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chriscotton 's review for:
Blackwater: The Complete Saga
by Michael McDowell
Enjoyable read that was worth the time, but not one I expect to return to and read again. 3.5 stars.
This year, I’ve read two sprawling family sagas, which also double as stories of the rise, prosperity, and fall of the town in which the family lives. The first was One Hundred Years of Solitude. The second was Blackwater.
In many ways, Blackwater was 100 Years of Solitude as if it was written by Stephen King and placed in Alabama (instead of King’s Maine or 100 Years’ Colombia). There are positives and negatives of this.
Positives: Blackwater flowed faster than 100 Years. It had its slow moments, but none that blogged me down as much as the slow moments in 100 Years. The writing was crisp, straightforward, and easy to follow. Overall, a very accessible, enjoyable read.
Negatives: Blackwater lacks the layers, symbolism, and complexity of 100 Years of Solitude. With 100 Years, I struggled through the story, but upon finishing the book, I wanted to read it again to explore the deeper story and all of the things I missed the first time through. With Blackwater, I’m pretty confident I didn’t miss anything the first time through. Many people may see this as a strength of Blackwater. But, I’m one that enjoys unraveling complex stories that get better the more you think through them.
The fantasy elements (mystical realism) in 100 Years of solitude are replaced in Blackwater with supernatural horror elements. Both incorporate such fantastical elements in intriguing ways. With 100 Years the magical realism components are best interpreted as the flourishes of a partially unreliable narrator telling the story “bible style”, morphing real world into myth and legend. In Blackwater, the supernatural elements are really part of the world and are important to who the characters are and shape major events; but they remain only in the background for most of the story.
This year, I’ve read two sprawling family sagas, which also double as stories of the rise, prosperity, and fall of the town in which the family lives. The first was One Hundred Years of Solitude. The second was Blackwater.
In many ways, Blackwater was 100 Years of Solitude as if it was written by Stephen King and placed in Alabama (instead of King’s Maine or 100 Years’ Colombia). There are positives and negatives of this.
Positives: Blackwater flowed faster than 100 Years. It had its slow moments, but none that blogged me down as much as the slow moments in 100 Years. The writing was crisp, straightforward, and easy to follow. Overall, a very accessible, enjoyable read.
Negatives: Blackwater lacks the layers, symbolism, and complexity of 100 Years of Solitude. With 100 Years, I struggled through the story, but upon finishing the book, I wanted to read it again to explore the deeper story and all of the things I missed the first time through. With Blackwater, I’m pretty confident I didn’t miss anything the first time through. Many people may see this as a strength of Blackwater. But, I’m one that enjoys unraveling complex stories that get better the more you think through them.
The fantasy elements (mystical realism) in 100 Years of solitude are replaced in Blackwater with supernatural horror elements. Both incorporate such fantastical elements in intriguing ways. With 100 Years the magical realism components are best interpreted as the flourishes of a partially unreliable narrator telling the story “bible style”, morphing real world into myth and legend. In Blackwater, the supernatural elements are really part of the world and are important to who the characters are and shape major events; but they remain only in the background for most of the story.