Sweet Water

Amy Rubinate hits a home run narrating this story of the destructive power of family secrets. Rubinate gives a spot-on papery thinness to the Southern voice of fragile Grandmother Clyde, whose perspective forms half of the book, and a younger, clipped, soft but determined voice to granddaugher Cassie, whose perspective forms the other half. Rubinate's portrayal of Grandfather Clyde perfectly captures the roughness and despondence of an elderly, used-up, angry, and regretful drunk. The story's abrupt ending and lack of resolution are the only disappointments in this well-presented audiobook. A.C.P. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

May 3, 1993
Kline's first novel is a captivating read. When a grandfather she never knew bequeaths her a house and 60 acres of land in Sweetwater, Tenn., a restless young artist leaves New York to recover her past and rethink her future. Cassie Simon's mother Ellen died when Cassie was only three; raised in Boston by her grieving father, she never knew her maternal relatives. Unprepared for the thick veil of mystery that surrounds them, Cassie is especially bewildered by her brusque grandmother, whom rumor credits with hiding a terrible secret about Ellen's death. In alternating sections told from their respective points of view, Cassie and her grandmother fight their separate battles to cope with the truth about the tragedy. Kline perfectly renders each woman's voice: Cassie's, probing and often uncertain, propels the narrative and creates an appropriate level of psychological suspense; the grandmother's quavers with the weight of memory as Cassie's search forces her beyond family myth to a painful and perhaps dangerous truth. The result is a powerful, immensely readable tale of loyalty and betrayal, family and memory, made fresh by Kline's often beautiful and always lucid prose. Literary Guild alternate; Reader's Digest Condensed Book.

November 1, 1993
YA-This novel of self-discovery is told from the points of view of two female narrators: 25-year-old artist Cassie Simon and her grandmother Constance Clyde. Cassie was raised by her widowed father in the urban northeast. Unexpectedly, she inherits the old family homestead in rural Tennessee from her grandfather. Though puzzled by the bequest-she grew up without contact with any of her maternal relatives-she decides that the opportunity to change her life, pursue her art, and learn about her mother's family is too enticing to pass up. But her move to the rundown farmhouse brings her face-to-face with hostility and family secrets. As Cassie's story unfolds, and she grows to appreciate the simple wonders of the isolated farm, Constance's voice provides a counterpoint. The old woman broods over her life and dwells on her dead husband's infidelities with several local women, and on the long-ago, tragic death of Cassie's mother. The novel's climax unites grandmother and granddaughter, as each learns the truth about the past and each other. YAs who like a little romance and mystery mixed together will enjoy this gentle story.- Carolyn E. Gecan, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA

May 15, 1993
When her grandfather dies and bequeaths 60 acres and the family home in Sweetwater, Tennessee, to sculptor Cassie Simon, she leaves New York City to return to her past. Cassie seeks answers about the death of her mother, Ellen, in a car crash when Cassie was only three years old; she wants to find out about the family that she never knew and the accident that no one discusses. Cassie's relatives are quick to criticize the young sculptor, who appears to be raking up issues that they consider best left alone. In this first novel, Kline blends satisfying storytelling with psychological chills. What's in Grandma's box? Where is it hidden? Why did Ellen die? What really happened to Grandma's best friend? This book is filled with secrets--as well as love, hate, revenge, and guilt. Highly recommended.-- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.

Copyright 1993 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 1993
Aspiring sculptor Cassie Simon was growing depressed over her unsatisfying Manhattan life, when her grandfather, Armory Clyde, a man she never knew, died. His last will and testament shocked and angered his long-suffering wife, children, and known grandchildren, since Armory left motherless Cassie, a complete stranger, his pretty if neglected Sweetwater, Tennessee, property. There is something fateful and compelling about this unexpected and enigmatic bequest, and Cassie can't resist its lure. She quits her job, dumps her weasely boyfriend, packs up an old station wagon, and heads south, much to her relatives' consternation. What does this damn Yankee want? Even Cassie doesn't really know, but she soon realizes that she's stumbled into a thicket of old mysteries, resentments, and regrets. It slowly becomes clear that Cassie's mother's death was linked to Armory's philandering and the suspicious drowning of a woman named Bryce, his lover and, allegedly, his wife's best friend. Kline reveals the overlapping stories of Cassie and her grandmother Clyde with grace and intuition, articulating an entire spectrum of passions from lust, jealousy, and hate to love and forgiveness. ((Reviewed June 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)