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katiekate 's review for:
Blackwater: The Complete Saga
by Michael McDowell
The Blackwater Saga is essentially a saga of three generations of the Caskey family, a wealthy family in a normal town in 1919 that is suddenly rocked by a sudden new addition to the town after a quick and rare flood. The saga focuses heavily on the family as well as familial dynamics between members (all centered around Elinor - the new face - to her hateful and demanding new mother-in-law to family members who represent her in the books) and the paranormal aspect around Elinor.
McDowell's horror writing carries deep into the southern gothic while still maintaining a subtlety of it to lace in the paranormal aspects without completely overpowering the story with it. The saga is about a family with paranormal ties rather than a paranormal story. It carries in traditional southern gothic elements of not rather hauntings and in-you-face fear like in European gothic stories, but rather a tale of 'there is something not quite right here' gothic, where you feel the hair on your arms immediately stand up while staring at something or checking over your shoulder without knowing exactly what it is you're afraid of.
Mixed in with a family focus, McDowell also writes in very dynamic family matters of odd things the family does that slowly go to show how different they are. Slowly, with every new generation, the family grows through additions of sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews, but still encloses around itself through marrying into each other and trading off children to each other first as types of settlements, then through children wanting to hold a sense of familial love by taking care of another member. Slowly, the rather normal rich family becomes like one of those that you whisper about. How they act very normal, that they hold an important part in the community, but that there are stories about them that you gossip about, give space to when walking by, or mention around a campfire. They become the family out on the hill, who are nice and alright but not exactly wanting to get to close to.
The fourth and fifth books were a little slow and you can tell that they were filler books for McDowell's main plot that you knew how the saga would end (based on what Elinor said), and you can especially tell this because the books started strong, and then the saga ended strong. The paranormal elements of the fourth and fifth books mostly surround what type of mysterious being Elinor and her children are and Frances finding out about it and the books essentially fill in what happens to the family between a generation to get to the planned end. While what Elinor, Frances, and Nerita are and the ambiguity of it is a part of the paranormal aspects of the saga, having two books surrounding that with no other paranormal-esk aspect was rather boring to read. However, by the last book McDowell definitely went back to the roots of the first three books through ghosts, rituals, and the idea of things coming back for you.
All in all it was a good saga and in a few years once I've forgotten some details of it I will likely come back to it (though likely skipping books four and five). McDowell is an excellent storyteller and I loved the subtle aspects of writing through the southern gothic genre. It's paranormal without getting in your face that still manages to send a shiver up your spine. Even if a little weird of lesbian cousins living together and other cousins marrying into each other, still enjoyable and a great read. If you enjoy southern gothic, this is one of the best.
McDowell's horror writing carries deep into the southern gothic while still maintaining a subtlety of it to lace in the paranormal aspects without completely overpowering the story with it. The saga is about a family with paranormal ties rather than a paranormal story. It carries in traditional southern gothic elements of not rather hauntings and in-you-face fear like in European gothic stories, but rather a tale of 'there is something not quite right here' gothic, where you feel the hair on your arms immediately stand up while staring at something or checking over your shoulder without knowing exactly what it is you're afraid of.
Mixed in with a family focus, McDowell also writes in very dynamic family matters of odd things the family does that slowly go to show how different they are. Slowly, with every new generation, the family grows through additions of sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews, but still encloses around itself through marrying into each other and trading off children to each other first as types of settlements, then through children wanting to hold a sense of familial love by taking care of another member. Slowly, the rather normal rich family becomes like one of those that you whisper about. How they act very normal, that they hold an important part in the community, but that there are stories about them that you gossip about, give space to when walking by, or mention around a campfire. They become the family out on the hill, who are nice and alright but not exactly wanting to get to close to.
The fourth and fifth books were a little slow and you can tell that they were filler books for McDowell's main plot that you knew how the saga would end (based on what Elinor said), and you can especially tell this because the books started strong, and then the saga ended strong. The paranormal elements of the fourth and fifth books mostly surround what type of mysterious being Elinor and her children are and Frances finding out about it and the books essentially fill in what happens to the family between a generation to get to the planned end. While what Elinor, Frances, and Nerita are and the ambiguity of it is a part of the paranormal aspects of the saga, having two books surrounding that with no other paranormal-esk aspect was rather boring to read. However, by the last book McDowell definitely went back to the roots of the first three books through ghosts, rituals, and the idea of things coming back for you.
All in all it was a good saga and in a few years once I've forgotten some details of it I will likely come back to it (though likely skipping books four and five). McDowell is an excellent storyteller and I loved the subtle aspects of writing through the southern gothic genre. It's paranormal without getting in your face that still manages to send a shiver up your spine. Even if a little weird of lesbian cousins living together and other cousins marrying into each other, still enjoyable and a great read. If you enjoy southern gothic, this is one of the best.