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  • Blackwater: The Complete Saga

  • By: Michael McDowell
  • Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
  • Length: 30 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (286 ratings)
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Blackwater: The Complete Saga

By: Michael McDowell
Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
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Summary

Blackwater is the saga of a small town, Perdido, Alabama, and Elinor Dammert, the stranger who arrives there under mysterious circumstances on Easter Sunday, 1919. On the surface, Elinor is gracious, charming, anxious to belong in Perdido, and eager to marry Oscar Caskey, the eldest son of Perdido's first family. But her beautiful exterior hides a shocking secret. Beneath the waters of the Perdido River, she turns into something terrifying, a creature whispered about in stories that have chilled the residents of Perdido for generations. Some of those who observe her rituals in the river will never be seen again....

Originally published as a series of six volumes in 1983, Blackwater is the crowning achievement of Michael McDowell, author of the Southern Gothic classics Cold Moon Over Babylon and The Elementals and screenwriter of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. This first-ever one-volume edition will allow a new generation of listeners to discover this modern horror classic.

©1983, 2017 Michael McDowell (P)2017 Valancourt Books LLC

What listeners say about Blackwater: The Complete Saga

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outstanding a true classic in the making

absolutely amazing one of those rare books that has you feeling gutted when it finishes considering it was wrote in 1984 can't understand why it's never been made into a movie

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11 people found this helpful

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Exceptional!!

had never heard of this book before, but decided to give it a go...was mesmerized from start to finish, and quite amused in parts!! fantastic story and superb narration... highly recommended.

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The Song of Ghosts

I have lived with the Caskey family now for so long I feel part of it, like a long distance cousin, or nephew by marriage. I know every lane, and sawmill in the tiny Alabama town of Perdido, every water oak and grain of sand on the Casky land. The feminine brogue of James, the shrill of Queenie, and the long drawl of Bray are as common to me as any birdsong or howl of wind. This is not the consequence of having spent so long in its six volumes, totalling some 1,200 pages and spanning half a century, it is simply down to the richly detailed lives, and at times, sad and haunting writing of Michael McDowell.

BLACKWATER was my first McDowell book, and I began it with no preconceived idea of what to expect. I had no expectations, nor was I privy to the fact McDowell had been dead for nearly twenty years, and that he had, in the late 1980s, penned the first draft of the Beetlejuice screenplay, which, through subsequent research, was a lot darker than the movie we know today. To me, McDowell had always been dead, and like the many ghosts born from the Perdido over the course of his book, he had wandered into my life, made bright the lights around me, and chilled my skin. And for that, I’m grateful.

The story is best described as a supernatural soap opera. I’m not saying that to dumb it down. This isn’t a book that can be dumbed down. But it is a story about family, beginning in the year 1919 and rounding off in 1970. At the start, the Caskey family had garnered a reasonable wealth through their sawmills, and things seemed to be going well until a great flood submerged most of the small town, including its homes, business and even people. And it’s here where the story begins. Oscar Caskey and his black servant, Bray, take a small boat into the town; there they find Elinor Dammert waiting to be rescued, though I use the term very loosely, in the upper floor room of the Osceola hotel. Elinor is not like other women. She is different, mysterious, and instantly wins the heart of the guileless Oscar. The only person who doesn’t take to Elinor is the matriarch Mary-Love, the head of the Caskey clan, and certainly a force to be reckoned with, as are most of the Caskey women. The truth is, women rule the roost in Perdido. They are the strongest characters, and by far, the most interesting. McDowell’s gift in shaping these woman, from Mary-Love, to her daughter Sister, to the servants, Ivey Sapp and her daughter Zaddie, and more importantly, Oscar and Elinor’s estranged daughter, Miriam, is beguiling to observe. It’s fair to say the women of BLACKWATER are violets unwilling to shrink for anyone, least of all the men.

“Oscar knew that Elinor was very much like his mother: strong-willed and dominant, wielding power in a fashion he could never hope to emulate. That was the great misconception about men… there were blinds to disguise the fact of men’s real powerlessness in life. Men controlled the legislatures, but when it came down to it, they didn’t control themselves… Oscar knew that Mary-Love and Elinor could think and scheme rings around him. They got what they wanted. In fact, every female on the census rolls of Perdido, Alabama got what she wanted. Of course no man admitted this; in fact, didn’t even know it. But Oscar did…”

It’s worth noting, the Caskey men are not anvils to bear every harsh word or mighty strike of each women’s doings. They are not victims of domestic violence, nor do they whimper or cower. But they do serve a purpose, and that is to make sure they do the things asked of them by the women, or at least agree to what the women are asking of them. The Caskey men’s strength is their understanding they will never be as shrewd, calculating, all-knowing and persistent enough to undertake such tasks as counter arguing. They know when best to remain quiet, and know that no matter what happens, be it handing over their children to curry favour with a senior member of the family, or amassing wealth beyond their comprehension, all of these things were conceived, implemented and executed by a woman, and done for the greater good.

The supernatural aspect, that at times gives most horror stories a run for their money, is delivered with enough bite you feel it’s teeth sink into you, and long after the moment passes, stare incredulously at the impression in your skin that refuses to fade. These moments are few, but when they come along, they shake the very pages. I’ve read a lot of ghost stories and I can say that what McDowell does in a couple of pages takes most authors fifty. Elinor’s character, in particular, has a past that stretches beyond the norm, and while not exactly chilling, there are moments you spend with her that renders your jaw slack and skin goosed. Each bloody end to a life, each resurrected spirit, they’re all crafted beautifully and interspersed appropriately so the reader does not feel gorged on gore, but instead, thirsty for more. I cannot praise McDowell enough. I cannot find fault in his prose, nor thumb my nose towards any character he gave flesh to. It’s a beautifully sad, haunting and awe-inspiring piece of fiction that will stay with me for such a long time.

The Caskey family opened their door to me. They allowed me to walk their halls, console myself in their chairs, eat at their tables, sleep in their beds and attend their many funerals. They looked after me like I was one of their own, and for that, I’m indebted and humbled. Now it’s time for you to knock upon their door, pull up a chair, and savour their hospitality while listening to the song of their ghosts.

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3 people found this helpful

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Lacked horror

A story of rich folks who keep getting richer. Good start but then just lacked any sort of tension, some mild peril then thankfully it ended. Maybe the horror were the awful characters who lacked any sort of empathy, just obsessed with wealth and power.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyed

I enjoyed this story, but for me this wasn't a horror, more of a fantasy and even then there wasn't enough of that element. (Maybe that's the point though)!
Don't get me wrong though, it was easy listening and I loved learning about the intricacies of the family dynamic of the Caskey's and for a 30h listen this passed very quickly.

I liked the style of writing and will seek out more from the author. The narration was also top notch, job well done.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Supernatural To Kill A Mockingbird.

This book is an oddity. Its the history of an extended family, the Caskeys, and the Alabama town of Perdido that they live in, over a period of 60 years. In the 80's this book was released as a series of books that have been collected and released as a single volume. I was an avid horror reader back in the day and I've never heard of the books but with a recommendation by Stephen King I took a punt. There are some great characters (like To Kill a Mockingbird.) and interesting situations, punctuated by moments of real horror.

I think this will be a marmite book. You will love it, or hate it. It maybe a little to leisurely for some people but I loved it and a thirty hour listen for a credit, is always worth investing in.

A good narration of literally hundreds of characters by Matt Godfrey.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved loved loved it.

So sad that it's over...made me laugh, cry and afraid. what a rollercoaster of a story.

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Loved Eleanor

Kept me interested throughout, well narrated and written.
Not a horror story, just a story about people.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ok if you want something for a roadtrip

I found this book to be a little disappointing. It was quite good to begin with, but left little the imagination as the story got going, the characters were well invested in the early part of the book, but then towards the end, they felt hurried and their stories were wrapped up and almost thrown away, you could tell the writer was trying to finish the book and finish it quickly, the narration was ok, the quantity of the characters was handled well by the narrator. It didn't offer the quality of story line that the "jacket" offered I didn't feel. If you want a long story for a road trip, then its ok, but I wouldn't expect a book or characters that stay with you.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Well told but too long

Oh my goodness! Reading other reviews I see I am in a minority who found this story far too drawn out. That is not to say I didn't enjoy it. As I came to the last chapter I was actually sorry, on one hand, to say goodbye to the Caskey family and yet, on the other, quite relieved!
A saga, of course, is a saga and not a short story and I see that this was originally published in several parts. Perhaps, had I listened to the book in parts (an Audible book magnificently narrated by Matt Godfrey) instead of going straight through, I would have found it less daunting.
About the story: It opens after a devastating flood has inundated the town of Perdido, Alabama. No one has completely escaped the fury, not even the wealthy Caskey family. During the aftermath, a woman, Elinor Dammert, is found stranded in a hotel room and is taken in by the family.
And so the saga begins…
It’s part family history, part horror, though, apart from a few key moments the horror is very low key.
It quickly becomes clear that Elinor is not the stranded newcomer in need of shelter that she claims to be and she does indeed prove to be the central figure in this complex cast of characters. Her motivations were less clear. The survival of her species? She certainly is also capable of very human traits like revenge.

The Caskey’s unremitting wealth despite many family members being either too disinterested or simply incapable of contributing to the business was, at times, hard to believe. The way in which certain actions and attitudes were explained also left me wide eyed. However, the sheer scale of the story was impressive and the characters finely drawn.
Although I did not know this author before, I see he wrote other well received works and I am tempted to try another in the future.

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