Up Through the Water

by Darcey Steinke

Darcey Steinke's first novel, now back in print, is an unusually assured and lyrical debut. Set on an island resort town off North Carolina, it tells of summer people and islanders, mothers and sons, women and men, love and its dangers. It is the story of Emily, a woman free as the waves she swims in every day, of the man who wants to clip her wings, of her son and the summer that he will become a man.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Darcey Steinke is an American author and educator known for her evocative novels and thoughtful nonfiction. She has written five novels, including Up Through the Water, Suicide Blonde, Jesus Saves, Milk, and Sister Golden Hair. She is also the author of the spiritual memoir Easter Everywhere and Flash Count Diary, a meditation on menopause and natural life. Her fiction often explores the intersection of the spiritual and the physical, with two of her novels, Up Through the Water and Jesus Saves, selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Steinke has contributed essays and articles to publications such as The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Vogue, and The Guardian, and co-edited the essay collection Joyful Noise with Rick Moody. In addition to her writing career, she has taught creative writing at institutions like Princeton University, Columbia University, Barnard College, and the American University of Paris. Originally from Oneida, New York, and the daughter of a Lutheran minister, Steinke now lives in Brooklyn with her husband, journalist Michael Hudson, and their daughter. A former guitarist for the band Ruffian, she continues to explore the connections between art, spirit, and human experience through her work.

Reviews

[Bob Brinkmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you come to this novel after reading other of Steinke's work, as I have, it'll seem like pretty tame stuff. This is not a criticism, as this is a very fine novel, but Up Through the Water is a sea change from some of Steinke's other novels, such as Suicide Blonde and Jesus Saves, gut-wrenching works awash in suffering and salvation.

In any case, this is a novel about summer love on Ocracoke Island, on the Outer Banks of NC--well, it's more than that, but that's the drift. In some ways it's a dual-directed work, a coming-of-age story of two teenagers (Eddie and Lila), and a having-come-of-age story of Eddie's mother and her two lovers at the time of the novel (there are many in the past). The focus, not surprisingly, is on desire and the ways that people strive to keep it alive (and under control, so that it doesn't push toward destruction) in their lives. Not a problem for the youngsters, at least in keeping it alive, more so for the adults. The novel swirls around the various pairs, as they navigate through summer days and nights, intersecting for a while and then swinging apart.

One of my favorite scenes is when the Lila gets the news that she is not pregnant: she jumps up and down wildly on a motel bed, telling Eddie, "We're young. And we're free." Hmm. Maybe for the moment, but as in so much Southern literature, the claim that someone is free typically prepares the way for a more complex understanding of culture, identity, and history, lessons learned only after some piercing comeuppances if not downright suffering.

[Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never really got a handle on any of these characters or their elusive, ethereal relationships. Still, if you're looking for a dreamy, haunting summer novel, you could do much worse.

[r. fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew that Darcey Steinke's first novel was set in NC??? certainly not me. Not my favorite of hers but I still ended up crying, so. Something about her novels just make me melt. It's fun to see traces of her signature style that really came to life in her next book "Suicide Blonde." She's my sister idc idc idc!!!!!!!!!! shoutout to alex for spotting this at books DO furnish a room, and matt for getting it for me 🦋🦋🦋🦋

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite book in the whole world. It was kind of what I would expect a young author in her 20s to write back in the 80s. Heck, it's the kind of stuff I attempted to write in college after reading authors like that. A lot of the references really dated the book and, while this is minor, I wasn't a fan of the graphics that opened each "section" of the book. A little too 80s for me.

The book focuses on several characters who live and work on an island tourist town and the relationships they have with each other and themselves. There is underage sex, dead ponies, marijuana, jealousy, and water, just to name a few things off the top of my head. Some of it was predictable - maybe a handful of surprises throughout the whole book - but it was a short book and, therefore, a very quick read. So that was nice.

[Ann Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tracked down a copy of this book after thoroughly enjoying two of Darcey Steinke's more recent books: Sister Golden Hair and Flash Count Diary. While I didn't particularly enjoy this earlier novel -- in fact, I found parts of the book quite disturbing -- it was a worthwhile read nonetheless. (I love to see what changes and what stays the same as an author experiences life and learns and grows as a writer.)

[Suzanne Petrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different sort of story

I felt this may be written for someone who likes a sexy story but a I powered on it became more interesting. The main characters were not fully developed until halfway through the book then it was easier to understand their response to events.
Not a cliff hanger, but a good read.

[Aimee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bollocks

[Noémi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steinke captures a vulnerable and yet very powerfully embodied aspect of femininity that was really interesting for me to experience through this book. Definitely a poetic novel.

[Soren · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book must have been where I first learned about Ocracoke!

Which I was then obsessed with. And did finally make it to in... 1994? something like that. whenever Kurt Cobain died, because as we were leaving town they had just found him, and my boyfriend was a musician, so that really meant something to him.

[Heather Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

good writing, a real lit book - poetic and flowy

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

But actually 3.5 stars. I quite liked it. It was a quick, interesting and well-written book.