A review by bunnieslikediamonds
The Levee by Michael McDowell
4.0
The Blackwater saga continues! Life in Perdido moves at a leisurely pace. The biggest thing to happen is the buildning of a levee, which brings ruggedly handsome engineer Early Haskew to town. Sister, the spinster of the Caskey family, begins to re-evaluate her spinsterhood, while her mother Mary-Love gleefully offers Early room and board just to spite her daughter-in-law Elinor, who is dismayed at the thought of her beloved river being constrained by the levee.
At times, this felt more like a comedy of manners than a horror novel (well, not counting the rape and the ritual killing). The women are not only running the town and their meek husbands, they are engaged in full combat with each other. Discreet psychological warfare, of course. Mary-Love and Elinor are great villains. Neither is one-dimensionally evil. Mary-Love's small-minded pettiness and narcissism is much more engaging than plain old wickedness. And Elinor - well, if you're able to overlook some unfortunate homicidal tendencies, she's quite an admirable character.
It's very funny and very disturbing. Like, Barbara Pym meets Stephen King. If Pym had been a Southerner and King had excercised restraint.
At times, this felt more like a comedy of manners than a horror novel (well, not counting the rape and the ritual killing). The women are not only running the town and their meek husbands, they are engaged in full combat with each other. Discreet psychological warfare, of course. Mary-Love and Elinor are great villains. Neither is one-dimensionally evil. Mary-Love's small-minded pettiness and narcissism is much more engaging than plain old wickedness. And Elinor - well, if you're able to overlook some unfortunate homicidal tendencies, she's quite an admirable character.
It's very funny and very disturbing. Like, Barbara Pym meets Stephen King. If Pym had been a Southerner and King had excercised restraint.