Critical Praise

"Written with a fine ear for the voice of a child, Blakeslee builds a lovely portrait and a memorable character in Eudora Buell. "

———Kirkus Reviews

"The novel deftly shuttles between narrative voices, touches all the bases and nicely traces the uneven topography of sorrow and struggle. "

———Publishers Weekly

"Stupendous--and humble. I have never read anything at all like this book. It is so down in the earth, so sweet in its heart, so incredibly accurate in detailed perceptions. Mermer Blakeslee has found the language of the instinctual psyche. "

———James Hillman, Bestselling author of The Soul's Code

"Mermer Blakeslee writes with the intensity and mesmerizing voice of a Dorothy Allison or Mary Karr, but her story is wholly original. In her heartbreaking novel, there is a great deal of pain, but there are no villains. Indeed, the gift of the novel is the idea of deliverance: a young girl and her mother given back to one another through the unceasing devotion of the father and the stubborn intervention of unlikely (and fascinating) friends who know how to love. This book is at once familiar and utterly exotic, a foray into the strangeness of a child's breakdown and the power of her intelligence and spirit. It is also one of the most generous novels I have ever read. "

———Sandra Scofield, Author of the National Book

"Mermer Blakeslee has written a novel of uncommon grace and soaring beauty. In Dark Water explores a family's deepest grief and a young girl's amazing journey toward understanding, reconciliation, and redemption. It is, in short, a triumph of the spirit. "

———Connie May Fowler

"Dorrie's delicately drawn journey to despair and back is riveting. . . . A fine novel from the author of Same Blood. "

———Library Journal

"Profoundly moving, this beautifully written novel reflects the often conflicted but uniquely special connection between mother and daughter even under the most trying circumstances. "

———Booklist