Reviewer Candace Lybarger: Candace is a young wife, mother, and lover of all books. She received her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from The Ohio State University. Candace taught 3rd grade until an opportunity presented itself where she could work from home and be with her toddler. In addition to spending time with her family, Candace enjoys reading, music, history, traveling, and spending time outdoors. Her perfect day in a nutshell would be sitting in the sun with a book...or two!
Click Here To Purchase To Be Sung Underwater: A Novel
Author: Tom McNeal
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316127396
To Be Sung Underwater,
by Tom McNeal, is a moving story about a middle aged women and what
has come of her life. Judith is a wife, mother, but most
importantly a career women. Working in Hollywood as a
television show editor, Judy puts in long hours at work and lives
what others might call a perfect life. She has a handsome
banker husband, a beautiful and smart daughter, and an impressive
Hollywood career.
Unbeknownst to those looking in, Judy has
recently come to question her husband's fidelity as well as her
detached relationship with her daughter, Camille. Judy finds
herself at a crossroads while renting a storage unit for her
childhood furniture. Instead of giving the storage company her
true name Judy writes down an alias. She then spirals rather
quickly into a life where she finds herself retreating to her storage
space in order to dwell in the past and relive past regrets, namely
regarding her first love, Willy. When Judy's mother finds out
about her secret, she pointedly says, "I think you're trying to
run away from home but don't know how to do it."
As I started reading To Be Sung Underwater, it quickly pulled
me in and then refused to allow me to put it down. I really
enjoyed how the novel switched back and forth between Judy's teenage
life in Nebraska and her present life in L.A. Tom McNeal
effortlessly exhibited how Judy developed and grew into an adult and
how she lived as that adult.
I felt that the character of
Willy was very realistic and likeable. From the style that he
dressed in, to the way he spoke, Willy was a great 3 dimensional
character. Judy views Willy as the man she never really left
behind. Judy thinks fondly of Willy and comes to realize that
not only was he her first love, but quite possibly her one true
love. McNeal shows what can unfold when second chances are
presented and the past makes its way into the present.
McNeal did an excellent job in creating a special
relationship between Judy and her father. A summer trip to
visit him in Nebraska turned into a permanent situation when Judy
realized that his house and town felt more like home than her
childhood home with her mother. Judy discovered a friend in her
quiet father and enjoyed the time spent with him, be it driving
around country roads, weeding the garden, reading aloud from novels,
or doing homework at the same table that he graded papers. While they
may not have spoken much, Judy found comfort and familiarity in their
silence.
I thought that McNeal did a terrific job
painting the setting in To Be Sung Underwater. As the story
unfolded I could perfectly visualize Nebraska, along with Judy and
Willy's hangouts. McNeal gave life to the lakes, back roads,
little towns, and storage unit. This helped To Be Sung
Underwater feel profoundly realistic.
Tom McNeal's, To Be Sung
Underwater, is an excellent novel which I would without a doubt read
again. I definitely recommend this novel to book lovers, both
male and female.