Unabridged Podcast Episode 13: Dane Huckelbridge's Castle of Water

​Dane Huckelbridge’s Castle of Water is a story about two strangers, Barry and Sophie, who are on a small plane that crashes into the ocean.  They end up on a small, deserted island where they have to learn to survive . . . and to live together.

Phew... We had so much to say about this book! It was so fun to discuss, and we could've dug into it for much longer. 

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My Take: I enjoyed this story very much. The language is breathtakingly beautiful, and the perspective (that includes some rather cosmic examinations of the two main characters and their predicament) is quite interesting. The role of art in the novel is also powerful and gripping. The best part of the book? I appreciate it more each time I think about it, which is a great complement to a book! 
My conclusion: Upon my first reading, there were a few facets of the plot line about which I felt a little critical. (To avoid spoilers, I will not specify what those were, but I will say they mostly occurred toward the end of the book.) However, the more we discussed the book (both at book club and then with the podcast crew), the more those tiny details fell away and the stark beauty of the story--one of survival, love, and hope--remained.   5/5 stars. 
Favorite Quotes: How can I choose? The quotable passages are endless. Here's just a small sampling.

• "Although it was never spoken, there was a mutual understanding that without the other, neither would have survived alone on the island. Their relationship was the bulb that burned on in the darkness; their love was the rigging that kept the sails intact. And they didn't need a preacher or a priest or an until death do us part to place benediction upon
  that which was abundantly clear." - I love the hard earned tenderness of Barry and Sophie's relationship and the way that they rely on each other. 
• "She'd like to give those masterpieces her undivided attention, but the hem of her thoughts is still snagged on the hooked nail of his work. Those haunting black-and-white paintings of the island, frightening in both their scale and their beauty, and that strange floating mobile with all the fishhooks. . . She finally gives it a rest, though, when her distracted meandering causes her to nearly bump into Marcel's infamous urinal. A security guard scolds her, and Mona tiptoes quietly away." - Though perhaps a relatively small part of the main narrative, I love the way that art is so vital to life in this novel and the way that it washes over the viewer who participates in the experience. I also love the way it links past and present experience together as the story unfolds. And lines like "the hem of her thoughts is still snagged on the hooked nail of his work"? Yes, please. More of that. STUNNING.

What I added to my TBR list: Sara's pick, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, is one that is right up my alley. I've heard great things about it, and I'd love to read it soon!
Teaching Tips: This book would be an amazing one for lit circles and could stand up to a whole class reading with advanced/ AP students.
Podcast Highlights: I so LOVED listening to Jen read the passage about rowing from the novel (which was undoubtedly one of my favorite parts of the work as a whole), and I thought after our discussion that I could enjoy this book all over again by listening to it as an audio book. 

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Unabridged Podcast