My attention was first caught by the description, epic saga, when I saw the write up for Stephanie Soileau's debut novel, Should The Waters Take Us being published by Doubleday Books on July 14, 2026. I received an advanced reader's copy of the novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The word "epic" means to tell the stories of historic people or of a country's history. In Soileau's case, the adventures and deeds being told are of four centuries of people originating in France, then moving to Arcadia, and ending up in Louisianna in the bayous. The waters are paramount in their lives from the first voyage to the new world, to the livelihoods of living and surviving on the bayous for generations.
As in most dynamic tales, the adventures of the people jump from generation to generation, back and forth between eras and history unfolds and is retold to subsequent generations. We are introduced toeach generation learning from the successes and failures of the ancestors and sharing those lessons with their children. Some to be conquered, others to be relived over and over again as the land and the wilds are forever struggling against man and it's progress.
I enjoyed the book. I felt frustration with the characters when the hurricanes came and devastated the land over and over again throughout the centuries. When men took advantage of the poorer people, essentially stepping on the backs of some to rise above them. When children were at the mercy of the parents in the fight to simply survive.
I can't say that this was a book I felt joy to read, but I appreciate the story showing the reader what it means to persevere for the sake of life itself. I will give this book a rating of 4 stars, and invite others to read, , Should The Waters Take Us. It's important to realize that struggle is part of life and seeing others doggedness can motivate us to do likewise.
