This was a beautifully written story, gently unfolding, and deeply introspective. There are some serious themes explored throughout – intergenerational trauma, toxic masculinity, domestic violence – and yet, it reads so smoothly, unflinchingly honest yet never once giving me cause to look away. What a skilled writer Myfanwy Jones is.

Alternating between the present day and the 1950s, we bear witness to the shaping of the Herbert men. It was particularly an emotionally charged experience to read about Joe as a young lad, being repeatedly crushed by his cruel father, and to then discover how much like his own despised father he ended up becoming. Repeated patterns, the ripples of which continued to have effect even after the deaths of each generation.

We all carry our families with us, whether we want to or not. Some of us bear it lightly, others are weighed down by it. Cool Water was a story that demonstrated this in exactitude. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

Cool Water is a novel about fathers and sons, what makes a good man and the damage that can be ongoing through the generations. The story goes between the weekend of the wedding and one year in the mid-1950s that cursed the Herbert men for three generations, Cool Water considers what it is that makes a good man and what is put at risk if the pains of the past continue to take hold. Is it possible to escape this curse and find a path to a brighter future?

Cool Water is the third novel by award-winning Australian author, Myfanwy Jones. Having avoided his father’s birthplace for the last six years, Frank Herbert is returning to Tinaroo Falls because his daughter Lily has decided it’s where she wants to wed. And even though his father, Joe is eleven months dead, and much longer absent from the town, the huge dam that was built across the Barron River when Joe was growing up is where Frank has always felt his presence most strongly. So he’s come to let his daughter go: does he have the wherewithal to face his demons too?

He and Paula arrive on Friday night with things a little tense between them, but also with a clear agenda of what needs to be done to make this big family event a success. There is time, though, to take the tinny out onto the dam, where Frank can hear his father’s continued criticism and disapproval as clearly as if he were sitting beside him. Frank abandoned Herbert & Sons BUTCHER est. 1920, in favour of seafood, and is worrying that his latest, somewhat impulsive, gamble may not pay off.

Back in the 1950s, Victor Herbert’s dad, Leslie was the butcher in Kulara, the town destined to be drowned once the dam was filled, and the move to Tinaroo, being the only butcher serving over a thousand temporary residents, tradesmen and professionals from dozens of countries besides Australia, gives Victor some influence. Married to Gwen, with three carbon-copy sons, and president of the Tinaroo Falls Welfare Association, black-haired, blue-eyed, charismatic Victor’s flirtation with the town’s women is as enthusiastic as his disciplining of his family, especially his sensitive youngest son, Joseph.

The weekend gathering of their widely-dispersed family members in this place full of memories prompts comments and questions: Frank barely recognises the version of Joe that his sister, mother and uncle describe, the man he remembers as never talking about his father or his youth in Tinaroo…

Several narrative strands relate the story over two timelines: a volatile twelve months in the mid-nineteen-fifties and a packed weekend in the present day. Jones effortlessly evokes the era and setting and the extent of her research is apparent in every chapter; her characters have depth and appeal, and often insight and wisdom; her wholly credible plot has a few twists and surprises.

“He didn’t disappear but it was true that he retreated sometimes. That was how you stayed safe. And it was how you kept others safe – from your own brutality.”

Frank’s fear that his anger might manifest the way his father’s and grandfather’s did asks the question: is toxic masculinity inherited, not through the genes, but through example? Might there be an identifiable traumatic cause up the ancestral line? Does the same apply to the inability to demonstrate filial love?

The prose is frequently marvellous: “A bunch of locals were scattered through the bar – no-one he recognised. They sized him up and then made him invisible; he would always be a blow-in up here” and “His father gazes fixedly over the water. Joe is still a strong man – upright, for his age – but he’s faded since retirement. He doesn’t shout anymore. He is un-becoming, and one day he will be gone. Enzymes break down the fibre and tendons, reversing rigor mortis, tenderising the meat” are examples.

This topical tale examining the father-son relationship also touches on sexism, dispossession of the indigenous owners, and domestic violence: a moving, thought-provoking, hopeful, and heart-warming read.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Hachette Australia

Shut up and take my money.

Cool Water is equal parts moving love story, Australian struggle story and redemptive family story. It tells the story of Vincent, his son Joe and grandson Frank as they create and live with the ramifications of choices made and opportunities missed.

A small Queensland town in the 1950s is trying to make its way forward as workers gather to build the new dam. Evelyn Edwards finds herself lost in her role of a wife who desperately longs for a child; Vincent, the town's butcher, is lost in his role as the town's meat supplier, and Joe stands between the two - a young boy who just wants to belong to someone and somewhere.

At times I felt echoes of Richard Flanagan, at others Evie Wyld. Quintessentially Australian without being enveloped in dirt and dust, this story is a must read.

An interesting study of different generations and their experiences and interplays. I enjoyed the setting and felt the different perspectives were very well presented.

I really enjoyed reading the book "Cool Water" by Dianne Touchell. It delves into the complexities of family, heritage, and the weight of the past. Frank Herbert, fearing a family curse, faces the shadows of his father's expectations amid a shaky marriage and business. Set during his daughter's wedding, the novel seamlessly moves between present struggles and the 1950s, uncovering buried secrets and ancestral wrongs. Touchell's atmospheric prose explores the interplay between personal choices and family legacies, prompting reflection on breaking free from the shadows of the past. "Cool Water" is a compelling journey of family dynamics, redemption, and the quest for self-discovery. Overall I rated this book between 2.75 and 3.15 stars.