200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

The Water Cure

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018
By Sophie Mackintosh
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.26 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 28,216 ratings, 3,595 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh is a haunting novel that explores themes of survival and sisterhood. Set on a secluded island, three sisters live under the watchful eye of their parents, who protect them from an outside world filled with toxins. Their isolated existence is disrupted when strangers arrive, forcing the sisters to confront the truths of their upbringing.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
Elsewhere:
$2600
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by themes of isolation, survival, and the psychological impact of living in a dystopian world. The narrative is rich with tension and lyrical prose, offering a haunting exploration of female resilience and power dynamics within a family. Fans of atmospheric storytelling with a touch of the surreal may find it particularly engaging.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A dreamlike and compulsive feminist dystopia for the #metoo generation.

You are a girl. Your body is vulnerable. Men will break it if they can - and out there, they absolutely can.

Suffering will prepare you for the worst. The cure is nothing compared to what you've been spared in the sickness. It takes a lot of love to hurt you like this.

Now, come outside. It's time to play the drowning game.

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh invites you into a haunting world where the boundaries between love and pain are disturbingly blurred.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Sophie Mackintosh's The Water Cure has been praised for its eerie beauty and gripping narrative, described as a feminist dystopian fairy tale that explores themes of female empowerment, trauma, and survival. Critics have highlighted its haunting, atmospheric prose and the author’s stylistic prowess, noting that the novel's tension and suspense make it an extraordinary debut. It's often associated with other minimalist and darkly engaging works, suggesting its potential for a compelling film adaptation.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241983010

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 April 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 182g

Pages: 256

Collections

Dystopian Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction Sophie Mackintosh

About the Author

Sophie Mackintosh is the author of three novels- The Water Cure, Blue Ticket and Cursed Bread. Her debut novel was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018 and won a Betty Trask Award 2019. Cursed Bread was longlisted for the Women's Prize 2023. She has been published in Granta, The White Review and TANK magazine among others.

Also by Sophie Mackintosh

View all
  • Cursed Bread
    From the Booker-nominated author of The Water Cure - an eerie historical mystery about desire, memory and madness. Audacious and mesmerising, Cursed Bread is a darkly erotic tale of a town gripped by madness, envy like poison in the blood, and desire that burns and consumes. Elodie is the baker's wife—plain and unremarkable but desperate to escape her dull, small-town...
    By Sophie Mackintosh
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • On Sale
    16% off
    Permanence
    Stylish and sumptuously romantic, charged with emotional electricity - this is the story of an affair... Clara and Francis are in love - but nobody knows it. For months they have been slipping away from their respective lives, sharing sweet, stolen afternoons in anonymous hotel rooms. Until one day they wake up in a bedroom neither of them recognises with...
    By Sophie Mackintosh
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Blue Ticket
    A devastating and euphoric road trip novel about desire, choice and the meaning of free will, from the Man Booker-longlisted author of The Water Cure. Calla knows how the lottery works. Everyone does. On the day of your first bleed, you report to the station to learn what kind of woman you will be. A white ticket grants you children....
    By Sophie Mackintosh
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • At the Pond
    At the Pond invites readers into the tranquil yet vibrant world of the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond, an oasis of natural beauty nestled on the outskirts of Hampstead Heath. This anthology weaves together a rich tapestry of personal recollections and historical musings, offering a unique glimpse into the lives of women who have found solace and camaraderie in these serene...
    By Esther Freud and Margaret Drabble and Sophie Mackintosh
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from General Fiction

View all
  • On Sale
    13% off
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    14% off
    Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    A Court of Splintered Harmony
    Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.What was broken will be remade.Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories,...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    10% off
    New Release
    Threshing Day
    The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza.    Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing and In the...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Hardback
    $6300
    Usually:
    $6999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Chain Reaction
    Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! ‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .’ Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...
    By Lee Child and Andrew Child
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    11% off
    Assassin’s Apprentice
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...
    By Robin Hobb
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    20% off
    A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
    All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." —USA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $8000
    Elsewhere:
    $12495
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Threshing Day
    New Release
    Threshing Day
    The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day, contains thirteen stories starring your favourite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-colour illustrations by artist Joe Requeza and silver-gilded edges. *while stock lasts. Discover the beloved world of the record-breaking, multi-million-copy bestselling series where power always demands a price, secrets darken every hallway,...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    19% off
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    John of John
    The stunning new novel from the Booker Prize-winning, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo.'John of John has the emotional range and sense of sympathy of his earlier books, but this book is special, it has an urgency, an immediacy, a brilliant sense of place, the drama of fierce emotion repressed, concealed and volcanically exposed' - Colm Tóibín'To read John of John is to move to...
    By Douglas Stuart
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    14% off
    A Court of Wings and Ruin
    The third instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the gripping third book of the ACOTAR series, Feyre Archeron faces the ultimate battle for her world. Having returned to the Spring Court, she is determined to gather...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.