LAURA CHAMP
Arts Writer

Dianne Warren’s Cool Water is a demure, unassuming novel perfectly tuned to the pace of life in small-town Saskatchewan. It was also the ideal book to read over the Christmas holidays.

With no interference from assigned readings, a fireplace to snuggle up in front of and a good chance that you’ll receive at least one book, there is no better time to hide from the cold with a great novel.

I woke up Christmas morning to find Cool Water (Canadian author Warren’s first novel) peeking out from the top of my stocking. Santa must know that I love a leisurely read brimming with local charm. Heavy with Saskatchewan content, after one sleepover at my grandparent’s home in Prince Albert, I had nearly finished it.

Cool Water won in the English fiction category at the 2010 Governor General’s Literary Awards, garnering Warren — also an award winning dramatist and writer of short stories — increased acclaim for her diverse works. The author, who was born in Ottawa and now resides in Regina, displays a strong affection for her prairie surroundings through her writing.

The story takes place over the course of one day, set in the town of Juliet, a fictional rural community in southern Saskatchewan.

Regardless of where you are from, Warren ensures that her readers see, hear and truly feel what it means to live in small-town Saskatchewan.

Juliet is isolated and authentic, enigmatic and obvious at the same time, much like the characters encountered throughout the novel. The individuals presented seem at first rather commonplace. But it later becomes clear that each is understatedly complicated.

The lives of Warren’s characters overlap and intersect in both explicit and unclear ways. Cool Water plays out like a well-done ensemble cast movie — think Love Actually set in rural Saskatchewan.

Take, for example, Willard and Marian, who despite having shared a home for years, did not know they were in love. Or the town banker Norval Birch, who is secretly tortured over the financial problems of his neighbours. He is also trying to understand the implications of a pregnant teenage daughter.

My personal favourite is Lee Torgeson, a young man with a mysterious past who encounters an equally mysterious Arabian horse in the middle of the night.

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of Warren’s novel is the meaningful role played by animals. Horses, dogs and even a camel named Antoinette become integral to the telling of the story and the understanding of the human characters.

The book is broken down into sections with each character receiving his or her own headline every 10 pages or so. While this technique functions to delineate the change in story, it also disrupts the flow of the novel and at times proves distracting.

Similarly, Cool Water is by no means fast-paced or energetic. The novel moves slowly and steadily and has dry moments which leave the reader feeling occasionally disinterested. Pushing through the slow parts is well worth it, however. Warren’s characters will stay with you, and you’ll be happy to know them.