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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
I LOVED this book! The 30 hour listen time was daunting, but so very worth it. I am not usually into family sagas, but Michael McDonnell is a master storyteller, crafting a masterpiece of epic proportions. I loved how history and the supernatural were interwoven into the narrative. Matt Godfrey was the perfect narrator, making the experience that much more amazing. Highly recommend!
Just as great as I remembered. The audio version is excellent.
“She hates that levee the way you and I hate hell and the Republicans.”
In another Southern Gothic classic, McDowell paints quite a picture. Surrounded by swampy lands and wrap around porches, the Caskey family takes in a stranger after a flood in 1919. This stranger, Elinor, changes this family; changes it for the better. But she has a secret that she can't even tell her new husband, Oscar.
The Saga spans over 50 years and four generations. The family survives the Great Depression, the Second World War, and even a few personal tragedies. There are ups and there are lows, but one thing is for sure, the women of the Caskey clan sure do take care of business.
The whole saga includes serious topics like race, misogyny, rape, and homosexuality, with such kindness and care for the period and location, I was genuinely surprised. This family may not be perfect, but they stick together through anything.
Normally I wouldn't care for such a slow burn. I like action and getting to the big bad, yet I couldn't put this down! I was so interested in the family and their closeness that I didn't care too much when horrific things weren't happening. When they did happen, they were without mercy and soaked in blood. Overall, I laughed often, got angry, and even cried.
This is my third McDowell novel and as with the others, I can't say enough good things without spoilers. So go read this!
Blackwater: The Complete Saga on audio is absolutely phenomenal! Phenomenal! That's right, it's so good, it deserves two PHENOMENALS.
First-about the book itself. Michael McDowell was a force to be reckoned with as far as writing about family dynamics. If you've read The Elementals, Gilded Needles, or Cold Moon over Babylon, (and if you haven't you SHOULD), you already know that McDowell writes about families like no one else. Now imagine those books expanded to cover several generations of one family, in this case The Caskeys, and you might have an inkling of how great a work of literature, (that's right, I'm calling it literature), Blackwater really is.
Starting with a huge flood in Perdido, Alabama and a mysterious woman found in a partially flooded hotel and ending with another flood in the same town, there is a symmetry here not often found in horror fiction. Perhaps it's because Blackwater isn't really a horror novel, (or series of novels, as it was originally released back in the 80's), at all. I would describe it more as a Southern Gothic soap opera or family saga, with supernatural and horrific elements.
One of the things I adore about McDowell, and there are many of them, (click http://charlene.booklikes.com/post/1364466/how-i-came-to-love-a-dead-gay-man-michael-mcdowell for my essay on McDowell's work), is how he treats horrifying supernatural events as if they were no big deal. Somehow, the way he does that makes the event even more horrifying, if that makes any sense.
Of course, as I mentioned above, McDowell writes family dynamics like no one else and this book proves it. Throughout generations even, McDowell is at the top of his game writing about this family with its rich men and domineering women. Being from Alabama himself, the authenticity of the family's bearing and standing in their community of Perdido is never in doubt. His insights into human behavior are unmatched and beautifully written-without fail. Here's a quote from the first book of this novel,The Flood, (which takes place in the early 1920's):
"That was the great misconception about men: because they dealt with money, because they could hire someone on and later fire him, because they alone filled state assemblies and were elected congressional representatives, everyone thought they had power. Yet all the hiring and firing, the land deals and the lumber contracts, the complicated process for putting through a constitutional amendment-these were only bluster. They were blinds to disguise the fact of men's real powerlessness in life. Men controlled the legislatures, but when it came down to it, they didn't control themselves. Men had failed to study their own minds sufficiently, and because of this failure they were at the mercy of fleeting passions; men, much more than women, were moved by petty jealousies and the desire for petty revenges. Because they enjoyed their enormous but superficial power, men had never been forced to know themselves the way that women, in their adversity and superficial subservience, had been forced to learn about the workings of their brains and their emotions."
I could go on and on about McDowell, as many of you already know, but now I'd like to address the narration of this story by Alabama native Matt Godfrey.
I just don't have the words to describe how McDowell's words, combined with Godfrey's narration, made me feel. Together, they made a great work even greater. Godfrey's voicing was so true to the source material it made the Caskey voices come alive. ALIVE, I say! I laughed out loud many times, and I cried a few times too.
I most especially adored his voicing of James and of Oscar. Don't get me wrong, I loved these characters back when I first read the books a few years ago; but with Matt's voice attached to them, they became larger than life. It was easy for me to recognize who was talking just by the inflections and changes of tone. I've never listened to an audio book where it was easier for me to identify who was who, just by how the narrator voiced them. I've listened to a lot of audios over the last few years, and that's never happened to me-at least not in a book with as many characters as Blackwater. That's why I say now, with no reservations, that this is the BEST audiobook I've ever read. PERIOD.
I hope that I've convinced you to give this audio a try by giving it my HIGHEST recommendation. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you do give it a go.
You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0765CNTKG/chashorcor-20
*I received this audiobook free, from the narrator, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* **Further, I consider Matt Godfrey a friend, even thought we've never met, but this review IS my honest opinion.**
First-about the book itself. Michael McDowell was a force to be reckoned with as far as writing about family dynamics. If you've read The Elementals, Gilded Needles, or Cold Moon over Babylon, (and if you haven't you SHOULD), you already know that McDowell writes about families like no one else. Now imagine those books expanded to cover several generations of one family, in this case The Caskeys, and you might have an inkling of how great a work of literature, (that's right, I'm calling it literature), Blackwater really is.
Starting with a huge flood in Perdido, Alabama and a mysterious woman found in a partially flooded hotel and ending with another flood in the same town, there is a symmetry here not often found in horror fiction. Perhaps it's because Blackwater isn't really a horror novel, (or series of novels, as it was originally released back in the 80's), at all. I would describe it more as a Southern Gothic soap opera or family saga, with supernatural and horrific elements.
One of the things I adore about McDowell, and there are many of them, (click http://charlene.booklikes.com/post/1364466/how-i-came-to-love-a-dead-gay-man-michael-mcdowell for my essay on McDowell's work), is how he treats horrifying supernatural events as if they were no big deal. Somehow, the way he does that makes the event even more horrifying, if that makes any sense.
Of course, as I mentioned above, McDowell writes family dynamics like no one else and this book proves it. Throughout generations even, McDowell is at the top of his game writing about this family with its rich men and domineering women. Being from Alabama himself, the authenticity of the family's bearing and standing in their community of Perdido is never in doubt. His insights into human behavior are unmatched and beautifully written-without fail. Here's a quote from the first book of this novel,The Flood, (which takes place in the early 1920's):
"That was the great misconception about men: because they dealt with money, because they could hire someone on and later fire him, because they alone filled state assemblies and were elected congressional representatives, everyone thought they had power. Yet all the hiring and firing, the land deals and the lumber contracts, the complicated process for putting through a constitutional amendment-these were only bluster. They were blinds to disguise the fact of men's real powerlessness in life. Men controlled the legislatures, but when it came down to it, they didn't control themselves. Men had failed to study their own minds sufficiently, and because of this failure they were at the mercy of fleeting passions; men, much more than women, were moved by petty jealousies and the desire for petty revenges. Because they enjoyed their enormous but superficial power, men had never been forced to know themselves the way that women, in their adversity and superficial subservience, had been forced to learn about the workings of their brains and their emotions."
I could go on and on about McDowell, as many of you already know, but now I'd like to address the narration of this story by Alabama native Matt Godfrey.
I just don't have the words to describe how McDowell's words, combined with Godfrey's narration, made me feel. Together, they made a great work even greater. Godfrey's voicing was so true to the source material it made the Caskey voices come alive. ALIVE, I say! I laughed out loud many times, and I cried a few times too.
I most especially adored his voicing of James and of Oscar. Don't get me wrong, I loved these characters back when I first read the books a few years ago; but with Matt's voice attached to them, they became larger than life. It was easy for me to recognize who was talking just by the inflections and changes of tone. I've never listened to an audio book where it was easier for me to identify who was who, just by how the narrator voiced them. I've listened to a lot of audios over the last few years, and that's never happened to me-at least not in a book with as many characters as Blackwater. That's why I say now, with no reservations, that this is the BEST audiobook I've ever read. PERIOD.
I hope that I've convinced you to give this audio a try by giving it my HIGHEST recommendation. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you do give it a go.
You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0765CNTKG/chashorcor-20
*I received this audiobook free, from the narrator, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* **Further, I consider Matt Godfrey a friend, even thought we've never met, but this review IS my honest opinion.**
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To echo most reviews- despite the ghosts and river creatures- you should not go into this book thinking that it is a horror novel. Most incidents involving these supernatural entities are subtle, short-lived, and are often played out through indirect description. This novel is more like a family soap opera, as there really is not an overall plot, but rather, hundreds of smaller subplots and character-driven arcs. Most characters progress and regress in their development throughout the book, all within the norms of southern culture. Commentary is provided on pseudo-freedom within the black community post-emancipation, lesbian/ bi-sexual relationships, religious communities, rape culture, and briefly, interracial marriages throughout the 1900s. The adjustment in expectations of a horror novel to a family drama hurts this book, as it is a jarring transition that can leave you bored when waiting for thrilling events to occur. This boredom is rivaled by intrigue as you get intertwined in the political maneuverings of the power struggles that occur within this wealthy family. The prose is rich and well written. You spend exceptional lengths of time with these characters, that when deaths occur, most are truly emotionally impactful; all those mundane days slip into meaningful decades, and the impact of each lost truly reshapes the family atmosphere and story.
I enjoyed this so much! I listened to the complete saga on Audible and found that I never lost interest. This is a multi-generational story involving one family throughout many decades and it was great! I liked how the author involved real American history in the story, plus, there was a creepy vibe to it as well. I going to miss knowing what the Caskey's are up to.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall a very long book following the history of a family over multiple generations. I was expecting more from this book especially in terms of horror. It really dragged on in some places. the details on the family and character development was astounding, but at the end I felt like it left out details that I really wanted to know about and was just relieved when it was over
I have lived with the Caskey family now for so long I feel part of it, like a long distance cousin, or nephew by marriage. I know every lane, and sawmill in the tiny Alabama town of Perdido, every water oak and grain of sand on the Casky land. The feminine brogue of James, the shrill of Queenie, and the long drawl of Bray are as common to me as any birdsong or howl of wind. This is not the consequence of having spent so long in its six volumes, totalling some 1,200 pages and spanning half a century, it is simply down to the richly detailed lives, and at times, sad and haunting writing of Michael McDowell.
BLACKWATER was my first McDowell book, and I began it with no preconceived idea of what to expect. I had no expectations, nor was I privy to the fact McDowell had been dead for nearly twenty years, and that he had, in the late 1980s, penned the first draft of the Beetlejuice screenplay, which, through subsequent research, was a lot darker than the movie we know today. To me, McDowell had always been dead, and like the many ghosts born from the Perdido over the course of his book, he had wandered into my life, made bright the lights around me, and chilled my skin. And for that, I’m grateful.
The story is best described as a supernatural soap opera. I’m not saying that to dumb it down. This isn’t a book that can be dumbed down. But it is a story about family, beginning in the year 1919 and rounding off in 1970. At the start, the Caskey family had garnered a reasonable wealth through their sawmills, and things seemed to be going well until a great flood submerged most of the small town, including its homes, business and even people. And it’s here where the story begins. Oscar Caskey and his black servant, Bray, take a small boat into the town; there they find Elinor Dammert waiting to be rescued, though I use the term very loosely, in the upper floor room of the Osceola hotel. Elinor is not like other women. She is different, mysterious, and instantly wins the heart of the guileless Oscar. The only person who doesn’t take to Elinor is the matriarch Mary-Love, the head of the Caskey clan, and certainly a force to be reckoned with, as are most of the Caskey women. The truth is, women rule the roost in Perdido. They are the strongest characters, and by far, the most interesting. McDowell’s gift in shaping these woman, from Mary-Love, to her daughter Sister, to the servants, Ivey Sapp and her daughter Zaddie, and more importantly, Oscar and Elinor’s estranged daughter, Miriam, is beguiling to observe. It’s fair to say the women of BLACKWATER are violets unwilling to shrink for anyone, least of all the men.
“Oscar knew that Elinor was very much like his mother: strong-willed and dominant, wielding power in a fashion he could never hope to emulate. That was the great misconception about men… there were blinds to disguise the fact of men’s real powerlessness in life. Men controlled the legislatures, but when it came down to it, they didn’t control themselves… Oscar knew that Mary-Love and Elinor could think and scheme rings around him. They got what they wanted. In fact, every female on the census rolls of Perdido, Alabama got what she wanted. Of course no man admitted this; in fact, didn’t even know it. But Oscar did…”
It’s worth noting, the Caskey men are not anvils to bear every harsh word or mighty strike of each women’s doings. They are not victims of domestic violence, nor do they whimper or cower. But they do serve a purpose, and that is to make sure they do the things asked of them by the women, or at least agree to what the women are asking of them. The Caskey men’s strength is their understanding they will never be as shrewd, calculating, all-knowing and persistent enough to undertake such tasks as counter arguing. They know when best to remain quiet, and know that no matter what happens, be it handing over their children to curry favour with a senior member of the family, or amassing wealth beyond their comprehension, all of these things were conceived, implemented and executed by a woman, and done for the greater good.
The supernatural aspect, that at times gives most horror stories a run for their money, is delivered with enough bite you feel it’s teeth sink into you, and long after the moment passes, stare incredulously at the impression in your skin that refuses to fade. These moments are few, but when they come along, they shake the very pages. I’ve read a lot of ghost stories and I can say that what McDowell does in a couple of pages takes most authors fifty. Elinor’s character, in particular, has a past that stretches beyond the norm, and while not exactly chilling, there are moments you spend with her that renders your jaw slack and skin goosed. Each bloody end to a life, each resurrected spirit, they’re all crafted beautifully and interspersed appropriately so the reader does not feel gorged on gore, but instead, thirsty for more. I cannot praise McDowell enough. I cannot find fault in his prose, nor thumb my nose towards any character he gave flesh to. It’s a beautifully sad, haunting and awe-inspiring piece of fiction that will stay with me for such a long time.
The Caskey family opened their door to me. They allowed me to walk their halls, console myself in their chairs, eat at their tables, sleep in their beds and attend their many funerals. They looked after me like I was one of their own, and for that, I’m indebted and humbled. Now it’s time for you to knock upon their door, pull up a chair, and savour their hospitality while listening to the song of their ghosts.
BLACKWATER was my first McDowell book, and I began it with no preconceived idea of what to expect. I had no expectations, nor was I privy to the fact McDowell had been dead for nearly twenty years, and that he had, in the late 1980s, penned the first draft of the Beetlejuice screenplay, which, through subsequent research, was a lot darker than the movie we know today. To me, McDowell had always been dead, and like the many ghosts born from the Perdido over the course of his book, he had wandered into my life, made bright the lights around me, and chilled my skin. And for that, I’m grateful.
The story is best described as a supernatural soap opera. I’m not saying that to dumb it down. This isn’t a book that can be dumbed down. But it is a story about family, beginning in the year 1919 and rounding off in 1970. At the start, the Caskey family had garnered a reasonable wealth through their sawmills, and things seemed to be going well until a great flood submerged most of the small town, including its homes, business and even people. And it’s here where the story begins. Oscar Caskey and his black servant, Bray, take a small boat into the town; there they find Elinor Dammert waiting to be rescued, though I use the term very loosely, in the upper floor room of the Osceola hotel. Elinor is not like other women. She is different, mysterious, and instantly wins the heart of the guileless Oscar. The only person who doesn’t take to Elinor is the matriarch Mary-Love, the head of the Caskey clan, and certainly a force to be reckoned with, as are most of the Caskey women. The truth is, women rule the roost in Perdido. They are the strongest characters, and by far, the most interesting. McDowell’s gift in shaping these woman, from Mary-Love, to her daughter Sister, to the servants, Ivey Sapp and her daughter Zaddie, and more importantly, Oscar and Elinor’s estranged daughter, Miriam, is beguiling to observe. It’s fair to say the women of BLACKWATER are violets unwilling to shrink for anyone, least of all the men.
“Oscar knew that Elinor was very much like his mother: strong-willed and dominant, wielding power in a fashion he could never hope to emulate. That was the great misconception about men… there were blinds to disguise the fact of men’s real powerlessness in life. Men controlled the legislatures, but when it came down to it, they didn’t control themselves… Oscar knew that Mary-Love and Elinor could think and scheme rings around him. They got what they wanted. In fact, every female on the census rolls of Perdido, Alabama got what she wanted. Of course no man admitted this; in fact, didn’t even know it. But Oscar did…”
It’s worth noting, the Caskey men are not anvils to bear every harsh word or mighty strike of each women’s doings. They are not victims of domestic violence, nor do they whimper or cower. But they do serve a purpose, and that is to make sure they do the things asked of them by the women, or at least agree to what the women are asking of them. The Caskey men’s strength is their understanding they will never be as shrewd, calculating, all-knowing and persistent enough to undertake such tasks as counter arguing. They know when best to remain quiet, and know that no matter what happens, be it handing over their children to curry favour with a senior member of the family, or amassing wealth beyond their comprehension, all of these things were conceived, implemented and executed by a woman, and done for the greater good.
The supernatural aspect, that at times gives most horror stories a run for their money, is delivered with enough bite you feel it’s teeth sink into you, and long after the moment passes, stare incredulously at the impression in your skin that refuses to fade. These moments are few, but when they come along, they shake the very pages. I’ve read a lot of ghost stories and I can say that what McDowell does in a couple of pages takes most authors fifty. Elinor’s character, in particular, has a past that stretches beyond the norm, and while not exactly chilling, there are moments you spend with her that renders your jaw slack and skin goosed. Each bloody end to a life, each resurrected spirit, they’re all crafted beautifully and interspersed appropriately so the reader does not feel gorged on gore, but instead, thirsty for more. I cannot praise McDowell enough. I cannot find fault in his prose, nor thumb my nose towards any character he gave flesh to. It’s a beautifully sad, haunting and awe-inspiring piece of fiction that will stay with me for such a long time.
The Caskey family opened their door to me. They allowed me to walk their halls, console myself in their chairs, eat at their tables, sleep in their beds and attend their many funerals. They looked after me like I was one of their own, and for that, I’m indebted and humbled. Now it’s time for you to knock upon their door, pull up a chair, and savour their hospitality while listening to the song of their ghosts.
When I think of southern literature I usually go to Faulkner, O'Connor, Welty, etc. This is the first I have heard of Michael McDowell. The story is excellent and since I read the complete saga I got a real good sense of the history behind the story. I found it captivating and entertaining. I don't think I would rate McDowell with those three legends mentioned above but this was an excellent story. It's like watching a movie about a traditional southern family and all of a sudden something really weird happens and you have to go back and reread the passage again to make sure you got it right! I don't know if I'd call this Southern Gothic or Horror but regardless it is very entertaining.