Editorial Reviews
Kirkus Review
In this debut novel, a forensic librarian uncovers letters that lead to an explanation for her father’s absence. Vela Ostofvold is in Rome at a symposium about her work as a forensic librarian, “profiling how ephemera, inscriptions, and notations create distinct book personalities.” A rather sad, mysterious man named William Dean approaches her. He tells her that he went to school with her mother, Olivia, with whom he’s lost contact, in the Canadian town where Vela was also raised while Olivia pursued her career as an opera singer. Vela, still in Rome, then goes to the antiquarian bookstore discovered during her vacations spent with her mother. She chats with friend Amelia, who now runs the shop, and wonders if Dean could be the father she has never known. Later, Vela and Amelia are packing up Olivia’s Rome flat, since the building is being sold. In a letter of instructions, the ever traveling Olivia mentions that she plans to go to Oxford, England, to visit Penelope Arthur, her childhood teacher. Vela then finds letters from Penelope, which reveal the teacher had offered to raise Vela but went to India instead. Vela travels to Oxford, where she has a consulting project, and visits Penelope, whose memory is failing. Thanks to material provided by Penelope, however, and after another conversation with Dean, Vela finally discovers a past tragedy and her father’s identity. The novel concludes with Vela’s return to Rome and a new opportunity to reignite her romance with Franco, Amelia’s cousin. First-time novelist Sikstrom brings ambitious scope to this narrative, which encompasses a compelling family mystery, a heroine whose career could be the subject of its own series, several exotic locales, and a fairy tale–like love story. While Sikstrom is mostly successful in handling all these elements, the narrative is occasionally unbalanced. For example, Vela’s current age and home base are left a bit hazy, and there’s digressive detail about Penelope’s sojourn in India. Overall, however, this is a rich and entertaining debut. A lush, atmospheric novel that combines literary detective work, romance and international flair.
Reviewed by Pearl Luke
be-a-better-writer
Watermark has one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever encountered. Dr. Vela Ostofvold is a "forensic librarian," an occupation that until now existed solely in Sari Sikstrom's imagination. As she soon allows us to learn, the protagonist's job is to analyze books as physical rather than intellectual objects. Through the study of "ephemera, inscriptions and notations," the character tells us, "a secondary story beyond print accumulates." That the main character is a Sherlock Holmes of the book world fascinates me, as does the idea that books can reveal so much more than the story contained in their pages.
As the novel opens, readers meet the main character as she introduces herself at a symposium for forensic scientists: "Hello, I am Vela Ostofvold, and I am a Forensic Librarian." I had a captive audience and I {needed to} make the most of it. I smiled back at the group growing around me. "Does anyone have a well read book with them?" I waited while onlookers opened zippers on knapsacks and tugged at Velcro fasteners. I chose the volume with the most obvious wear. I balanced the spine on my palm. "Where has this book been? The dust jacket is missing, and the cover is faded, think of a possible environment." Several voices responded. "Outside in the sun." On a table by a window," said another. "Good." I ran my finger along the edge of the book. "I see traces of gilding, not much left, perhaps eroded by moisture." I flipped the pages. "The readers left greasy fingerprints. This suggests a casual environment where eating and reading are acceptable." I turned to the title page. "No inscription or name." I ran my fingers along the margins bordering the text, stopping on several short strokes made with a ballpoint pen. "You might look at a series of lines as a careless doodle, or the beginning of a musical score. A stray slip of paper hidden in a book may hold a combination to a safe which may destroy one fortune and build another." I looked up and closed the book. "This was not a possession. I suggest it is a communal book from a seaside bed and breakfast." The person who supplied the volume confirmed, "I picked it up in a guest house in Spain." He stepped forward to retrieve the book.
I had the pleasure of mentoring Ms. Sikstrom as she wrote the first drafts of this book, and I was hooked on the story before I had finished that passage. What an original and memorable character! The sort that no editor forgets, and that every writer should aim to create. There is a place in literature for characters of every occupation, but my mind raced with excitement when I discovered such freshness of imagination. Most of the book is written in prose as concise and lively as the passage above, and the diction is exquisitely original, with many impressive lines and descriptions, such as when Vela examines another book and says, "it is as if a dragonfly dipped its tail in ink and flew over the page," or when the gladioli plants in the hotel landscape create a "phantasmal army with their swords raised." On every page the story provides proof that Sikstrom has the talent necessary to become an author of acclaim. Watermark does feel somewhat rushed, perhaps self-published before it reached its potential. So despite my enjoyment of the story's many pleasures, I wonder just how much more this book might have revealed if more time had been spent developing all the wonderful ideas and plot points that at the moment feel passed over. Nonetheless, the book will be a treasure trove for those who read more for language and originality than for plot development.
http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/watermark.html
Reviewed By Sarah Lowry
5 star
Watermark by Sari Sikstrom is the story of a young woman’s search for her own identity. Vela lives in the shadow of her famous opera singer mother and was raised by her grandparents. Although her mother was often away when she was young, Vela has a good relationship with her. It is Vela’s unknown father who haunts her life. While in Rome to pack up her mother’s rental home, Vela discovers letters between her grandmother and one of her mother’s childhood teachers. These letters lead Vela into a past full of love and heartache. While Vela journeys through the past to find her own identity, she discovers that what she has always needed and wanted has been with her from childhood, and she learns the reason her mother has kept her father’s identity hidden.
Watermark is a story that kept me yearning to know more. Sari Sikstrom manages to tell not one but two stories in this novel, which had me entranced. I loved learning about the lives of Vela’s mother, her grandmother, and her mother’s teacher. Sikstrom seamlessly wove these stories together with Vela’s. The descriptions of both Rome and India were vivid and full of imagery, enabling me to see these places as though I was there. I would have liked to see a little more of the romance and about Vela’s unusual job as a Forensic Librarian. I’m a huge fan of books, so I found Vela’s job intriguing and loved the emphasis on books throughout the story. Sikstrom’s writing has a lovely poetic quality that drew me in and captivated me. I loved this story and can’t wait to read more by this wonderful author.