Mother, Night, and Water

Mother, Night, and Water
Bartholomew "Bat" True, Chief of Police in the small town of Sunnyside, Maine wants to know what brought Arlo Cook home after vanishing decades earlier. Arlo is asking himself the same question; he knows there's a reason, but fears to learn it. Some secrets are best hidden, even from one's self.
A tale of two families: the Cook family and the Trues share the founding of this small town over three centuries ago, but today only one family is thriving; the other marches toward a fated tragedy. Young Becky True finds herself in an unlikely friendship with her classmate, the afflicted, beguiling Annie Cook, whose impoverished life of abuse and prejudice could not be more different from her own. Becky's father, Adam, struggles to comprehend his deceased father's rejection and his conflicted relationship with his brother, Bat, while his research into the town's history unearths a shocking, unsolved mystery.
Mother, Night, and Water explores the lives of two families, and the people of this small town, as they confront old prejudices, and gain a lesson in compassion from two girls whose improbable friendship is tested amid unalterable events.
Mother, Night, and Water follows the tradition of novels such as Richard Russo's Mohawk, Empire Falls, and Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, literature that examines the lives of common people discovering that everyday life is uncommon enough, and that ultimately we are only faced with what to do next; these choices, some simple, some profoundly painful, make up our lives.
Reviews of Previous novels by Robert W. Chapman
"Chapman's ability to develop powerful characters and use vividly lifelike descriptions may have readers placing A CERTAIN FALL on their shelves alongside the books of another such talented New England author…John Irving."~ Mark Chag, Book Review, Advertiser-Democrat
"A CERTAIN FALL, allows for the serious consideration of an often overlooked element of healing…spirituality. By doing so Chapman invites us to consider the value and importance of this element in the healing process. What a gift he has." ~ Dr. Amy D. Ouellette, M.D.
"SPIDER LAKE, by Robert Chapman, is a suspenseful tale of a father and 12 year old son who are lost, both in the Maine wilderness, and in the parallel wilderness of their own relationship…While directed at young adults, this novel will be of interest to all ages." ~ Donald Stover, PhD