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Anne's Reviews > The House of Deep Water
The House of Deep Water
by
by
A perfect American facade
Jeni McFarland holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Houston and was a literary editor at Gulf Coast magazine. Her stories and fiction have already appeared in various places and in various magazines. Her debut novel The House of Deep Water releases in April by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Beth is a black divorced woman with two children who is forced to return to her white father's house in the village of River Bend due to financial difficulties. Her father turns out to have his much younger girlfriend Linda pregnant and Beth falls back to an old pattern when she meets the man who married her best friend. The return to the village, where racism and the memories of sexual abuse return to Beth's life, brings her anger to the surface.
The House of Deep Water has many different characters that the author briefly introduces the reader to in the first chapter. The reader makes a cinematic ride through the village and passes by all residents who will play a crucial role later in the story. Due to the many characters, it takes a while before you understand exactly who is who, and the relationships between them become more complex throughout the story. Soon, however, most of the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Pretty soon a man in the village is arrested for the abuse of minors, from the diary fragments that the reader of Beth reads, we also know that she was one of his victims. However, the arrest and trial remain in the background of the story, and the book centers around all the characters within the village surrounding it. By describing events in the village and the more or less coincidental return of key figures in Beth's life to the village, the author slowly works towards a denouement.
It is soon clear to the reader that something big has to happen, with this the interest to continue reading is aroused, but for a long time it remains unclear what exactly this denouement or climax must consist of and it takes a long time. Ultimately, the ending is a lot less spectacular than you might expect, yet The House of Deep Water is an intriguing book.
Each character is well worked out by the author and McFarland gives the reader interesting insights into their different problems and psyches. The poignant thing about this story is that each character remains within his own world, communication is not really there, so that everyone lives in their own bubble and, above all, there is more and more misunderstanding in the daily life of the residents of River Bend.
Child abuse, discrimination, marital problems, and adultery, McFarland's debut has it all, but what dominates is the appearance of the perfect American life as the big issues keep hiding away into the background. This debut is worth reading and fans of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng will certainly appreciate it.
- Many thanks to the publisher for making an ARC available for this review through Edelweiss+
Jeni McFarland holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Houston and was a literary editor at Gulf Coast magazine. Her stories and fiction have already appeared in various places and in various magazines. Her debut novel The House of Deep Water releases in April by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Beth is a black divorced woman with two children who is forced to return to her white father's house in the village of River Bend due to financial difficulties. Her father turns out to have his much younger girlfriend Linda pregnant and Beth falls back to an old pattern when she meets the man who married her best friend. The return to the village, where racism and the memories of sexual abuse return to Beth's life, brings her anger to the surface.
The House of Deep Water has many different characters that the author briefly introduces the reader to in the first chapter. The reader makes a cinematic ride through the village and passes by all residents who will play a crucial role later in the story. Due to the many characters, it takes a while before you understand exactly who is who, and the relationships between them become more complex throughout the story. Soon, however, most of the puzzle pieces fall into place.
“Deborah is well aware of the threats in a town like this. River Bend is full of men who want to take and take. Just last June, that horrible man Gilmer was caught hurting children in his basement. Deborah can’t even imagine the terrible things he did to them – young children, too, some four or five.”
Pretty soon a man in the village is arrested for the abuse of minors, from the diary fragments that the reader of Beth reads, we also know that she was one of his victims. However, the arrest and trial remain in the background of the story, and the book centers around all the characters within the village surrounding it. By describing events in the village and the more or less coincidental return of key figures in Beth's life to the village, the author slowly works towards a denouement.
It is soon clear to the reader that something big has to happen, with this the interest to continue reading is aroused, but for a long time it remains unclear what exactly this denouement or climax must consist of and it takes a long time. Ultimately, the ending is a lot less spectacular than you might expect, yet The House of Deep Water is an intriguing book.
“She should be able to find a happy memory of it – this is the house where she spent her early childhood, the house where they lived when her family was still whole – and yet, even as she strains her mind, all she can come up with are memories of Gilmer Thurber here, in this house, his presence in every corner, filling the house like dark water.”
Each character is well worked out by the author and McFarland gives the reader interesting insights into their different problems and psyches. The poignant thing about this story is that each character remains within his own world, communication is not really there, so that everyone lives in their own bubble and, above all, there is more and more misunderstanding in the daily life of the residents of River Bend.
Child abuse, discrimination, marital problems, and adultery, McFarland's debut has it all, but what dominates is the appearance of the perfect American life as the big issues keep hiding away into the background. This debut is worth reading and fans of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng will certainly appreciate it.
- Many thanks to the publisher for making an ARC available for this review through Edelweiss+
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Reading Progress
February 4, 2020
– Shelved
February 4, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 4, 2020
– Shelved as:
arc-edelweiss-netgalley
March 17, 2020
–
Started Reading
March 19, 2020
– Shelved as:
2020
March 19, 2020
–
Finished Reading
