drey's library

Tom McNeal's To Be Sung Underwater isn't just a love story. It is a love story in the past, and a journey of angst and (re-?) discovery in the present. There's a lot of background here, and this is where I'll admit that I did not like Judith when I first meet her. In fact I definitely disliked her until we get past her first summer in Nebraska, visiting her father.Then I felt a bit sorry for her. Her mother doesn't fit in. Her father's umpteen states away. She doesn't have friends. All this while a teenager, which is hard enough as it is. Even the present-day Judith is a bit of a wreck--her daughter's leaving her behind (as most teenagers do), her husband may be having an affair (or is it just in her head?), her assistant is showing her up... When did life get so off track?There are no cut-and-dried answers for Judith here, just as there aren't in real life. When things get to be more than she can handle, Judith retreats. And creates a sanctuary of sorts, where she relives her first (and only?) love: Willy Blunt and that magical last summer in Nebraska. If she searches for him, will she like what she finds? Will he?And when all is said and done, will Judith get her act together?