Written with rare literary style by a former director of the Indian Ministry of Coal, The Sound of Water provides an agonizing 360-degree account of an Indian mining disaster as seen from three perspectives: an old miner struggling to save himself and his coworkers hundreds of feet below the surface as water threatens to drown them; the company and government officials charged with managing the rescue efforts; and the miner's families anxiously awaiting word of survival or death.
Last week I checked this book out of the library anxious to read a story of survival. I love stories that show the strength of humans against almost impossible odds. That's what I thought I was getting when I checked this book out. I was looking for someone who defied the odds, became the victor over nature and circumstance, and lived to tell the tale. This book was not like that.
The majority of the story flopped back and forth between the victim's families (who really didn't care if they lived) and the government officials who were only concerned with covering their backsides so they wouldn't take the blame for the mining disaster. There was no happiness in this book, and no hope.
Most of the middle of the book was about Raimoti, the old miner, and his battle and discussion with The Beast and I'm sorry to say this part lost me completely, which at that point made me lose interest in the book. After reading the book I went to Amazon to see what others had thought of the book. Two reviews. Two 5 star reviews. Huh.
Posts
