Water, Carry Me
by Thomas Moran
List Price: $24.95
Pages: XXX
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 1573221384
Publisher: Riverhead Books
From award-winning author Thomas Moran comes the breathtaking story of
a young woman's betrayal, a haunting portrait of the extraordinary
beauty and inexorable violence of a divided Ireland.
Thomas Moran made his impressive
literary debut only three years ago with THE MAN IN THE BOX, winner of
the Book-of-the-Month Club's Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction.
The New Yorker compared THE MAN IN THE BOX to the diary of Anne Frank,
and the Los Angeles Times compared Thomas Moran to Elie Wiesel. On the
heels of this success came what Booklist predicted would be "for many.
. .the best book of the year." THE WORLD I MADE FOR HER confirmed the
depth and breadth of Moran's talent. "Now, to A Farewell to Arms and
The English Patient," Time magazine harkened, "add another memorable star-crossed
Red Cross romance."
And now, in what will surely
be his most acclaimed novel yet, Tom Moran's spare, piercing language
effortlessly carries us to the harbor towns of southern Ireland. Una Moss
is a bright, young medical student struggling for independence from the
world of her family's secret loyalties. Aidan Ferrel is the man who
wins her love, the stranger she chooses to trust. WATER CARRY ME is the
story of a singular love pitted against the power of political passion—the
chronicle of a young woman's journey from innocence to betrayal, across
the vivid brightness and darkness that is the heartbreaking landscape
of her beloved Ireland.
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1. Una was told as
a child that her parents died in a car accident. Over the years, she learned
the truth: that they were killed by IRA terrorists. How do the ways in
which Una's friends and her grandfather speak about her parents'
involvement in the violence in Northern Ireland offer insight into the
way many Irish people feel about The Troubles?
2. The violence in
Northern Ireland affects the lives of Moran's characters in the "sunny
south," both directly and indirectly. How impervious are Una and her friends
to the violence, on an emotional level and on a practical level?
3. When Des and Mick
are captured by the "Specials" from Dublin, Rawney's behavior changes
distinctly. Is his paranoia justified? What does this fear foreshadow
for Una's future?
4. Una's overcoming
her fear of the sea also marks, on some level, the end of her innocence.
In what way might the title of the novel also be a metaphor for Una's
attitude towards the less fortuitous events of her life?
5. When Des is murdered,
Una's survival instinct kicks in, and she sets out to make his death
appear to be an accident. Why, then, do you think she goes to all of her
friends and family, Aidan included, to gather information about the mysterious
Colm O'Fearghail despite being warned against it? Do you think Una
has cause to fear for her safety?
6. Why do you think
Una, despite the intelligence and savvy with which she conducts all other
areas of her life, is so easily fooled by Aidan? Is it simply because
of her love for him or is there another possible explanation?
7. At the end of the
novel, Una finds herself a victim of the tumultuous political climate
of Ireland. In what way is Aidan also a victim of time and place? Do you
think Aidan had a choice in making Una carry the semtex? Do you sense
he hoped he could make it his last act the thing that might allow him
to break free of his ties to the IRA and marry the woman he loves?
Courtesy of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
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