Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins

This sweeping historical novel focuses on the many ways we thirst. It can be a physical thirst for water and the many implications when it is given or taken away. There is also the thirst for acceptance and love which is seen in the love that the agent sent to set up a Japanese American internment camp has for the rancher's daughter or the acceptance of those families being rounded up for the camp having that acceptance from their new country taken away. The story is centered around the setting up of an internment camp and how it affects the community around it and the ranching family fighting for extinction should they lose water rights. The sentences are written in short bursts that help the reader reach into each character as well as expertly setting the stage. Even though this is a novel of America and the impact of WWII it is also a love story, a family drama and people fighting both nature and men just to survive.  4 stars