Most Massachusetts residents are familiar with former Governor William F. Weld, but few are aware the experienced attorney is also a writer with three novels already under his belt.
Last night at Barnes ‘ Noble at Boston University, Weld read passages from his third novel, Stillwater, the story of the Western Massachusetts towns intentionally flooded in 1938 to create the Quabbin Reservoir, which would provide drinking water to the city of Boston.
“I’d always been fascinated by the story of how the government could just flood entire towns — obviously it could not happen today: You’d be flooded with litigation for 150 years,” Weld joked.
The book is told through the eyes of a 78-year-old man looking back at the intentional destruction of his land, which occurred when he was 15 years old. Weld read the opening passage of his book, which reflects the resentment many residents felt toward the government’s intrusion.
“They say in country towns, a man who dies today is buried in the earth where he’s lain many times before; the man who marries today takes the same wife he’s taken for generations,” Weld read. “Perhaps that made the powerful folks in Boston feel it didn’t matter if they buried our homes.”
Weld said his family was similarly forced out of Long Island by the government, which helped him commiserate with the characters in his novel.
“I put myself in the skin of the people who had been displaced there,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I would’ve been on the side of those who were still bitter.”
Keeping a lighthearted atmosphere by inserting witty commentary, Weld encouraged the audience to express their opinions of his work.
“This is really my maiden voyage on my third book, which is my most serious — read, pretentious — effort to date, barring one appearance on the Today show, so I’m anxious to see how you all take it in,” he said.
The audience of over 60 people was a diverse mix of college students, middle-aged adults and senior citizens. Several BU students expressed excitement about seeing the former governor in person, and two elderly women recounted the various towns destroyed by the creation of Quabbin Reservoir.
“It’s a part of Massachusetts history … there’s a lot of sadness to that whole era. Even though we needed it, it had a high human cost to the people who lived there,” said Arlene Scherer of Boston.
Some members in the audience had not read Weld’s works but were interested in hearing the former governor speak.
“I really enjoy listening to people speak,” said Mary Stronach of Holliston. “That’s why I left my house and got on the T to come here. I’m personally interested in the Quabbin issue.”
Francesca Miceli, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she would like to read Weld’s novel after hearing him speak.
“He was witty, inspiring and very entertaining,” she said. “His book sounds interesting.”
Weld quoted Mark Twain’s advice, “Write what you know,” and said he has utilized his own experiences in each of his three works. The first two, “Mackerel by Moonlight” and “Big Ugly,” were political satires based on his experiences in the justice department.
“The [first books] were state politics and national politics, with a little bit of ‘cops and robbers’ mixed in,” he said. “Having exhausted the [19]80s and ’90s, I decided to resort back to the ’60s for prior experiences that I’d had.”
Weld said he is uncertain about the details for a sequel, but he is beginning research for his next work.
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