Facing financial trouble, Beth, a black divorcee with two kids, moves back to the Midwest to live with her white father, only to find him with a live-in girlfriend, Linda, a girl Beth babysat in high school. After returning home, Beth rekindles an old affair with a married man; she is also forced to address the town’s benign racism, as well as the sexual assault she experienced as a young child at the hands of a neighbor, both issues which her father has long refused to acknowledge. This is a story about the rage boiling inside a woman who has been quiet for too long. Look for it April 21, 2020 from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Available for purchase here.
Write Ups and Reviews:
BLAC Detroit
“Michigan native Jeni McFarland’s debut novel delves headfirst and unapologetically into timely themes of racism, class and sexual trauma. Carried mainly by female characters and drawing from McFarland’s painful, personal story, the book is meant to amplify the voice of small-town America while addressing the silence that surrounds sexual assault, McFarland says, ‘especially in the Black community.’” Read the full write-up here.
Salon
“‘The House on Deep Water’ is a nuanced, realistic portrait of small-town America, brimming with secrets and scandal. Read the full article here.
San Francisco Chronicle Review Round-Up
“‘The House of Deep Water’ uses a town built on Midwestern stoicism to take a deep look at family dynamics and the ties that bind. Read the full article here.
Lone Star Literary Review
“There are voices, many and multifaceted, that speak to you in the cool, watery depths of McFarland’s prose. River Bend and the interlocking personal relationships are a spidery web of narrative connectivity between simple folks living complex, flawed lives.” Read the full review here.
Interviews and Discussions:
The Writer’s Center Craft Happy Hour
Fox Cities Book Festival - Jason Mott (in conversation with Jeni McFarland)