Review: The Man In The Water
As opening lines go, this one has a doozy. So the premise is; young reclusive teen, never the class favourite, sees a dead man in the local lake. Or does he? We are left hanging on that particular ledge but not for long. Burton's direct narrative and crisp style soon acquaints readers with 15 year-old Shaun's mining town home, his dust-covered school and the people who matter most to him: his best mate Will, the girl he's sweet on, Megan and his over-worked widowed mother. There's one person whose presence, like the undercurrent of a riptide is never seen but keenly felt, and ripples throughout this tale adding a delicious air of tragic mystery and meaning,well two if you also count the man in the water. Shaun is a awkward teen with no clear ambition other than to shake the grief and confusion of losing a parent that has settled on him. He is part of his school's celebrated debating team but knows that if it weren't for Megan's adroitness and Will's wit,