In Dark Water

by Mermer Blakeslee

In 1958, in a small town in upstate New York, the Buell family is falling apart. The sudden death of David, the only son, forever changes the bonds that connect them to one another and to the world. This is the story of Dorrie Buell, an intensely perceptive girl, trying to find her place in this charged, unpredictable landscape.

With clarity and grace, in lush, beautiful prose, Mermer Blakeslee brilliantly captures the grief that can shatter an ordinary family. As her mother sinks into depression, eleven-year-old Dorrie, full of an unusual mix of grit and delicacy, sets out on her own.

Armed with the imagined identity of a cowboy drifter, Dorrie finds kinship and refuge in the hilltop farm of the lively, eccentric Tappen family. Yet the deep currents of Dorrie's life keep pulling her back toward her mother, toward the past that binds them, toward common ground.

Luminous, profound, alive with the secret knowledge of childhood, In Dark Water is a stunning novel of one family's trial and redemption. In Dorrie, Mermer Blakeslee has created a character who will find a place in your heart forever.

292 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 3 or 3 and a half stars. The author has a great handle on her characters. The characters are really the book's greatest strength. They all feel fully realized and real. The depictions of mental illness have the ring of truth. The voices are solid and believable, which is impressive considering much of the book is narrated by a child. It's a pretty harrowing story. The complaint that keeps me from giving it a more ringing endorsement is the strange jumps in perspective. The first section of the book is told from the protagonist's point of view. The next section begins with "Beulah:" and is told from Beulah's perspective, which works well. The chapter after that is written in third person, but retains Beulah's colloquialisms and speech patterns. "Dorrie dragged 'em over by the balin' twine tyin' 'em together." I was willing to accept that from Beulah, but not in the third person. There are a couple of unexpected jumps in narrator at the end as well. All in all, the author has a great sense of language and place and character development, and is unflinching in plot development. I just wish the narrative structure had felt more solid.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways, this book feels like it’s split into three parts. I was most interested in the first part, and the last third of it dragged terribly. I didn’t understand what went on in the examination and why. Sometimes I think the book tried to be a little too artsy, but overall, it was a nice read about how a young girl and her family deals with grief. Also, the idea that family doesn’t always mean blood spoke to me.

[Lezidezi Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just not real sure how to describe this novel. I liked it although it isn't anywhere close to a favorite. It didn't illicit any major feelings from me. I enjoyed the story. I especially like the part where the Tappens take Eudora in and I enjoyed when the narrator became Beulah. I liked seeing the downward spiral of mental health show cased in the mom.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to describe this book. A little hard to read. Disturbing. But a hopeful ending.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In just could not get into it. I finished it however i did not get much out of it.

[Karenbike Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant, funny, profoundly sad. This is the story of an 11 year old girl whose brother dies, whose mother sinks in to madness, who runs away to strangers who care for her then the girl sinks into her own madness. In the end, the journey ends with hope for both mother and daughter. Gripping and compelling.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Dark Water by Mermer Blakeslee. When I started reading this book I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read the whole book. At first it's about the mother and how she is handling the death of her son but then it goes into how the sister, Dorrie dealt with the loss of her brother and the loss and support of the parents and a normal family life.

[Vera Novitsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книга сильная и тяжелая, но очень хорошая. На семью обрушилось горе, и мама и дочь, каждая сама по себе, пытаются справиться и не справляются с этим горем. Написано очень хорошо, ничего лишнего, ничего банального.

[Tamar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbingly intriguing.