Waterborne

Starred review from January 26, 2004
Murkoff's stately debut novel tracks three characters whose lives and fates converge at the building of the Boulder Dam near Las Vegas during the Great Depression. Filius Poe, an engineer, escapes from Chicago and heads to Boulder City to bury himself in work, hoping to erase memories of a recent tragedy. Lena McCardell, too, is fleeing calamity, hoping for a new start with her young son in tow. And then there is Lew Beck, born to loving parents but eventually hardened into a bitter avenger after years of being tormented for his abnormal shortness. Murkoff takes his time laying out each individual's story, but the novel's pace, though measured, never flags, and eventually all three characters arrive in Boulder City, "the only city in America where everyone has a job." At times, Filius seems a bit too much like a square-jawed, heroic martyr and Lena the picture of persevering female strength. Murkoff's strongest creation is Lew, a terrifying, angry man prone to quick and violent outbursts, who "looked for the soft places" in people "and remembered them." He moves through the novel like a menacing black cloud, earning both the reader's sympathy and disgust. Murkoff's precise, period-flavored prose deftly captures the inner lives and physical presence of his characters (Lena's friend Fanny makes an appearance "trailing a Max Factor lilac scent that overpowered the smell of the fresh-baked doughnuts she carried in a paper sack") as well as the harsh landscape of Nevada ("the dull richness of this carmine palette, with its rugged skin and dismal reach") and the Colorado River that must be tamed. Marred only by a melodramatic ending, the novel announces the arrival of a real talent. 5-city author tour. (Feb. 28)

Forecast:
Knopf is strongly behind this first novel, with a 35,000 first printing and a five-city author tour. Though some reviewers may dismiss it as a throwback, others will relish Murkoff's stylized prose, and readers should respond, too.