Watershed (book review)

AUTHOR: Jane Abbott

GENRE: Dystopia/Drama/Cli-fi (a term I just learned, meaning 'climate fiction')

PUBLISHED: 2016

AUDIENCE: Adult

Set in a post-apocalyptic world facing severe drought, as rain only falls over a violent and uncontrollable sea, Watershed follows Jeremiah (Jem), a young man living in the Citadel; a supposed haven for humans, controlled by the Council. Jem is part of the Watch, whose job it is to quell rebellion against the unseen and strict Council. When sent away on an unusual mission, Jem discovers a different side to the history he’s been taught, which forces him to re-evaluate his beliefs and allegiances.

From just a simple summary, you can tell that there is a lot going on in Watershed, which is set up as a potential first in a series. Watershed feels a combination of Justin Cronin’s novel, The Passage, and George Miller’s film, Mad Max: Fury Road. While these comparisons put Watershed in esteemed company, and demonstrate it has components of a compelling dystopian drama, Abbott’s debut novel misses the mark. Classic tropes that could combine to create compelling dystopian drama – violence, class separation, pervasive military forces, opposing groups heading for war, identity struggles – aren't given enough development, or woven together cohesively.

The main plot is slow to start, and though the world building is interesting – Abbott creates such a unique story world – it could have been interwoven more through the novel’s 400+ pages, as opposed to comprising most of the beginning. What worked in Watershed, was the split plot. Two stories run parallel, with chapters alternating between Jem’s story and his grandmother, Sarah's. She tells of Jem's birth, childhood, and how he came to live in the Citadel. Her chapters also show the Council changing over time, offering grounding to Jem’s situation, as he lives the results of those changes. The chapters are tied together with excerpts from letters Sarah writes to Jem, which she used to teach him to read when he was younger.

My main critique of Watershed is that the romantic storyline between Jem and Alex felt forced. Normally, I’m a big fan of romance, but Abbott failed to create a believable relationship, using sex to show affection, which just read as sex. Also, Alex is written mostly in relation to Jem, rather than as her own character, and in a story consisting of mainly male characters, that was a letdown. In the peak dramatic climax of Watershed, Alex is tortured in order to get to Jem, but because their relationship build was lacking, the scene fell flat. Additional character backstory given to Alex was left at a surface level, so hopefully if the series is continued, she becomes more fleshed out, and not a token ‘strong female character’.

On a side note, there is a lot of violence and gore in this novel, and quite a few instances where it's described in detail. It was at times confronting, and will be more so to female readers.

Watershed author, Jane Abbott

In summary, Watershed’s strength is the world created by Abbott, and while it is an overall interesting read, the story lacks cohesion between its many ideas. It has a slow start and a rushed ending, which may leave readers confused about exactly what the characters have discovered. It wasn’t a bad book, but if you don’t normally read in this genre, I wouldn’t start with this one.

2.5 out of 5.

Until next time.

p.s. Jeremiah is named after the classic song (I’m sure you can guess it…) ‘Joy to The World’. The song is used in the book as an emotional tether for Jeremiah. As someone familiar with the song, it was strange to read him singing the song in times of emotional vulnerability, and as a way of opening up to Alex, as it’s tone is very jarring against Watershed’s story.