Haweswater by Sarah Hall is a fictionalized account of building the Haweswater reservoir in Cumbria. The building of the dam is a background for the stories of delicately crafted characters, but also a force behind their fates, a looming presence.
There is a story of a place, a village that was destroyed and then flooded. There is a love story. There is a family saga. And there is a story of belonging - to one’s land, nature, someone else.
The novel is structured into three parts. For me, the first on is about being together with the surrounding landscape, one’s roots, one’s beloved. With the second part this unity is broken by a foreign force - a dam, throngs of workers from cities, death. And the third part is a strange attempt at bridging the gap that came between two united entities, a resolution of some sort.
The story unfolded slowly, but kept me interested. The live story was dramatic enough for my taste. I have a problem with the ending though - it feels a bit smudged, diluted of the strength that the novel had until the epilogue. Also, despite beautiful language, it failed to become the book that I would read again.
A great atmospheric read if you are interested in visiting the Lakes or Yorkshire, and reading something for the background.