The Water Child by Mathew West

Book Blurb

Portugal, 1754. Cecilia Lamb knew being a sea captain’s wife would mean a life of waiting and watching the horizon for her husband’s ship. But John has been gone longer than any voyage should last. Everyone else has given up hope of his return. But she knows in her bones that he is not lost. Gone, but not lost.

Barely able to tear her eyes from the shimmering sea, she feels drawn to the sun-baked shoreline, and amid the bustle of the docks she feels certain that her husband will come back to her. Though along with that feeling is another sense – that something darker is coming. As she sickens, she doesn’t know what the next tide will bring – but she begins to fear as well as crave her husband’s homecoming.

Soon, even on dry land, Cecilia can feel the pull of the ocean at her feet, the movement of the tides within her. Warning, seduction or promise, she cannot tell, but one thing is certain – the sea holds many secrets, and some of them are too powerful to ever be drowned.

My Review

The Water Child is the second book by Mathew West. Set in Portugal 1754, the plot follows Cecilia Lamb, newly married and displaced in her new home in a strange country. Her husband John, a sea captain, is missing at sea, presumed dead by many but Cecilia feels he is alive. It is her feelings, a sixth sense, that keeps her hopes up whilst also giving her a sense of foreboding. With a gothic feel, this slow burner has a dark undercurrent.

The Water Child is very character led and Cecilia Lamb is a complex and multi layered character. On the surface she is newly married, but with her husband away at sea for a year or so she is left on her own. She also finds herself in a strange country with no comprehension of the language. These two things leave her feeling vulnerable and to a point lonely, although she is friendly with two women, Frances Harding and Mable Delahunty, who are there for support and advice. On a deeper level she has a sixth sense, feeling forboading before an event, or simply, as in the case of her husband, the feeling that he is alive. Cecilia’s story also shows the naivety and innocence of some women of that period, especially concerning marriage and pregnancy.

I really enjoyed how this book was written, character led, slow burning but all the way through the sense of something darker going on. With Cecilia’s premonitions and visions the sense of foreboading builds slowly, and there was the blurred line of wether she was going mad living on her own in a strange place or if there is some substance behind it. Mathew West builds a complete picture of life for the expats in Portugal, their distance and sense of distrust of the locals and their sense of superiority. Mathew West makes the sea a character in it’s own right, it’s power over humanity, it’s changing moods, and for Cecilia a constant calling her down to the port and harbour and even calling her to fall into it, so it can take her as well as her husband.

The Water Child was a beautiful, dark and thought provoking read. With its sense of the ‘other’ and a feeling that there is something dark lurking on the edge of the book gives this book a gothic feel. The writing is atmospheric, capturing Portugal at this time, the bustling harbour and the busy streets and the sights and smells associated with that. Beautiful and haunting this is a wonderful read.

I’d like to thank Harper North and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for my invite to be part of this blog tour.