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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I picked up this book based off the recommendation of currently reading podcast. It is one of the books that they “push into everyone’s hands”.
I was not disappointed, one of the best books I have read it a long time!
Barry and Sophie find themselves as the lone survivors after a plane crash on a deserted island. The story that unfolds after their time spent there is one of bravery and heartbreak. Their survival instincts and ability to overcome loss and devastation kept me turning the pages.
I would highly recommend this book!
I was not disappointed, one of the best books I have read it a long time!
Barry and Sophie find themselves as the lone survivors after a plane crash on a deserted island. The story that unfolds after their time spent there is one of bravery and heartbreak. Their survival instincts and ability to overcome loss and devastation kept me turning the pages.
I would highly recommend this book!
4.5 ⭐️ Beautiful and lyrical. An emotional story of love and loss set in French Polynesia. A great audiobook! ❤️
What a beautiful, well-done book. Highly recommend. Don't let the modern castaway story scare you away.
Beautiful in its eloquence. Full of every emotion under the sun. Castle of Water really makes you think about finding the brighter side of life and appreciate all that you have.
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I’ve been a lifelong lover of survival stories, but this one just wasn’t great. These people did not struggle nearly enough!! They had easily accessible food and water and shelter, which made the whole story terribly boring. I understand that it was meant to be more about the relationship than about survival, but you can’t just ignore the realities of being a castaway. And with the amount of survival stories that are out there, each one needs some sort of unique appeal. This one didn’t have much uniqueness. I did like the omniscient narrator, but it was still pretty meh. And the pacing was weird.
*spoiler
The whole pregnancy thing really took the story in an annoying direction, and it was painfully obvious that this book was written by a man when Sophie didn’t have any anxiety about birthing a child on a deserted island. And the fact that all the planning they did for the birth was the baby’s name. The whole thing was weird.
*spoiler
The whole pregnancy thing really took the story in an annoying direction, and it was painfully obvious that this book was written by a man when Sophie didn’t have any anxiety about birthing a child on a deserted island. And the fact that all the planning they did for the birth was the baby’s name. The whole thing was weird.
If you’ve ever looked out of a plane window while flying over the ocean and shuddered to imagine dropping out of the sky, Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebrige will bring those visions to life.
Barry Bleeker has just quit his job in New York City finance to pursue art full time, and Sophie Ducel is a Parisian architect on her honeymoon. When their single-engine Cessna 208 crashes in the middle of the South Pacific, they are the sole survivors, two strangers who become stranded on a deserted island that is as beautiful as it is treacherous.
To survive, Barry and Sophie must recreate civilization from scratch—collecting clean water, hunting for food and building shelter—which is fascinating in and of itself. But the heart of the novel is the friendship that develops between Barry and Sophie amidst unbearable loneliness, near starvation and the terror of never being rescued. Both characters are deeply flawed and profoundly likable.
The story is told in mesmerizing prose “amid the blue honey water and white sugar sands.” Huckelbridge expertly uses nature and color as characters. We witness a “cotton candy-colored sunrise,” “a flamboyant, sorbet-shaded sunset” and the moon as “a pearly chaperone.” Insert an animated gif of me wiggling my fingers with unrestrained excitement.
Ultimately the book reminds us that even at moments of maximum crisis—companionship, optimism and love can restore us all. Best paired with a starchy bunch of bananas, a gulp of fresh rainwater and zero packages of astronaut ice cream.
Barry Bleeker has just quit his job in New York City finance to pursue art full time, and Sophie Ducel is a Parisian architect on her honeymoon. When their single-engine Cessna 208 crashes in the middle of the South Pacific, they are the sole survivors, two strangers who become stranded on a deserted island that is as beautiful as it is treacherous.
To survive, Barry and Sophie must recreate civilization from scratch—collecting clean water, hunting for food and building shelter—which is fascinating in and of itself. But the heart of the novel is the friendship that develops between Barry and Sophie amidst unbearable loneliness, near starvation and the terror of never being rescued. Both characters are deeply flawed and profoundly likable.
The story is told in mesmerizing prose “amid the blue honey water and white sugar sands.” Huckelbridge expertly uses nature and color as characters. We witness a “cotton candy-colored sunrise,” “a flamboyant, sorbet-shaded sunset” and the moon as “a pearly chaperone.” Insert an animated gif of me wiggling my fingers with unrestrained excitement.
Ultimately the book reminds us that even at moments of maximum crisis—companionship, optimism and love can restore us all. Best paired with a starchy bunch of bananas, a gulp of fresh rainwater and zero packages of astronaut ice cream.
I found this book through the What Should I Read Next podcast as it was recommended to a guest. In reading others' reviews of this book, it seems people have had very visceral reactions, which was really not my experience.
Knowing that one of the main characters/castaways was on her honeymoon before the plane crash, I thought this book would be an exploration of grief, love, and loss. This was the aspect of the book I was most interested to dissect and ugly-cry to... which leads me to why I'm only giving this 3 stars. My main hangup is that Sophie's loss of her husband and how she emotionally unpacks that information is not really dealt with in depth and I think that's an important piece to examine if this truly is a story of resiliency and the transformative power of love.
That being said, this was a very engaging read, well-written, and had me wondering at many parts what I would do if I were in a similar scenario. The characters are well-drawn (with the exception of the blindspot I noted above) and believable.
Would recommend those interested in a romantic adventure story, and possibly as a beach or travel-read.
Knowing that one of the main characters/castaways was on her honeymoon before the plane crash, I thought this book would be an exploration of grief, love, and loss. This was the aspect of the book I was most interested to dissect and ugly-cry to... which leads me to why I'm only giving this 3 stars. My main hangup is that Sophie's loss of her husband and how she emotionally unpacks that information is not really dealt with in depth and I think that's an important piece to examine if this truly is a story of resiliency and the transformative power of love.
That being said, this was a very engaging read, well-written, and had me wondering at many parts what I would do if I were in a similar scenario. The characters are well-drawn (with the exception of the blindspot I noted above) and believable.
Would recommend those interested in a romantic adventure story, and possibly as a beach or travel-read.