What readers think of Castle of Water, plus links to write your own review.

Two young people heading into the next phase of their lives with no idea of what the future will bring. Not unusual. Hopeful, nervous with a touch of joy. The human condition. One, a young woman, not yet 30, with her new husband. Leaving Tahiti in a small plane for a couple of days to explore the final resting place of a favorite singer, Jacques Brel. The other, a man, mid-thirties, in a business suit, having rushed right to the airport from the office he has decided to escape. He wanted to be an artist, he followed a safer path to Wall Street. Now, he, too is taking a side trip to explore the final resting place of Gauguin.
During the flight they encounter stormy weather, the pilot decides to skirt around it, the plane is struck by lightening and goes down. The pilot is killed instantly. The would-be artist, Barry Bleecker finds himself swimming distance from a small island, which he manages to reach. It would seem he is the only survivor and though he is at first at a loss, he soon decides to make shelter and hope for rescue by a passing boat or an overhead plane.
In the meantime, the bride, Sophie Ducel, holds her dying husband in her arms in the fuselage of the plane, until he is wrenched from her arms by a shark and taken deep into the sea. She finds an inflatable raft with a bag of survival materials and pulls herself out of the sinking plane. Within days, delirious, she washes ashore and is found by Barry.

And so begins the true story of these unlikely castaways. How they manage to survive, physically, emotionally and mentally in total isolation on an island small enough to walk around on an evening stroll is an absorbing story. It is full of all the stages of a developing relationship--getting to know you, disagreements, compromise, thoughtful gifts, humor, teasing, insults--culminating in a partnership of depth and caring. As the reader looking in you are sensitive to their fear, frustration, hope and love and you care deeply for them and root for their survival and ultimate rescue.

I read the book in one day and at the end, understood the title and was content with the final result. Though a bit sad.

Loved this book – it captures you from the beginning and never let's go! Friedrich Nietzsche said it best, "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger" – in this case it applies to Sophie and Barry's survival after their small plane crashes in the middle of the South Pacific. Great story of their evolving relationship. Characters are well developed and the story is written in a manner that you can image yourself there with them.

This is a wonderful story about the human will to survive. A small plane crashes in the middle of the South Pacific with only two people surviving. Sophie on her honeymoon and Barry seeking a new beginning. At odds with each other at first, the challenges they face develop into a loving relationship. The question that was going through my mind while reading Castle of Water was "What would I do if I were in their place?"

The novel begins in a very intriguing way, and swept me into the story so strongly that I was immediately hooked. The author was able to add something extra to a story about 2 castaways and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It is necessary, however, to overcome disbelief at some of the events, and instead just enjoy the beauty of the story.

This is one of the most well written and engaging novels by a first time novel writer I have read. It is not simply a usual castaway story with a predicable plot and ending. The characters are engaging, intelligent and have a depth of personality you can imagine very distinctly.

I really enjoyed reading Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge. It was a captivating story about two very different people who were castaways after the small plane they were on crashed. I appreciated how the author developed the story of one focused on survival to much more…. I look forward to more by this author.

A castaway tale with a narrative that runs between Paris and a remote polynesian island interspersed with a glimpse of the disenchanted Manhattan life.

Both Barry and Sophie find themselves thrown together and the story matured poignantly to it's very emotional ending...

For me this story is really relevant as I'm headed to Paris to see my mom who I haven't seen in 7 years...

Oh yes and Pere Lachaise, you've got to see where Oscar Wilde is buried...

Loved this book.
Thank you bookbrowse for this engrossing advance reader copy :)

I enjoyed this story of being tossed out of the known world, surviving, and finding a place back in the world. While satisfying as a castaway tale, it also contemplates the kind of life-altering love that endures after death.