Where Light Meets Water

(Paperback)

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An evocative novel of love and art, and one mans journey to find his place in the world. Where Light Meets Water is a moving debut traversing nineteenth-century London, Melbourne and New Zealands rugged South Island.

Where the sailor ends the artist begins . . .

London, 1847: On shore leave while his ship is being repaired, sailor Thomas Rutherford is restless, waiting to return to sea. At twenty-eight years old, Tom knows nothing but life on tall ships and is determined to captain his own.

But Tom has a second passion: painting. And so he passes timewith his paintboxand sketchbook... until he is struck by the discovery of a delicate glove laced with the unmistakable scent of turpentine. The owner is Catherine Ogilvie captivating, headstrong and a talented artist in her own right. Intrigued by this singular woman, Tom finds himself swept into Catherines privileged yet stifling world.

As Tom and Catherine grow closer, Toms eyes are opened to a new way of life. But his ambitions remain and, when the sea calls to Tom, he must face an impossible choice.

In her stunning debut, Susan Paterson explores the power of art to transform a life and to connect us to others. Where Light Meets Water is a multi-stranded novel of love of a man and a woman, of a sailor and the sea, and of an artist and his gift.

Praise forWhere Light Meets Water:

A splendidly engaging tale of the inner lives of artists Gail Jones

Susan Paterson wields her pen like an artists brush and the result is beautiful and evocative Pip Williams

Perfectly paced and sumptuously visual A stunning debut Catherine Chidgey

This book is utterly magnificent. Susan Paterson is a wonder Eliza Henry-Jones

Sure to delight and dazzle readersMelissa Ashley

A shimmering, beautiful and deftly told story Michelle Scott Tucker

An extraordinary debut Kristina Olsson

Reviews

An extraordinary debut. Paterson has given art, and the sea, a new language, and reminds us that love and grief never live alone. -- Kristina Olsson, acclaimed author of Shell and Boy, Lost
'This book is utterly magnificent. Susan Paterson is a wonder. -- Eliza Henry-Jones, acclaimed author ofSalt and Skin
Susan Patersons Where Light Meets Water is a lyrical and gripping historical fiction novel that traverses nineteenth-century Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and the oceans that join and separate them. Patersons always insightful writing explores divisions of privilege and class, tensions between freedom and duty, through the eyes of an artist and sailors twin passions for paintbrush and sea. The authors luminous prose masterfully evokes the smells, tastes and textures of Victorian landscapes, parlours and stormy ship decks and is sure to delight and dazzle readers Seductive language and provocative story engage universal themes of exile and sacrifice, and love and loss, through a self-taught artists quest for acceptance, his quest to find his true place in the world and the meaning of his brilliant paintings. -- Melissa Ashley, bestselling author of The Birdmans Wife
Where Light Meets Water is a shimmering, beautiful and deftly told story. Charting the course of one man's life, it delicately explores the intersections between art, passion, love and duty. Insightful and resonant; full of evocative imagery I enjoyed this book so much. Where Light Meets Water is a thought-provoking novel and a compelling tale that stayed with me long after I read the final page. -- Michelle Scott Tucker, acclaimed author of Elizabeth Macarthur
Where Light Meets Water is a story about love of the sea, of art, and of a woman. It is a story about equals at a time when equality was impossible, and Susan Paterson has told it with great compassion and insight. Susan Paterson wields her pen like an artists brush and the result is beautiful and evocative. -- Pip Williams, bestselling author ofThe Dictionary of Lost Words
Moving, tender and beautifully written: this is a splendidly engaging tale of the inner lives of artists and the spoken and unspoken worlds of their complicated love. -- Gail Jones, award-winning author of Five BellsandSalonika Burning
The swells and rhythms of the sea and of the human heart suffuse every page. Perfectly paced and sumptuously visual, Where Light Meets Water is a stunning debut. -- Catherine Chidgey, award-winning author of Remote Sympathy and The Axemans Carnival

Author Bio

Susan Paterson is a writer and editor from Aotearoa New Zealand. Her debut novel, Where Light Meets Water, was shortlisted in an earlier version for the 2019 Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel and written with the assistance of a Varuna Fellowship. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in various publications including Meanjin, Going Down Swinging, Etchings, Wet Ink and Poetry NZ. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne.