Waterland by Graham Swift: quite a hidden gem

Graham Swift's unique writing style is manifested in this novel against the bleak, muddy and ever changing landscape of the fens, a river delta in England. The current predicament of a history teacher and his wife, interspersed with the reminiscence of an eventful past in the fens, this novel is a tale of history, wars and the strange lives of the inhabitants of a strange land. Thoroughly impressive and superbly written, this tragic novel is something you can't go wrong with.

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[Ketumak]

Thanks, Apurba! This is a good short summary of a complicated book. I was drawn to it because I grew up in a similar area in the north-west of England and it's long been a favourite, for all the reasons you say. I'd also add that Swift uses Waterland to question the idea of a simple, straightforward truth, so it gets philosophical, too.