Book review: A Southern supernatural thriller about a seedy swamp and all its creatures
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Andy Davidson's The Boatman's Daughter paints a dark and bloody tale of the painful lives of outsiders. While Davidson's book was wildly creative, it failed to draw me in. I kept reading, hoping it would be a slow burn, however it never caught fire for me. I did enjoy the Russian folklore in the book and the mysticism, but being a huge fan of witches, I was hoping for a more interesting witch. I will give the author this: the prose is beautiful at times and I LOVE the cover!
Miranda accompanies her father and a witch on a boat ride through the bayou to the birthing of a preacher's baby. Shockingly, the baby comes out deformed- cursed. After Miranda rescues the baby, the events of that night set Miranda onto a dark path that connects her to the witch- and the baby- forever.
Witches, dwarfs, reptile-like demons, seers, and... drug running? Miranda grows up and makes a career of running marijuana across the swamp in her boat for the preacher, under the menacing and watchful 'eye' of the town sheriff. But one day the package she is running isn't drugs- it's a child. A drugged-up child with a special gift. She must make a difficult decision: deliver the package or save the girl?
This book may have disappointed me because it wasn't what I expected from a book that I was sure was going to feature a Southern swamp witch as a primary character. I expected it to be more fantasy or gothic horror, but it really was more of a thriller with fantasy elements and characters. Everything gripping in the book happens in the second half, so if you can make it through the first half of the book you might get some entertainment out of it. That being said, it is the first book that I've read in a long time that I struggled to finish. Beautifully crafted paragraphs and prose, but not my favorite story.
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