There have not been many books that I have read lately that have stayed with me quite like Dark Water, written by Laura McNeal. The sense of loss and injustice is so present in this book, that it stirred some deep reflections about the way I now see the loss of a loved one and the ramifications of that loss on everyone as it ripples through your life. The circumstances of the tragedy in this book make me wonder how people can move on sometimes - the unfairness of it all. The bad choice and misguided instinct to hide the truth, cost the main character, Pearl, so much. Mind you, nothing Pearl decided to do was out of the ordinary, just a little self absorbed and instictively cautious in protecting someone she cared deeply about, and her life came tumbling down. The essence of the book, through the way the author had the narrator tell the story, is ultimately what was so successful. The narrator told you just a few tidbits that carried you through, pacing the events carefully, but you knew it was not going to end well for her. Redemption was not going to be easy to come by, either, as she caused so many people so much pain, so you feel such sorrow. The loss of love and loved ones carried the reader through a short time in her life that changed everything. She lived in her life, moving forward, and it all seemed so real. The story began with such hope and a glimmer of young, true love, but ultimately, the way life sometimes turns out to be, it rolled away with a sadness that really hits home. But, also a determination, on her part, not to have lost everything in vain.
