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A review by elderlingfool
A Cheia by Michael McDowell
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The person that recommended this series to me told me that it is better as a whole. I believe that to be true since this entire first book feels like a beginning and there are still many questions at the end without an answer.
The book starts with two men finding a mysterious woman in a flooded hotel. No one knows how she survived for days without food and she states that she slept the entire time. What follows is a family drama involving a controlling mother, among others.
I still don't know what is Elinor's goal. It is clear from the start that she is some kind of water creature, but I have no idea why she is meddling with humans.
Even though it seems that not much happens in this book, the pacing is pretty fast. Suddenly, characters are already married and suddenly someone dies, etc.
I expected horror out of this book, but it reads more like a family drama. I wished that the characters were explored a little better because I often felt like I was being told what they were like instead of shown that through their actions and dialogue.
Somehow, I didn't expect this to be a story about a white family with only black servants. I wonder if that will be addressed more in depth in later books and I hope it is. This book also keeps mentioning how strong and clever the women are and how dumb the Caskey men are, which at times felt a little weird. I never like when a gender is put down in order to enhance the other and when it is a man doing that it can feel condescending. However, both Elinor and Mary-Love are the best characters in the book so the author got that right.
I will probably continue the series, but I will wait for the translation of the next books in portuguese. I read the translation by Francisca Cortesão and it seemed pretty good.
The book starts with two men finding a mysterious woman in a flooded hotel. No one knows how she survived for days without food and she states that she slept the entire time. What follows is a family drama involving a controlling mother, among others.
I still don't know what is Elinor's goal. It is clear from the start that she is some kind of water creature, but I have no idea why she is meddling with humans.
Even though it seems that not much happens in this book, the pacing is pretty fast. Suddenly, characters are already married and suddenly someone dies, etc.
I expected horror out of this book, but it reads more like a family drama. I wished that the characters were explored a little better because I often felt like I was being told what they were like instead of shown that through their actions and dialogue.
Somehow, I didn't expect this to be a story about a white family with only black servants. I wonder if that will be addressed more in depth in later books and I hope it is. This book also keeps mentioning how strong and clever the women are and how dumb the Caskey men are, which at times felt a little weird. I never like when a gender is put down in order to enhance the other and when it is a man doing that it can feel condescending. However, both Elinor and Mary-Love are the best characters in the book so the author got that right.
I will probably continue the series, but I will wait for the translation of the next books in portuguese. I read the translation by Francisca Cortesão and it seemed pretty good.