While I enjoyed this I was not blown away by it. I have read other similar type books that kept me interested a little more than this one. It was still a good read and am glad I had the chance to read it.

This one just didn't work for me. I thought the abuse was very gratuitous. The writing itself was beautiful and dreamlike, but the story lacked substance and didn't really have a plot. I know it's been marketed as feminist dystopia, (and I usually love that genre) but I did not think this one fit that description.

A strange beginning turned into an even stranger, unputdownable tale of isolation, lies, and betrayal. Did not expect the direction it went and loved it.

I enjoyed this book, but I can see it's not a book for everyone. If you really need a book to completely explain what's going on, give you background, fill in blanks for you, then this isn't a book for you. If you're cool with atmospheric, dropped hints, wait, what? moments, read on! This book doesn't make things easy- you kinda know what's happening, a family, father, mother, and three daughters, on an island living in an abandoned hotel because something went down in the outside world, not sure what. After the father disappears, three men show up, and the women's world starts to unravel. It's a trippy, weird book, told by unreliable narrators, about a bunch of trippy weirdness. It's a book you need to be in the mood for. It drags a tad in the middle, not too badly though. Read this when's you're feeling like having your mind messed with.
#TheWaterCure #NetGalley

I was sucked into this book almost as soon as I read the first words:
"Once we have a father, but our father dies without us noticing. It's wrong to say that we don't notice. We are just absorbed in ourselves, that afternoon when he dies. Unseasonable heat. We squabble, as usual. Mother comes out on terrace and puts a stop to it by raising her hand, a swift motion against the sky. Then we spend some time lying down with lengths of muslin over our faces, trying not to scream, and so he dies with none of us women bearing witness, none of us accompanying him."
I had the feeling I was about to read a dystopian novel rooted in feminism. The world of these women is filled with toxic men, both literally and figuratively.
"There is a fluidity to this movements, despite his size, that tells me he has never had to justify his existence, has never had to fold himself into a hidden thing, and I wonder what that must be like, to know that your body is irreproachable."
I was loving the writing and MacIntosh's constantly changed point of view. The island the women lived on became vivid, the relationships between them fascinating. There's a sense of mystery and tension to The Water Cure that pulls readers through it. I wanted to find out why these people had isolated themselves, why King had developed the tests and cures he and Mother used to prepare the girls in case they are ever faced with the real world again, and how that would all play out when it happened. I was feeling a The Handmaid's Tale vibe and I was excited to see how MacInstosh would play it out.

As I read on, it began to appear that things might not be exactly as they first appeared. Has thereto world actually become too toxic for women or have King and Mother founded a cult? Why do these men wash up on shore, insisting that help is coming, never get saved? Despite all of their training, is it impossible for women to resist the lure of men? I had so many questions.

What I felt like I got in the end was the story of a family, the bond of sisters, who just happen to be leading a life equal parts impending peril and complete boredom. Things go in a direction I was not expecting and I never got answers to many of my questions. Men, as it turns out though, are every bit as terrible as the girls have been led to believe.

I didn't get exactly what I was expecting, or what I wanted, out of The Water Cure but it is an impressive debut with a lot to consider and is a book that I imagine I'll be thinking about for a while.

This book was equal parts beautiful and severely f**ked up. I really liked the concept as a story, but I do always worry about putting stories out in the world like this for fear that some dumb person will think it's a good idea. That all being said -- this book was definitely one of the top books I have read this year!

Grace, Lia, and Sky are sheltered from the horrors of the outside world. They’ve been brought up to believe that beyond the borders of their home there is nothing but violence: men against women, disease against bodies. Kept behind borders made of barbed wire and buoys, the girls are taught ways to purify their blood and their bodies — how to survive the toxicity of the world outside their home. Because as much as their mother and father try and keep them safe, women from the outside world still come to them for help, bringing with them disease and danger.

When their father disappears, the girls and their mother lose their connection to the outside world. Physically and mentally, they retreat inside themselves. After all, they’ve been taught that emotion is a weakness. They must be strong if they’re going to survive.

Their ability to survive is challenged when two men and a boy wash onto their shore. The dangers that their father had worked so hard to keep them from have finally found them. But each woman reacts differently, exploring how basic instincts and needs conflict with nurtured responses.

Beyond the exploration of “nature versus nurture” The Water Cure is a lyrical and haunting look at the effects of literal toxic masculinity. Mackintosh calls out our complacency with psychological and physical abuse, showing how the girls are taught from an early age that in the old world — our actual reality — men are violent to women because it’s in their nature to be. Women get sick from the toxins in the air because they are weaker. These aren’t new ideas, especially for feminist dystopian novels. What sets The Water Cure apart from the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale, for instance, is that Mackintosh didn’t need to reshape the world. She let the world shape the way the girls were raised. While speculative in nature, The Water Cure is closer to reality than the most popular dystopian novels of the past decade.

Part climate fiction, part feminist dystopian, The Water Cure is a must-read for 2019 and a beautiful, horrific addition to the conversation surrounding feminism, equality, and domestic abuse.

The Writing and Worldbuilding

I loved the writing and the story. It felt like The Handmaid's Tale merged with an adult version of Delirium and it utterly captivated me. I read it all in one sitting, barely able to put it down. The imagery and atmosphere was excellent. I liked the vagueness of the world beyond--whether this is set in some dystopic future or modern day in the quiet places of the world. It really added to the ambiguous atmosphere.

I was not a huge fan of the random interludes from random women. They were sometimes pretty good and were not altogether bad, but often distracted from the plot.

I have, however, some mixed feelings about the themes. As a whole, I loved this. I would have given it 5 stars if not for what I consider its fatal flaw: I don't like this particular brand of feminism, and think that it's ultimate and final message might be damaging rather than helpful.

To avoid spoilers, I will only speak in vague terms, but there is in general a great lack of nuance regarding the place of men in this story. As this is written, all men are evil, opportunistic brutes. Even those who are not so bad are worthless, despicable monsters in their own way. And yet so are the women in this. But they are shown to have some redeeming qualities, which the men are not quite allowed. To me, this is problematic. Yes, women suffer at the hand of men, and often other women, but that doesn't mean it is evil to be male, no more than it is evil to be female.

Once it was clear, as the story started winding down, that this was the message I was to take from it all, I felt ill and angry. I finished it not to see how it all ends, but simply to be done with it. I hate this kind of feminism. It ruins the progress women have made, in my opinion. I suppose I should have known when it was advertised as a "feminist revenge fantasy" but I thought, based on the majority of the story, that it would be more than that. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The rest of the feminist themes were fantastic and I loved them. It was only that men-hating part that bothered me.

The Characters

Lia: She was my favorite character, by far. Most of the book is in her perspective, as she falls in love and lust with Llew. Her strangeness and familiar aspects were so well done and intriguing. I really loved reading about her.

Grace: She was good at first, but she kind of ruined things at the end with her sanctimoniousness.

Llew: He was fascinating and I really liked him as a character. His son Gwil was mostly background, but I did like him enough.

Sky: There really wasn't much to this third sister, as she didn't get a perspective of her own and kinda just hovered through the story, not doing much, but she did act as a good balance between the other two sisters.

James: I liked him. Kind of gave me Uncle Iroh vibes, so the way things ended with him made me kinda mad tbh

Mother: She was also fascinating, and I loved and hated her. Such an interesting character.

King: We never actually got to see him, but I did like the way he was written through other's eyes, and how my opinion of him changes as the story goes on and I learn more about him (or have my suspicions confirmed, as the case may be)

Conclusion

I liked it, and my heart says 4 stars, but the bitterness it made me feel deserves a 3 stars.

Sorry, this one just wasn't for me. I got about 20% of the way through and just couldn't bear to read any more. This is one of those books that I know is probably really good and will win all sorts of awards, but I just can't get into it. Maybe I'm not smart enough, or not smart in the right way? I don't know. All I know is that this one didn't click for me.

Thank you for the early copy!

This was an interesting read with a unique plot. I recommend this to fans of The Handmaid's Tale.

This is the story of three sisters, growing up on an island with their parents where something is obviously not quite right but many things remain vague for the whole book. It is never clear whether the stories their parents tell them of the rest of the world are true or not. While vague at times, I enjoyed that because it kept me turning the pages as I tried to figure out the story. The writing was beautiful!

DNF @50% / 0 Steam Fans

Nope not doing it to myself!! This book was weird, boring, and just not for me. What I did gather was that there are three sisters on this island with their mother, their father is gone but they refer to him as "King", one of the girls is pregnant, yet they have never had interaction with men, and there is something about the water. YAWN!!! This is my year of no torture!

This specific video review will be included in the January 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

This was such an interesting read, and I can’t even begin to describe it. First of all, the writing is just so luscious and enveloping. It’s not like anything I’ve ever read before. The plot and the characters are made even more interesting because of it. When you start reading the book, you don’t really know what to expect, and you are thrust into the world of these three sisters. Throughout the entire book, you see what their life is like and how the entrance and departure of men have affected them. Following their story line is beyond interesting. The three girls, Grace, Lia, and Sky, have been raised on an island secluded from the rest of the world, especially men. They have had contact with many women, but the only man they have ever known is their father. Then one day, everything changes. Reading about their life from that point onward was so captivating as you gauge their reactions to the new situation. There is so much left up in the air at the end of the book, all for the reader to figure out for themselves. I normally don’t like that, but for this book, it really works. I will say that there isn’t a ton of action for most of this book, but that didn’t bother me at all. Everything in this book just worked so well. My only wish from this book was that we could have seen equal perspectives from each sister. The whole point is to create an unreliable narrator, but I still wanted to see more from Grace and Sky especially. This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an immersive and slow paced story exploring the relationships three sisters have in the conditions they have been raised in.

I was really interested in this book, especially when the discription discribed it has similar to Handsmaids Tale.
I was intrigued by the beginning, and was very involved until I got to the second section, and I felt like it never took off. It seems to me like the author had a lot of room to grow a very sexy,devious,scandalous plot, but just let it fall flat. I kept reading hoping it would get better, but unfortunately it just stayed the same. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I looooooooved this book. Kind of a Handmaid's Tale feel, but in it's own complete world, which could easily be ours. You can feel the sense of dread building with every chapter, and the way the book shifts between the sisters is really smart. Haunting and sure to stay with you long after it ends. Highly recommend and will be getting multiple copies for my library!

Imaginative. The writer does a superb job of juxtaposing lyrical, haunting writing with very modern dialogue (especially between the sisters--she captures perfectly the moment-to-moment love-hate dichotomy familiar to everyone who has a sister). The book is clever, wry, even funny at times, though there is nothing funny about the material. In fact the violence can be jarring, though I bet this is the author's intent.

And that's sort of my problem with this book. What is the author trying to convey? Is it a yet another book in the canon of "I hate men" books that seem to be appearing everywhere--it's more subtle than that. Is it bigger than the single story of one wicked man at the center of this family? In some ways it feels as if the writer wants it to be but can't quite get there.

I'd recommend this book to a certain type of reader willing to be out on a limb, in a narrative sense. Likely a good book for discussion and debate, too.

I struggled a bit with this book. I liked the premise, but it didn't quite live up to the expectation. I had hoped for a more developed book and set of characters, but instead, I found them a bit lacking, hard to follow, and hard to connect with. Things picked up and improved a bit by the end, but it was a bit too late for me.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy form NetGalley, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

"King once told us you can get used to anything, and it is strange how quickly the ghost becomes normal."

Sophie Mackintosh's "The Water Cure" is a not-so-dystopian novel that focuses on three sisters - Grace, Lia and Sky - who live with their parents on a remote island set apart from the rest of civilization. The novel slowly pieces together moments of their unconditional upbringing until it breaks with the disappearance of their father. And after three mysterious men appear on their secluded beach, everything they once knew begins to fall apart.

It took me a few attempts to get into the novel, but since finishing it, "The Water Cure" really stuck with me. Although there are some plot points that remain unresolved, overall, I enjoyed it. The tone of the novel feels like you're underwater yourself - beautiful, if a bit cloudy, and it takes a few moments to get acclimated.

However, the characters, especially during the "part one: father" chapters, are quite interchangeable. I found the lack of characterization frustrating at first, but the characters eventually evolve, Lia and Grace in particular. While I wanted a bit more from "The Water Cure," it was the perfect atmospheric novel for a cold January day.

A cryptic tale of three daughters, secluded from the world and taught to fend for themselves and, in particular, defend themselves against the toxic world of men. A beautiful and haunting debut from Sophie Mackintosh reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides.

Struggling to figure out what to say about this book. I loved the prose. I found the writing style simple and bleak, just like the setting for the novel. But overall, this book fell short for me. I think the dystopian world was underdeveloped to the point where it was difficult to figure out what was going on and how things were connected until the end. Better context would have been nice throughout the whole book, otherwise the dystopian setting just seems...weird. They take weird baths. The men and the land are toxic. The women are living together away from everything else, presumably to protect themselves from the toxic dudes. One of them is pregnant? Which, okay, if the men are toxic and she must protect herself from them, how is she not also toxic now? Their father dies and their mother leaves/disappears (not a spoiler as both happen very early on and forms the premise for the book). But why? Not entirely sure how I could get into Mackintosh's head here to figure out her reasoning for any of these things. She did provide answers for some of these questions but I thought they were lackluster or surface-level answers where given. I did really enjoy the way the book picked up toward the end, however, but would have loved a more developed novel. I recommend this to folks who really love abstract dystopia and excellent prose!