Water Music: A Cape Cod Story - Book Review

The novel Water Music. A Cape Cod Story was written by Marcia Peck, who has a personal interest in Cape Cod as it was where she spent many summers in childhood.

Through Peck's artful characterization, her characters come alive on the pages, leaving you feeling like you've encountered genuine individuals and are reading a memoir and not a novel.   She writes with an artist's eye. Her visualizations and descriptions are picturesque and sensual. Colors are analogous to the chromatic scale. Music has a prominent place in the story.

Summer 1956 was traumatic for eleven-year-old Lily Granger. Her musically talented parents and her older sister are en route to their property on Cape Cod in order for her father to continue his dream of building a summer home. Lily willingly takes her cello with her in order to practice for a contest.

The plot is cast parallel to the Beaufort Scale measuring wind velocity. As the summer heats up and the winds grow fiercer, the storm within Lily's family transforms from dysfunctional to cataclysmic. Lily is often at odds with her sister and her cousins. Her mother and father express tension concerning finances, the building of a house, inlaws, and especially feisty Uncle George.   Music is the sole bond that keeps Lily connected to her mother. The author comments that family fights are like the rain - you don't know exactly when it begins.

Uncle George, a complex individual, is a force to be reckoned with. With his biting humor, relentless desire for competition, and unpredictable temper, he brings a storm of tension wherever he goes. His actions and temperament give him the characterization of a villain. Are his shrewd remarks masks for compliments or disguised complaints?

Grandmother's lack of compassion and tight-fistedness contribute to the tension. Grandfather is faint of heart and apologetic with respect to his wife's stinginess.

Lilly is on the sidelines trying to understand her extended family's strange relationships and the dysfunction that she feels. She becomes insightful through her summer experiences and is suddenly thrust into the adult world. During the chaotic summer, Lily's love for music and her willingness to dedicate her time to practicing her cello endears her to the reader.

The author stresses that there is room for music even in times of trouble. The music itself is magic, not the notes. Mastery of music stems from the depths of passion and skill. Just as it takes dedicated practice to create harmonious melodies, resolving family conflicts requires patience and effort. The intertwining of tragedy and redemption in these matters is a true testament to the complexity of the human experience.

The reader will be intrigued and captivated by the unconventional family dynamics and intense psychological drama in the plot. Does the enigmatic power of music have the power to unite a family? That is the question of how music can tie a family together.