
12-04-2019
We loved this book! Beautifully crafted story in a time and place we were not familiar with.
12-04-2019
We really enjoyed this book. We learned a lot about the pearl industry and the people affected by it. The writing was descriptive and had quite perceptive comments about life, experiences and attitudes.