Set in the Vermont countryside, Water Witches is a tale of the clash between progress and tradition, science and magic. In the midst of a nightmarish New England drought, cynical ski industry lobbyist Scottie Winston is trying to get a large ski resort the permits it needs to tap already beleaguered rivers for snow. His wife, his little girl, and his sister-in-law -- dowsers or "water witches" all -- hope to stop him, however, in this gentle, comic, life-affirming novel.
Water Witches: A Novel
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From Publishers Weekly
In a moving, life-affirming novel suffused with ecological wisdom, a Vermont ski resort's plans for expansion collide with environmentalists seeking to preserve a mountainous wildlife habitat and riverine ecosystem. Narrator Scott Winston, a transplanted New York City lawyer who represents the ski resort, switches allegiance after he and his nine-year-old daughter spot three mountain lions in an area targeted for clearing. Complicating matters is the envy that Scott's pragmatic wife, Laura, a native Vermonter, feels toward her famed sister, Patience Avery, a dowser (water witch) who also opposes the ski resort and whose talent for locating underground springs, missing persons or lost objects with a divining rod figures prominently in the novel's denouement. The struggle between the developers and their opponents culminates in an environmental board hearing that has all the dramatic excitement of a courtroom trial. With wit, insight and mordant irony, Bohjalian (Past the Bleachers) charts Scott's metamorphosis from rationalistic materialist and skeptic to one who believes in higher powers and the interconnectedness of all life. In a refreshing twist, instead of offering a bucolic idyll, the author takes us through a Vermont beset by drought, a declining ski industry, unemployment and endangered ecosystems.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Ecologically devastating oil spills, electromagnetic radiation, vegetarian Not Dogs-all the "green" issues of the day are present and accounted for in this topical offering from the author of the much-praised baseball novel Past the Bleachers (LJ 5/1/92), which is set, fittingly, in the Green Mountain country of Vermont. With the cards so stacked against him, it's a measure of Bohjalian's talent that rather than giving us mere personifications of Big Ideas, he's able to create fully realized characters we can care about-like his protagonist, a small-town lawyer who faces a crisis of conscience when he finds himself caught up in the familiar conflict between Jobs (in this case, the ski industry) and The Environment. The extensive dowsing lore that runs through the narrative like an underground stream is a bonus delight. Recommended for public libraries.
David Sowd, formerly with Stark Cty. District Lib., Canton, Ohio
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
David Sowd, formerly with Stark Cty. District Lib., Canton, Ohio
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Some people say that my wife's sister is a witch. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Some people say that my wife's sister is a witch. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By ebabler
Format:Paperback
I found this book much more "realistic" than "Midwives" I could relate to it! In fact, I was caught between reality and the book while I was reading it on a recent June visit to my daughter's in VT!! I actually kept forgetting that VT was NOT experiencing a drought while I was visiting!! Caught myself turning off the water while brushing my teeth, looking at the Winooski River for low levels, and observing the countryside in general for signs of "drought"!!
Chris Bohjalian is a master story teller in a "kinder and gentler" way!! His beautiful descriptions of the VT countryside, the numerous SMALL towns, and the life these people lead are exactly what I have encountered on my numerous visits to the state! But the really compelling story he tells is of the encroachment of business, homes, development on our beatiful and old New England towns. I live in one of these in CT. We have no beautiful catamounts as in Bohjalian's story, but the deer and bear in our area are being squeezed out by development! This is the case in a lot of New England. I could certainly relate to this story, but even people in inner-cities would certainly hate to see what little is left of our beautiful "country" destroyed! Where would they go on weekends to get OUT of the city? Bravo, Chris, for a beautiful story!!!!
Format:Paperback
What a find! This is gorgeously written and heartfelt. The characters all are vividly painted and compelling. I loved the plot, the setting, and especially the voice of the narrator. I can't imagine NOT loving this story. Reading it in summer was blissful.
By Theresa W
Format:Paperback
I love reading Chris Bohjalian. It is so much fun! And I seem to learn things in the process as well. A bonus. Every one of his books is about something so different & unique! This book has a little bit of everything, human struggle, morals, faith, love, hope, tragedy, confusion....I don't think this book, or any of Bohjalian's will let you down!
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
You've read one plot, you've read them all
In Water Witches, we have the fight between two camps, the pragmatic, circumspect, legal world, versus the free-spirited, environmentally conscientious one. Read more
Published on Nov 2 2002 by Manola Sommerfeld
4.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 star read
This is a beautiful story. Scottie Winston is a man who is struggling with how his life came to serve corporate greed, how he can lie so easily for his clients' goals. Read more
Published on Sep 28 2002 by wordfiendca
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I Want To Believe"
Having just read Robert L. Park's Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud, Chris Bohjalian's Water Witches came to my attention. Read more
Published on Jun 4 2002 by Dr. Christopher Coleman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dowsing for a great read?
Chris Bohjalian's book, Water Witches, is a fascinating study of one Vermont family. Laura and her daughter Miranda are "water witches" - they are able to use rods, and... Read more
Published on Feb 20 2002 by K. Fromal
2.0 out of 5 stars
water witches review
This story suffered from poor writing. The author broke the cardinal rule of "don't tell, show". Read more
Published on Oct 28 2001
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quietly engaging fiction
I found Water Witches to be a surprisingly engaging story. No over-the-top midwives or larger-than-life heroes here: the tale is populated by a bunch of ordinary people trying to... Read more
Published on Oct 31 2000 by Trivimp
4.0 out of 5 stars
Consistent characters make this a successful book
The story, at heart, of one man's acceptance of who he is. Scottie Winston is a lobbiest for several large resorts in Vermont. Resorts which use (or abuse) the environment. Read more
Published on Oct 10 2000 by Elsie Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic Fiction Finds a Niche
I can understand how some view Bohjalian's characters as shallow and yet I felt they reflected the narrator's perceptions. As he grew emotionally, the characters evolved. Read more
Published on Nov 19 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flavorless fiction
After reading ( and enjoying ) "Midwives", I too decided to try more Bohjalian. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this one. Read more
Published on Aug 29 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ok writing, but no magic.
While reading this book I kept seeing a ghost of the outline of writing this book. I mean it felt really contrived. A paint by numbers take on magic.
Published on Dec 14 1998 by RW
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