Katharine Haake, whose family has for several generations been intimately linked with the landscape and history of far-northern California, offers in That Water, Those Rocks a brilliant novel that interlaces autobiographical writing, natural history, and reflections on the craft of writing itself. The Shasta Dam, which controls and budgets the waters of four of California's major river systems, lies at the center of this braided narrative, the dam's construction the obsession and occupation of several of Haake's characters, and the impact of its presence the subject of much of her meditation.