Ashley Lemire

I read Water for Elephants 15-20 years ago and it's cemented in my memory as one of my favorite books. After reading At the Waters Edge, I'm afraid to reread it because I'm worried it won't live up to my memory after how undeveloped At the Waters Edge was. There was so much potential to truly dive into various themes and storylines, but everything was grazed over. The driver is about the hunt for the loch Ness monster and the story even starts with symbology of crows, but it never truly leans into the potential of Scottish lore. The main character's husband is clearly gay and that's never truly flushed out. The main character's voice is weak and her development is forced and doesn't seem real. Even more unrealistic is the "love" that blooms between her and a man that she's barely spoken to. She fell in love because he comforted her, which is plausible based on psychology, but doesn't explain what he saw in her. The story may have been better told switching between perspectives to give it more depth. But it also really needed to decide what kind of story it wanted to be and harness that, instead of grazing over a few genres.