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How Not to Drown
How Not to Drown explores generations of the MacQueen family, born out of the violence and uprooting of “The Clearances” in 1850s Isle of Skye. Beached on the Massachusetts shores, they survive on multiple transgressions and respect for the untamable sea. Chapter One begins in the 21st century after Amelia MacQueen loses beloved son Gavin to a suspicious drowning (for which her daughter-in-law is convicted) and is awarded custody of granddaughter Heaven, whose name and behavior make Amelia cringe. Heaven doesn’t appreciate her grandmother’s reproaches, and bonds with Daniel, Amelia’s agoraphobic son. Through the wall between their rooms, Daniel spins Celtic tales for Heaven, while pining for the diner waitress next door. This inventive portrait of family dysfunction alternates with the story of Scottish ancestor Maggie, who drowned in a shipwreck while emigrating to America. Told with stunning moments of magical realism, the novel is about inheritance, the transformative power of storytelling, and how the present bears the weight of its violent, fantastical past.
336 pages, ebook
Published May 11, 2021
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