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Author A.E.H. Veenman booklist (click here)

Book Review By Anethea Veenman-Hodges
All Waters Gathering by A.E.H. Veenman

Debra Quakerneck, an average 30 something social worker, has just lost her husband to infidelity (a sexual affair with her sister!) when she meets Mieke Adams, an elderly woman with a lust for life, an admiration for the Japanese culture, and a lifetime of stories to share.

Mieke's distinctive Zen garden is the setting for the women to learn about each other and their pasts. Mieke relays stories of her childhood and gives Debra four gifts (a geisha mask, a bamboo rod, a model sailboat, and a porcelain Buddha figurine) bearing profound meaning -- these help Debra through her troubles, the worst being the death of a little girl she causes in a car accident.

Out of the women's friendship, a familial connection is uncovered and a genealogical search begins. Debra must follow her leads to Japan, where she discovers her kinship to Dutch and English sailors who first arrived in Japan in the 1600s -- and the people she has come to learn through the tales of the older women in her life.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day)
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - natural phenomena
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers
How sensitive is this character?

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 ()
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Japan
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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