If you are fond of Tim Burton’s cinema (beetle juice) or novels by Stephen King (Skin on bones) and you haven’t read Michael McDowell (1950-1999) yet, Blackwater, hectic family saga in six volumes, is certainly the best gateway to his gothic universe tinged with fantasy and horror. “But why did you choose Perdido? We are in the middle of nowhere. It’s the end of the world. No one travels here except to buy me wood,” asks Oscar, son of the terrible and powerful Mary Love Caskey, to the mysterious Elinor Dammert, a self-styled teacher who arrived in Perdido, Alabama, with the flood. evoking The little Mermaidfrom Andersen, Miss WatersWells, and Undine, from Giraudoux, the young lady with red hair soon extends her tentacles in this small town where women reign. In elegant writing,Blackwater captivates both with its lively descriptions and piquant dialogues and with its picturesque characters. To be continued…
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