Critical analysis of the opening chapters of Waterland.

... Critical analysis of the opening chapters of Waterland "...and each one of them was once a tiny baby sucking his mother's milk..." This conclusion to the book's opening paragraph epitomizes the first 4 chapters - a seemingly ambiguous idea that bears no real resemblance to anything. However, this is because Graham Swift writes deliberately, and even the strangest subject is actually entirely relevant to both the plot and story. This allows him to develop his novels in his own, unique way (Although numerous parodies of other writers are present in his words; the most apparent example being Thomas Hardy and his descriptive style, where Swift describes the setting for periods of time, relating it to his characters) and fully explore his setting through his words, in this case The Fens. The first four chapters of Waterland do not introduce a plot that has lots of substance, save for the discovery of the

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