The Water Cure cover art

The Water Cure

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018

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About this listen

*COMING SOON: the second novel from Booker-longlisted Sophie Mackintosh*

*Blue Ticket, a chilling new novel about freedom, fate and motherhood - out 7 May 2020*


The Water Cure

British Vogue 'Star of the Future' for 2020

Independent Best Books of the Decade


Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, read by Hannah Murray, Gemma Whelan and Morfydd Clark.

Once upon a time, damaged women came here to be cured. We took them in, fed them glasses of our clean, good water, let them scream at the waves till their lips split like ripe fruit. Now no one is left but my sisters and me. King died a year ago, quite suddenly. Mother has vanished, no one knows where. And the safe compound they built around us, far away from the toxic world, has finally been breached.

Three men arrived last week, washed up by the sea, their gazes hungry and insistent. We remember now what our father taught us. 'If the men come to you, show yourself some mercy. Don't stick around and wait for them to put you out of your misery.'

'Immensely assured, calmly devastating. This is a gem of a novel and I was bowled over by it' -Katherine Angel, author of Unmastered

'I loved this book. It rushes you through to the end on a tide of tension and closely held panic. Eerie, electric, beautiful' - Daisy Johnson, author of Fen

'Creepy and delightful - it has a pinch of Shirley Jackson, a dash of chlorine, and an essence all of its own' - Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You

'Devastating. A work of cool, claustrophobic beauty' Eli Goldstone, author of Strange Heart Beating

Coming of Age Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Magic Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Emotionally Gripping

Critic reviews

Compulsive, eerily gorgeous, [it] will have you gripped until the end... A film adaptation feels inevitable... As far as debuts go, this is superb
A feminist dystopian fairy tale, a sexual coming-of-age story and a survival-of-the-fittest tale. Evocative, suspenseful and bleak - in short, everything this age seems to be demanding
[An] eerie, uncanny literary debut... Beautifully written, pared down and hypnotic
Bewitching... [An] ambiguous utopia
In raw, visceral prose, Mackintosh probes at ideas of the threat of male violence, the ways women are told to protect ourselves, love and sisterhood and survival. A hypnotic, stormy book, with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while
Stunning... A haunting story of abuse, death, and desire... Chilling and topical, a breathtaking debut
Eerily beautiful, this strange, unsettling novel creeps up and grabs hold of you (Paula Hawkins, author of 'The Girl on the Train')
Darkly gratifying, dreamy, primal, and arresting [as] a fairy tale... The overgrown grounds, with their perimeter of rusty barbed wire and shark-infested waters, resemble Sleeping Beauty's castle
Searing, richly drawn, eerily compelling... As foreboding in what it holds back as in what it reveals
Elemental... [A] utopia portrayed in spectral, organic prose... Mackintosh is a wonderful stylist; the full scope of her imagination, as well as the cohesion of her vision, is evident on every page... A seriously impressive feat
All stars
Most relevant
I think this book is a marmite book you will either like it, maybe even love it or like me not like it at all. It is possible that it doesn’t work as an audible book. Definitely recommend you get a sample first, which I didn’t and regret.

Not for me

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I loved the idea of this book, the first half is brilliant, setting the scene for what I hoped would be a brilliant tale but I felt it lacked quite significantly in the second half and there was so more that could have been done.
Narration was slightly confusing too and I genuinely found it quite slow paced and boring.
Great idea, not a great story.

Intriguing

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It just never really got off the ground. I really liked the concept but the story never really went anywhere or gave any answers. Bit of a frustrating read really.

A bit dull

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A wonderfully written book, gripping and thrilling. The performances were perfect for the story.
I wanted more from the story, however, but I still enjoyed every moment.

Beautiful written and performed

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I found this book deeply moving, and I'll look forward to reading more from Sophie Mackintosh.
A book adjacent I'd also recommend Yoko Ogawa The Memory Police.

Dystopian community

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