In Dark Water (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Rating:
Summary: Great plot but watered-down by verbose details.
Review: Although Blakeslee hits the target in the second half of In Dark Water, her consistent effort to embody the plot in needless details made me "suffer through" the first half. Perhaps my limited contact with individuals from their mountain region gives me less of an appreciation,but Blakeslee was not successful in showing me who these people really are. Those who appreciate mother-daughter relationships should read Fowler's Before Women Had Wings.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: Blakeslee has a most wonderful way of writing. Her story is intriguing, happy and heartbreaking all at the same time. The imagery that her words produced was infectious; I wanted and still crave more.

Rating:
Summary: Look to "Same Blood"
Review: I haven't even read the book yet, and can't wait to, but having read "Same Blood" by the author, I recognize that the main character is one of the characters from that book. So these two books are linked, and you would profit by reading both.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant
Review: I love this book, and have read it three times already. The heartbreaking lonliness of Dorrie, and the selfish madness of the mother make for a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Ellen Foster 2
Review: If you enjoyed Ellen Foster, you will probably love this book. Mostly written from the perspective of an 11 year old girl, this story unveils the trials and tribulations of a family having to deal with the tragedies of death and mental illness. The author's use of dialect and her attention to detail draw the reader into the small town world of the story's characters, creating an eye-opening reading experience and exposing real emotions that we all have felt. Although the potential is there for a boring, sluggish story, Blakeslee alters the points of view enough to keep the novel moving. Hints of Anne Tyler pop up throughout the book; look for the elder gentleman (Popsy). The humor of Tyler does not exist here, but the believability of the characters rivals any of Tyler's books.

Be advised that the book slows down about a third of the way through it; I had to put it down for a while. However, I recommend that you finish it. You may come across a slice of life that may resemble one of your own.

Rating:
Summary: Ellen Foster 2
Review: If you enjoyed Ellen Foster, you will probably love this book. Mostly written from the perspective of an 11 year old girl, this story unveils the trials and tribulations of a family having to deal with the tragedies of death and mental illness. The author's use of dialect and her attention to detail draw the reader into the small town world of the story's characters, creating an eye-opening reading experience and exposing real emotions that we all have felt. Although the potential is there for a boring, sluggish story, Blakeslee alters the points of view enough to keep the novel moving. Hints of Anne Tyler pop up throughout the book; look for the elder gentleman (Popsy). The humor of Tyler does not exist here, but the believability of the characters rivals any of Tyler's books.

Be advised that the book slows down about a third of the way through it; I had to put it down for a while. However, I recommend that you finish it. You may come across a slice of life that may resemble one of your own.

Rating:
Summary: this book amazes me with it color and truth of real people.
Review: In Dark Water is one of the most effective books I've read all year. I work for a publishing company, and read many books. For one book to stand out in my mind, to haunt me long after I've read it, thrills me. The writing is unique, the voice is real. The story has contiuned to stay with me, as it reoccurs in my mind often. I LOVED In Dark Water, and am thrilled to have the chance to pass it along to other book lovers.

Rating:
Summary: the writing is captivating, the story is haunting
Review: In Dark Water is one of the most effective books I've read all year. I work for a publishing company, and read many books. For one book to stand out in my mind, to haunt me long after I've read it, thrills me. The writing is unique, the voice is real. The story has contiuned to stay with me, as it reoccurs in my mind often. I LOVED In Dark Water, and am thrilled to have the chance to pass it along to other book lovers.

Rating:
Summary: MOVING, RELEVANT -- AND BELIEVABLE
Review: Mermer Blakeslee's IN DARK WATER presents us with a story that cannot help but move us emotionally. Her young heroine, Eudora Buell, is full of spirit, imagination and wonder -- she is immediately likeable, drawing the reader readily into her world and her story.

Dorrie has a great need -- as all children have -- to be loved, to feel a part of her family. When her older brother David, who seems to be the focus of much of her family's love, is killed in a motorcycle accident, the walls come tumbling down. Her mother is the first to succumb to the depression that covers all of them -- in very different ways -- like a blanket. Dorrie fights for her rightful share of love and attention for a while, then, seeing that she's waging a losing battle with her increasingly non-present mother's emotions, she takes off on a quest to find it.

Her journey takes her a short distance, just a few miles away to refuge among the eccentric members of the Tappen family. Different they may be, but among them she finds nurturing, unconditional love -- and she begins to thrive again. Through a series of events and misunderstandings, she finds even this rug yanked out from under her, and despite all of her struggles, she, too, finds herself a victim of depression.

Her climb back into her true self, and the forces that draw her again and again to her mother -- whose own depression shattered Dorrie's tenuous grip on emotional health and forced her to flee her own home -- make for a strong, compelling story that is so very relevant to our times, when people everywhere in our society are struggling with many of these same issues.

As moving and well-written as the story is, what makes it hold us even more by our hearts and souls is the fact that Blakelee's characters are so well-drawn and accurately voiced -- they are some of the most believable human beings I've run across in literature. Their emotions and thoughts are brought to life in such a way that the shifts in point-of-view are very easy and natural for the reader to follow.

IN DARK WATER gives us a thoughtful and insightful look at the effects of depression on both individuals and on a family -- and it conveys that through the darkest hours there is hope to be found in the love of a family, of people who care from deep within, who feel the bonds that are not always easy to see with the eyes.