Book Review: Shallow Waters by Anita Kopacz 3/5 Stars

Anita Kopacz's debut novel Shallow Waters was published in 2022.  I picked it up in 2025 because it fit my Water 2025 theme. 

The cover design is gorgeous, and I really loved that immediately. 

    Kopacz takes us on a adventure that spans the globe, starting in the Oceans of Africa and ending in a trip on the Underground railroad in the antebellum south. 

Readers travel with Yemaya, a goddess who isn't aware that she is a goddess as she searches for her stolen love Obatala. Along the way we meet many characters from history including Harriet Tubman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and (lesser known by Non-Quakers) Richard Dillingham.   In a bit of a mash up of historical figures, mythical figures and real and imagined events. 

Here is Moses-  Harriett Tubman in 1911.

Harriet Tubman, full-length portrait, seated in chair, facing front, probably at her home in Auburn, New York. Auburn New York, 1911. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002716779/.

  Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I felt it was inventive, and left room for discussion of so many aspects of American life from that era.  It was interesting to read about historical figures set in an imagined tale.  Kopacz really did capture the dangers of the Underground Railroad  and there were several moments where I was silently shouting "No, Yemaya No!"  as She made her way to the American shores and then further North! 

For me the ending - which had sort of an abrupt epilogue which solved an immediate issue of entrapment didn't quite sit that well.  I'm such a concrete person that the vague alluded to escape from the clutches of the very unlikable, awful, no good plantation owner was disappointing.  I wanted those moments of suspense and the clever escape, alas that was not to be.  I did listen to the sample of book two and found that indeed, we don't really seem to return to how that escape happened.  This is a choice made by the author and although it bothered me, it isn't really a fair criticism of the work-it's more of a personal preference. 

  Overall, well written, imaginative, and engaging. While I did not totally love this one, I would surely read more from this author.  I think she's one to watch.  This work, I suspect is not the best thing she will produce in her career. And if it is, it's not bad at all, it didn't entirely captivate me, but, again, I still want to read more from the author, so who knows. It definitely could be a book for you, my reading pals! Have you read this novel?  let me know what your thoughts are in the comments! 

STATS

First Published  August 2022

Pages: 224

Available as an Audio Book : Yes

Trigger Warnings:  (violence, murder, Slavery,)

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)