| Title | : | The War (Blackwater, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 038082776X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780380827763 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 187 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 1983 |
The War (Blackwater, #4) Reviews
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The War focuses primarily on the younger Caskey members and is overall less riveting than the other books, but not without intrigue. There's one deliciously gruesome scene, we learn a bit more about the mysterious Eleanor, and there's the necessary passage of time as the epic slowly escalates into what I hope will be a boiling climax.
This far in it's hard to rate the book as a separate entity since this is just a segment of single novel and not really a series. All I know is, I'm still obsessed and still rushing to turn the next page. Blackwater is so unexpected and unconventional for a horror novel, yet it works so well. I can't turn away! -
As the 4th book in McDowell's BLACKWATER series, this is by no means a stand-alone novel. Without giving away any spoilers to the series, THE WAR, shows us the effect of the war on the town of Perdido and the Caskey family, in particular. Relations between some of the main characters are beginning to change in various--some substantial--ways. The youngest members of the family are coming into their own, and developing their own individual character traits.
The entire series is enthralling, and impossible to stop reading. I'm onto book 5 now, and eagerly awaiting to read more of the Caskey saga!
Highly recommended! -
this series is phenomenal. this book was the best so far. so much happens! why has it taken me this long to discover Michael McDowell?!?!
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The fourth book in this series is just as good as the others. (Though so far the first one holds the best book in the series spot.)
It's hard to review a book from a series without spoiling anything, but suffice it to say, that I'm very late for a group read and I co-moderate that group! I'm also late on a couple of read to reviews. So this means, I have to set this series aside for a brief time while I fulfill my other reading obligations.
I'm not happy about that. This type of story, written the way McDowell has written it...it's impossible not to think about. The family is written as such that I think I know them better than I know my own family. I feel connected to them. I love some of them and hate others, but I feel connected just the same. It turns out that one of the family members is gay and this passage explained how that went over in the small Alabama town of Perdido. (*This passage is very slightly spoiler-ish*):
"Southerners are an easygoing race when it comes to aberrations of conduct. They will react with anger if something out of the ordinary is presented as a possible future occurrence; but if an unusual circumstance is discovered to be an established fact, they will usually accept it without rancor or judgment as part of the normal order of things. To have informed the men who hung about the seed and feed stores that two women had bought Gavin Pond and were turning it into the biggest farm in the county would have brought out calls to repeal the voting rights amendment; but when confronted with Grace the men were perfectly willing to accept her, her cousin Lucille , and Lucille's little boy."
So, all that doesn't tell you much, but that's all I can say without spoilers. There is still a deep mystery hidden within Elinor and within the town of Perdido and its river, and I can't wait to find out what it is. But I have to.
Recommended for fans of 80's horror, soap operas, mysteries -
Blackwater is a series that just keeps getting better and better, and I enjoyed this installment of the series/long serial novel even more than its predecessors.
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Here is the Goodreads description:Wartime in Perdido jolted the sleepy little Alabama town as new people entered the community. Outsiders would invade the comfort of the wealthy Caskeys and take their daughters.
This, though, was the part of the master plan of Elinor Caskey, who would see the fasmily flourish amidst the deatruction and death she administered in a fashion more awesome than the war itself.
Ahh, just such a great book.
This book was a more emotional and, at the same time, happier book in the series, probably due to a main character and antagonist passing away in the last book. The dynamic that character brought to the series is, sadly, gone. I really enjoyed that character's scenes and she will be missed. Dear lord Layton, you're acting like she was a real person.
Anyway there are many things about the Blackwater series I like, in particular how nonchalant McDowell is about breaking silly taboos that were present in eighties horror fiction, and fiction in general.
There are at least two obviously homosexual characters in this book an he plays them like they were real people. One of the things I always hated about Richard Laymon is that he was an obvious homophobe. If there was going to be a gay character in his fiction they would either be extremely annoying characters who died gruesome deaths, or disgusting pedophiles.
McDowell never even suggests that and I love his writing all the more for it. The two characters who are gay are never simply stated as being such, but the reader knows they are, and at the same time appreciates them for being wonderful characters regardless, like any sensible person would. But this makes sense, since McDowell was gay himself.
I also love how men aren't in a position of power in the Caskey family, and it is clearly stated as being that way throughout, especially when an outsider describes how strange this is in circa 1945 Alabama.
There were also more supernatural elements in this books than in the previous books, and we begin to learn more as to what Elinor Caskey really is."Your mama crawled out of the river and she'll go back to it. She'll go back to blackwater."
And in this book Elinor becomes even more of a powerful member of the family, and she knows it.
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So, yet another terrific book from Michael McDowell. There was a reason behind Uncle Stevie proclaiming him to be the greatest writer of paperback originals in America.
5 grand stars to this splendid series.
*Layton goes to Amazon and buys next installment* -
Toujours aussi haletant !
Dans ce tome éponyme c’est bien la Guerre la grande maîtresse. D’elle découle entièrement les événements qui vont rythmer ce 4ème opus.
La fortune familiale, l’expansion économique des scieries, les amours des unes et des autres, les nouvelles liaisons et les grands déchirements.
Encore une fois l’auteur me surprend a toujours peaufiner ses personnages principaux mais également secondaires et même tertiaires.
C’est avec grand plaisir qu’on continue d’explorer les liens qui s’entremêlent avec encore un soupçon de fantastique et un secret qui arrive bientôt à son terme. -
J’ai été assez surpris de voir beaucoup de gens parler de ce tome comme étant le meilleur de la saga. Pour ma part, c’est vraiment celui qui m’a le moins convaincu (même si ça reste page turner et divertissant).
⠀
Suite aux événements tragiques (ça dépend pour qui…) du tome 3, on se doutait que la dynamique de toute la série allait changer, et c’est effectivement ce qu’il s’est passé. D’une manière générale, j’ai trouvé que ce tome était plus gentillet que les autres. Il se passe des choses graves, c’est vrai, mais les relations entre les membres de la famille Caskey sont nettement moins conflictuelles et on a donc presque l’impression de lire une saga différente.
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Pour parler de choses plus positives, j’ai adoré en apprendre (un peu) plus sur la nature d’Elinor et de sa fille qui commence à comprendre qu’elle est différente. On est loin de tout savoir mais on sent que l’auteur voit la fin arriver et qu’il se prépare à nous donner les réponses qu’on attend.
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En somme, c’était un tome plutôt efficace, qui fait avancer l’histoire, mais qui dénote quand même un peu par rapport au reste de la saga. -
The Great Depression is out and World War 2 is in! And that means there is money to be made. Again wartime profiteering only serves as historical scenery for the ongoing procession of marriages, deaths and baby thefts among the Caskey clan. Now that Elinor is the new lizard queen (frog queen?) of these Southern land barons, much of the family dynamics change, offering a kind of peace for the aging Caskey elders. Less cold shoulders and shade thrown for daily dinners together followed by long chats on the porch. More attention is given to the young blood of the family in this entry, those daughters and sons who find themselves taking up the good and bad behavior of the Caskeys who raised them. So when not increasing their wealth, the family has to deal with a youthful dalliance with armed robbery, a seemingly loose daughter, another running off to a catholic school, and the embarrassment of another turning into a lake monster and eating a person. Oh dear!
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What I find most refreshing about this amazing work of Southern Gothic is McDowell's ability to work within such an insular microcosm as a small Alabama town within this time frame, with a cast of characters that, if one were to go out on a limb, could be called "stereotypical", yet manages, with a deft hand and honest view, avoid the label of stereotypical. His characters are, good and bad, true to themselves, "real" in the very best of ways.
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La fin… 💔
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4.5
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The War...
The War is the fourth book in the Blackwater Saga and continues the story of the Caskey family from Perdido, Alabama. As the title implies, this book focuses on the effect that the war has had on Perdido, the Caskey's Mill and the residents. There have been numerous life changing events happening with the Caskey's including a birth, a separation, a coming out, a marriage and several deaths. There's also been a shift of power in the matriarchy which has substantially changed the family dynamics, for at the moment, the better.
If you haven't read the Blackwater Saga before, you really should. It's fantastic and the characters are priceless! It's sort of a mesh of multiple genres- gothic, historical fic., horror, family saga, paranormal/supernatural etc., so I think really anyone would enjoy it. -
The War is the 4th book in the Blackwater Series by Michael McDowell. The war has a great impact on this small southern Alabama town. With the lumber mill running at full strength, more workers are needed. The town of Perdido is being flooded by outsiders looking for work. The family fortune grows bigger and bigger everyday. James and Queenie become best of friends. They share a lot of the same interests. Relationships between some of the major characters are beginning to changes. The younger members of the family are beginning to take shape and will play a very important role in the final two installment of the series. We are also introduce to a few new characters in this book.
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The War finds the Caskey family coming together through a time of prosperity: the War is on, the local economy is booming, and the Great Depression is over. It’s nice to see this family getting along—eating dinner together every week, going for rides to the beach in Pensacola, et cetera—as it seems they haven’t had much happiness in the first three volumes of this saga. Volume four allows the reader to breathe a bit.
Because of this, however, the horror (and drama) aren’t quite as present, and that may not do for some blood-lusty readers but I dug it. This shows off Michael McDowell’s writing chops, and characters like Miriam, Grace, and Lucille are given more dimension than ever before and I loved them all ... especially Grace! I stan.
And can I just address the sheer progressivism of this story? Within this story is a fairly open queer couple and they’re written with such even-handedness ... they’re allowed to live and breathe as a “regular” hetero couple, which is rare for the setting of this story—and rare even for the time in which Blackwater was published. The author himself was gay, so he was able to write about this subject with a sure hand.
This volume ends with a strong cliffhanger, one that made me want to press on ever quicker. Think I’ll do just that. -
Les années passent pour la famille Caskey. C'est au tour de la nouvelle génération de prendre son envol, même si tous les chemins reconduisent à Perdido. Myriam part à l'université, Frances se fiance. Les enfants de Queenie n'ont rien retenu des erreurs de leurs parents. Grace est de retour - ne lui parlez jamais de mariage. Sister n'ose avouer sa déconvenue. En Europe, la guerre bouleverse le destin des jeunes gens.
Bref. C'est le cycle de la vie. Et au milieu de tout ça, survient un passage bien répugnant. Un rappel qu'il plane toujours un parfum inquiétant sur cette chronique familiale du début du XXe siècle. Mais on commence à percer les secrets d'Elinor ! Confessions à demi-mot, tendez l'oreille.
Je valide cette lecture en format audio ! Définitivement. -
Et encore un tome lu en deux jours !
Les intrigues au sein du clan Caskey s'enchaînent, la Seconde Guerre Mondiale s'en mêle, et apporte un nouveau souffle à Perdido - les enfants grandissent, et l'intrigue de ce livre se concentre d'ailleurs davantage sur eux (ou plutôt sur elles).
Peut-être que ce tome fait un peu figure de transition, mais on suit toujours avec intérêt (si ce n'est plaisir) le destin de cette famille quelque peu fascinante... -
I've come to realise that this isn't so much a horror series as a detailed family history where someone happens to get eaten by a swamp monster every 100 pages or so. To be clear this is a good thing.
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Despite the title, strangely the most gentle one yet. Oh, and Miriam Caskey is one of the greatest characters ever written.
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Encore un tome passionnant. Pas mal d'événements viennent chambouler la petite vie des caskey dans ce volume, le mystère autour d'eleanor et frances s'épaissit... bref je n'ai pas envie de m'arreter, je vais enchaîner avec le tome 5
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Décidément, je ne me lasse pas de cette famille ! L'écriture est maitrisée, l'intrigue toujours en perpétuel renouvellement, les personnages extrêmement bien travaillés... Que dire de plus si ce n'est que j'ai déjà commencé le tome 5 et que je trains déjà d'arriver à la fin !
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le fait que grace soit mon perso pref depuis le tome 1 et qu'elle soit 💅🏼💅🏼 c'est le destin
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La Seconde Guerre Mondiale éclate et cela perturbe un peu la vie des Caskey. La scierie retrouve une activité plutôt intense et les soldats qui arrivent au camp à côté de Perdido déboulent dans la vie de la famille.
C'est fou comme cette série est toujours aussi addictive, j'ai été encore embarquée par l'histoire et j'ai dévoré ce nouveau tome. Les personnages sont toujours aussi attachants et j'ai énormément apprécié les thématiques abordées (homosexualité, féminisme...).
En bref : toujours aussi prenant ! -
There is the horror and the very complicated family politics... And then there are all these bits so incredibly wholesome and it's wonderful. A normal family clan drama. No one go around pointing out the protective hungry fish at the helm and the meal collateral, it's unseemly.
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3.5 ⭐️
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Meilleur tome. Et cette fin. Incroyable.
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Le meilleur tome de la série jusqu'à présent !
Avis détaillé à venir ! -
4,5/5 ⭐ Encore un super tome, je sais même plus quoi vous dire à part que vous devez lire ces livres ^^
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Un tome 4 aussi excellent que ses prédécesseurs. La saga de M. McDowell est officiellement incroyable. Chaque opus est un régal.
C’est un page-turner hallucinant dont chaque personnage nous passionne.
Une série parfaite pour l’été !
Je suis tellement impatient de lire la suite 💚 -
Une suite efficace, qui crée de l’espace à de nouvelles intrigues. Le temps file, les personnages évoluent rapidement. Encore une finale surprenante, la plus crève-coeur jusqu’à maintenant.
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J'ai beaucoup aimé ce tome, introspectif et dans l'émotions. Les personnages s'ouvrent les uns aux autres et la maturité de leurs relations est un vrai plaisir à lire.
Le retournement de fin de tome est une torture ! :)
