The Water and the Blood

After half an hour of processing our feelings about a tragic death in our neighborhood, Beaux Cheveux finally reigned us in by reminding us a little bit about Nancy Turner (We discussed These Is My Words in 2006.) It's inspiring to hear stories of people who re-invent themselves later on in life and Turner did just that. When she was forty she went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree with a triple major in Creative Writing, Music, and Studio Art. She took a short story she'd written for a class assignment, which was based on her great-grandmother's life, and turned it into one of the most popular book group books of all time.


Because we enjoyed These Is My Words so much we were excited to read Turner's second novel, The Water and the Blood.


Summary:
Philadelphia “Frosty” Summers buckles under the small-mindedness of her family and the rest of the inhabitants of Sabine, Texas. She goes along with a group of kids who set fire to the “Nigra” church and keeps quiet when she learns that the church wasn’t empty of parishioners. When she finally does take the initiative and moves to Southern California to work in a factory for the WWII war effort, she falls in love with a Navajo Indian Marine radio operator, only to put their relationship, not to mention their lives, in jeopardy when she brings him home to meet her family.

Sabine, Texas, during the mid-20th century is a small, Southern Bible-belt town full of racial bigotry, poverty, ignorance, and war-hungry men. Frosty’s mother is a religious fanatic to the extreme, and her daughter lives in fear throughout her childhood. It’s hard to imagine why Frosty would return to Sabine knowing what she knows about her mother, the majority of the townspeople and the incident at the church. But even a bad family and hometown is better than none at all, and Frosty, always hopeful for something better, perhaps foolishly believes it is possible for people to change.
© 2003 by April Galt for Curled Up With a Good Book


Most of us enjoyed it, though not as much as These Is My Words. The story line was a little confusing to follow at first, it took a while to care about the characters, and there were some unexplainable and irritating things about Frosty, i.e. letting Gordon go hunting with rotten-to-the-core men and trying to throw herself off the cliff, but for me, at least, it was a worthwhile read overall. I enjoyed the different ways of looking at and responding to prejudice and I enjoyed Turner's depiction of the Navajos. Not to nitpick, but several of us noticed the reference to Corrie ten Boom. Where was her editor? And the typeface was so hard to read!


Questions:

1. Frosty clearly loves the congregation of Missionary Way--a source of escape from her turbulent situation at home. What factors in her life compel Frosty to destroy the very structure that seems to bring her solace?
2. Frosty's depiction of the South is rich with sensory imagery--smells, colors, and tastes. What colors run through her story and what symbolism is attached to each? Why does Frosty describe her surroundings in these terms?
3. What does the word "water" in the book's title represent? How is water used as a symbol throughout the book?
4. On page 210, Frosty describes a fruit stand on the highway stacked with "sweet Texas melons." How are "black children" used in this fruit metaphor, and why?
5. What is at the root of the attraction between Frosty and Gordon? Does their future seem to hold a "happily ever after"?
6. Grandma Summers and Gordon both experience forms of prejudice--Grandma reveals her own feelings of resentment at the end of the novel. How have both characters reacted to the prejudice they have faced? Does one seem more justified? For whom do you have more sympathy, and why?
7. At first, why doesn't Gordon tell Frosty about his time in the Japanese internment camp? When he finally does tell her, on page 298, she responds with compassion. How does he respond to her kindness, and why?
8. The men who take Gordon hunting clearly have a destructive plan in mind, but what is their true intent? Do they want Gordon dead? How do their actions toward Gordon in the swamp compare to the act of burning down Missionary Way as young boys?
9. What makes it so difficult for Frosty to do the right thing in the end? How has she changed from being self-centered (as with her plan to rescue children so she will be heralded as a hero) to self-sacrificing?
10. At the end of the novel, what dynamic is present in the relationship between Frosty, her mother, and her sisters, Opalrae an Delia? Frosty and Delia see to come to terms with each other--how convincing is their reconciliation?