Cool Water

by Dianne Warren

backlist
critically-acclaimed
from-the-prairies
literary

Contemporary Juliet, Saskatchewan is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of town — the welcome sign promises a population of one thousand and eleven — so it’s easy to believe that nothing of consequence takes place there. But the heart of Juliet beats with rich stories of its inhabitants; the foundling, who now owns the farm his adoptive family left, still uncertain of the history that brought him to their back porch; the local bank manager, faltering under the responsibility he carries, respected but resented for the power he holds; the pregnant teenager and her mother, planning their fairy tale wedding; the desperate father who has watched his home and livelihood slip slowly away; a shy couple, well beyond middle-age, stumbling toward a recognition of their feelings for one another; a camel named Antoinette; and the ubiquitous wind and sand that forever shift the landscape. They all bring the prairie desert and the town of Juliet to vivid life in this funny, tragic and touching novel.

Contributors

Dianne Warren, author

Dianne Warren is the multiple-award winning author of three books of short fiction and three full-length plays. She has won several awards for her short stories and her play Serpent of the Night Sky, which has been produced in Canada and the US, was short-listed for a Governor General’s Award for Drama in 1992. In 2004 she won the Writer’s Trust Marian Engel Award, presented to a female Canadian writer, for her body of work and in anticipation of her future contribution to Canadian literature.

Reviews

This wry and beautiful book about ordinary people with intricate lives and complex relationships… an exquisite gift. - The Boston Globe
...the prose is animated with the skill of a writer who loves the people for their stubborn persistence. Small towns are the breeding grounds for characters like this, foibles and all... Warren makes every word she writes about the place believable. Which is good because a strange thing has happened; this oh so ordinary good-hearted little town has become the truly exotic destination. - National Post
A mixture of archetypes and surprises, the characters in "Cool Water" endure and prevail... Atmospherically, "Cool Water" is unforgettable. - The Globe and Mail

Awards

Winner, 2010 Governor General's Literary Award Winner

Rights Holder

Rights Holder: Cooke International

email: rights@cookeinternational.com

website: http://www.cookeinternational.com/

rights sold: US (Amy Einhorn Books); ANZ (Allen & Unwin); Canada English (Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins); World French (Presses de la Cité)

rights available: World

Additional Information

number of pages: 320

publication date: 03/08/2010

Original language of pub: English

Materials Available: complete manuscript