What readers think of Properties of Thirst, plus links to write your own review.

The writing is lyical, sometimes astonishing, especially to those of us who are familiar with the area as it is now. Also, to those of us who have suffered the breathless loss of a child. If it takes you a bit to get into this book, persevere. The depth and vision are worth it. This is a book I will never forget. Bits of it come back to me and always will. One I will re-read.

Reminiscent of Walter Stegner which is no faint praise..
"You can't save what you don't love".
I'll be saving this to memory.

"Properties of Thirst" by Marianne Wiggins tells us about World War II from the perspective of the United States mainland. If you live in a temperamental land, a Japanese camp (nomenclature is essential) is unwelcome. We have a wide range of well-developed characters to show how Pearl Harbor and the incendiary attitude toward the Asian population changed lives in Southern California.

The story, surrounding the neighboring landowner and the Department of the Interior architect, shows people going about their jobs with at least some good intentions. Some even try to create for the subjugated. Schiff, the working stiff from the Department of the Interior entrusted with the home for 1,000 Asians, falls for the landowner's daughter, and things become complicated.

With Father, Son, Daughter, and Architect, you learn a lot about their backgrounds, to the point that you do not know the main character, which works. Shiff battles politics in his duty to build a camp and finds people upset with the process in various ways, citing the hypocrisy of FDR's Four Freedoms while denying rights to citizens.

The collection of viewpoints enables you to take a break from the most emotional storylines. Very little death occurs "on screen," but the time is heavy, especially for amateur history students. You have so many cultures represented (Jewish, Asian, and Hispanic) that you can focus on the turbulent era and realize that it affected many people in many ways.

Wiggins lost the ability to read or write after a stroke, so she wrote "Properties of Thirst" over a few years after her daughter helped her finish, making this a fantastic achievement. The characters here are special and enjoyable, and the book's non-linear storytellers will please those who want to think about what they are reading; my thumb is up with much admiration.