Three Views of Crystal Water
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Price:
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$32.95
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On Sale:
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04/08/2005
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Formats:
Hardcover
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Listen as author Katherine Govier discusses the history and context behind the writing of Three Views of Crystal Water in this series of exclusive videos.
In this lucid and exotic tale, Katherine Govier delves into the
19th-century pearl rush. Greed for the unearthly luster drove sea-farers to
scour the ocean floor until the plunder all but destroyed the divers, the oyster
beds and the pearl itself. But on a small island off the coast of Japan, a man
tamed the oysters, learning to create pearls at will.
Three Views of Crystal Water is told by the Canadian girl
Vera, who comes of age amongst the brave women divers of Japan. Nurtured by the ama
community, she learns to dive 45 feet with a single breath. She also finds
her first lover. In the lives of the simple fisherfolk, loyalty is everything.
But Vera is an outsider, and when war is declared in Europe, she must go home to
Vancouver. In the murky streets of Gastown, Vera comes to understand the
pearl-lust that has divided the men in her family. But it is years later when
she discovers what catastrophes war has brought to her friends, and what
deliverance to her young lover, and herself.
Like the divers it so compellingly portrays, Three Views of
Crystal Water penetrates far below life’s surface. Part fable, part
history and entirely original, this novel is infused by Govier’s profound
reflections on nature—both earthly and human.
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Author Extras
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Critical Praise for
Three Views of Crystal Water
"The remarkable ama diving women of Japan find their voices in this elegant and powerful tale. Govier has recreated a time and place that has gone forever, in all its complex beauty. I couldn't stop reading this story."
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Joy Kogawa
“[A] luminous, multilayered tale…. The ending is deeply satisfying. This is the work of a mature writer approaching the top of her powers. Govier has gone out far and deep and returned with a gleaming pearl.”
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Quill & Quire (starred review)
"This novel work[s] in a way that is the magic of a good book. Love and loss are what life is all about and also what the writer captures in this novel - characters seeking love and experiencing loss - it will make you cry and it will exhilarate you at the same time...read it, have your staff read it - and I know it will be one of your top recommendations to your literate customers this fall."
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Charlotte Stein, owner of Parry Sound Books
"Terrific...I was so intrigued I started to search for other information on pearl divers. I have great hopes for that novel this fall. Actually, it has been a very good year for Canadian fiction..if I was a literary prize-giving judge, I would be hard pressed to figure out one winner."
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Tricia Siemens, co-owner Words Worh Books, Waterloo
"[Three Views of Crystal Water] can only be described as magnificent. And the story that unfolds is as undulating and beautiful as the ocean that serves as its primary setting. ... This book really is an example of a writer in top form. This writing is eloquent and uncomplicated. The pacing is exquisite. The characters are unforgettable. ... A lush story about finding family, and finding a place that is 'home.' Dive into this superb book."
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Edmonton Journal
"There are many points at which you will feel you have... Three Views of Crystal Water completely figured out, only to have veteran novelist Katherine Govier pull the wool over your eyes... A compelling though shape-shifting read."
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The Globe and Mail
"A sprawling saga, Three Views of Crystal Water goes far beneath the surface, delving deeper and deeper into dangerous waters."
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The Calgary Herald
"Three Views of Crystal Water is a classic coming-of-age story told with emotional intelligence in lyrical, dreamlike language.
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The National Post
Reader Reviews from First Look
What a stunning book! Katherine Govier's Three Views of Crystal Water was impossible to put down. An utterly convincing and eye-opening account of a foreign way of life. This book left me wanting to read not only the rest of Govier's novels, but also all of the pearl diving books listed in her acknowledgements. I only wish I hadn't read it so fast!
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Andrea (Glasgow SCOTLAND United Kingdom, AK)
What a stunning book! Katherine Govier's Three Views of Crystal Water was impossible to put down. An utterly convincing and eye-opening account of a foreign way of life. This book left me wanting to read not only the rest of Govier's novels, but also all of the pearl diving books listed in her acknowledgements. I only wish I hadn't read it so fast!
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Andrea (Glasgow SCOTLAND United Kingdom, AK)
I enjoyed reading this book. The writing had style, the history was intriguing, and the characterization was very well done. It did start slow, but that built to a very satisfying end. Overall, something I wouldn't mind passing on.
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Bethany (Toronto, ON)
I loved this book! The characters were well developed and the book touched my heart!
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Suzi (Listowel, ON)
Crack the covers of this book and find a pearl, a pearl of wisdom, insight of a different era, and a different lifestyle. This is a story of people struggling to survive in an indifferent world, people loyal to a culture unable to return the sentiment. This is a story that ties one culture to another, East and West. This is a tale of fortunes created from old traditions in a far away part of the world, and fortunes lost. This story begins with a family who for generations reaped the rewards of the age-old Japanese tradition of pearl divers, and the young girl, a soul survivor of this family who then turned to those divers to survive. An insight to another culture, an insight to the human condition; a story of acceptance, a tale of a fish out of water; a story of survival, determination and resilience, it is beautifully written. An emotional journey with the heroine in an exotic place you will be reluctant to leave. A book to read and experience.
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Christine (St. Catharines, OH)
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The Ghost Brush
Oei is the daughter of the great Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Long consigned to a minor role as gloomy sidekick, she is barely a footnote in the historical record. Here, Oei tells her story, plunging us into 19th-century Edo, a brilliant, colourful world in which courtesans rub shoulders with...
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Three Views of Crystal Water
Vera Lowinger Drew is the last of a pearling dynasty. When she is left motherless, her only refuge is in Japan with her grandfather’s young mistress, among the legendary ama women divers. With their age-old strength to guide her, Vera comes into her own—until World War II turns her...
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