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W. W. Norton & Company

The Waters: A Novel

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One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Books of 2024 One of Oprah's "Most Immersive Books of 2024" A Today Show ReadWithJenna Book Club Selection One of Oprah Daily’s Most Anticipated Books of the Year One of the Chicago Review of Books’s 12 Must-Read Books of the Month Featured in Roxane Gay’s newsletter, The Audacity One of Christian Science Monitor’s Best Books of the Month “[The Waters] delivers us to a place of real magic.” ―Ron Charles, Washington Post A master of rural noir returns with a fierce, mesmerizing novel about exceptional women and the soul of a small town.On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp―an area known as “The Waters” to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan―herbalist and eccentric Hermine “Herself” Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations. As stubborn as her tonics are powerful, Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people of Whiteheart, and even in her own three estranged daughters. The youngest―the beautiful, inscrutable, and lazy Rose Thorn―has left her own daughter, eleven- year-old Dorothy “Donkey” Zook, to grow up wild.Donkey spends her days searching for truths in the lush landscape and in her math books, waiting for her wayward mother and longing for a father, unaware that family secrets, passionate love, and violent men will flood through the swamp and upend her idyllic childhood. Rage simmers below the surface of this divided community, and those on both sides of the divide have closed their doors against the enemy. The only bridge across the waters is Rose Thorn.With a “ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world” (Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review), Bonnie Jo Campbell presents an elegant antidote to the dark side of masculinity, celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company


Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 29, 2024


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324105151


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 52


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #422,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,027 in Mothers & Children Fiction #1,731 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction #3,470 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#1,027 in Mothers & Children Fiction:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • An exquisite book.
Format: Paperback
I finished The Waters last night. I’m beginning it again today. The language is so beautiful, so rich, so densely textured, I want to….eat it, like I want to eat one of Herself’s Blackbird Pies. And I want to re-read all about the characters now that I have learned to know them during the first reading. I am in awe of an author who can create such disparate, detailed, characters; people who weren’t just slotted into the book to serve a purpose, but flawed and believable and complicated human beings. There are passages in the book—oh, concerning the men doing a hard and beautiful thing in the swamp and experiencing a rare moment of tenderness for one another—that literally made me weep. It’s a feast of a book, and one I know I will read and re-read for years to come. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2025 by D. Parker
    • This is a complex, dark story and an uncomfortable read
Format: Audiobook
The Waters is of the contemporary rural noir genre which is slowly growing in popularity now. The author is an accomplished writer who pulls various family and community secrets into a complex story...one that starts "Once upon a time..." and makes references to characters in The Wizard of Oz and other stories. Better followed if you read the written word rather than just listening. But if you are listening to it, listen for the title of the chapters which are more obvious in the writing. Also, the book has a map of parts of Michigan where the story takes place. The audio version does not. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2025 by Alice
    • A complex matriarchal drama that takes imagery to a new level
Format: Kindle
📚 The Waters (🎧/📖) ✍ Bonnie Jo Campbell 📖 Fiction ⭐3/5 ➡Just past the town of Whiteheart, Michigan where crops of white stalked celery used to flourish, on a secluded island in the Great Massasauga Swamp, sits Rose Cottage. Brimming with the secrets that generations of Zook family women have held, the cottage plays host to Hermine "Herself" Zook, her granddaughter "Donkey" and occasionally, her three daughters, Primrose, Molly and Rose Thorn. Written as an ode to the lush swamp and the unbreakable bond of women, The Waters is the chronicle of generations of Zook women doing their best to survive love, loss and each other. ◾ 🎯 What I loved: This felt very reminiscent of something I would have read in a high school English class albeit filled with content that would sadly be censored today. I haven't yearned for my favorite AP Lang teacher to help me make sense of something in a long time but this definitely did it. I've heard this described as similar to Where The Crawdads Sing and while there were lots of depictions of nature and animals, there was definitely not an exciting murder mystery to tie it all together. There was, however, a fascinating female-dominated family with the crookedest family tree I've ever tried to draw, a town steeped in its own traditions trying to find its new identity in a post-farming era and just enough shocking alternative medicine to really rattle your senses. Despite not feeling a deep connection to any of the characters, the Zook family was certainly interesting and this in-depth portrait of rural Michigan was descriptively told with an eye for the land and the beauty of the culture there. 🙅♀️ What I didn't: This was honestly painful to read. Where I am typically a vivacious reader, I had to bribe myself to get through this book and could only take it in bite-sized pieces. Perhaps related, I've had some of the best naps of my life in the past two weeks. The descriptions of The Waters were so detailed that it felt like pages and pages would go by without anything but nature depictions that didn't contribute to the storyline. There were also SO many characters. The first few chapters described each person in the town of Whiteheart, Michigan in depth- many of whom were never spoken about in the book again- and even with diligent notetaking, I struggled to keep track of who was who. Suffice it to say, I can appreciate this as an intensely eloquent work of literary fiction but it wasn't the book for me. ◾ Read if you love: *complex families with powerhouse matriarchs *rural communities where place feels like a character *vivid nature imagery ◾ See also: Where The Crawdads Sing, The Unmaking of June Farrow, Black Cake ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024 by Amy A.
    • Don’t miss this!
Format: Kindle
I found this book in one of the “Ten best books of 2023” lists, and approached it without great enthusiasm. I am so grateful for the recommendation, because this is a terrific novel, not what I expected, and quite unlike anything else I have read. Other reviewers have given synopses of the plot, most of them rather unperceptive, so I won’t attempt one. I will just say that it would be hard to find a more lyrical, sustained and beautiful portrait of imperfect women struggling to understand their place in the natural world around them, and in the heartless world beyond that their menfolk created, and trying to hold on to each other when so many things conspire to separate them. I was quite stunned when I reached the end of this tale, and reluctant to return to the real world. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024 by KK
    • Really good, just not my favorite
Format: Hardcover
First of all, let me tell you I am a big fan of this author. I thought her short story collection (American Salvage) was among the finest I have ever read. And I liked this novel...but, I wanted to love it, and I didn't. I thought it was an interesting premise that should have worked, but had too many moving parts. There were passages that were achingly beautiful and some that had to power to bring instant tears. I love a good writing style and I believe this author has a unique voice and uses it well. I am glad I read it, but I am about to donate it to our library's used book sale. Whereas her previous novel, Once Upon The Water, has a permanent place of honor on my bookshelf. (that should say it all) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2024 by MarleneK.
    • Raw
Format: Kindle
When I was reading reviews to decide whether or not to read The Waters, I was almost deterred by a review that said nothing happened in this book. I couldn’t disagree more. I was drawn into the description of the setting and the cast of female characters instantly. The strong female characters all have a complexity that moves the reader along with them. I don’t think they’re all particularly likable but they are very human and multi-faceted. I also particularly appreciated Titus’ character development and role. Another thing I loved about this book is the author didn’t waste any words. All of her descriptions of characters and actions came back later to have meaning to the overall story. (ie Wild Will) Though I particularly loath rattle snakes having grown up in West Texas where they are a consistent presence, Campbell’s use of them throughout led created intensity and suspense that unified the novel. I’m glad I spent my time with these women, Titus, and the rattlesnakes (that’s really saying something). ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2024 by Amylia Barnett

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