{"title":"Erin L. McCoy","description":"Erin L. McCoy is the author of the poetry collection Wrecks, a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Award. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Narrative, Conjunctions, Bennington Review, The American Poetry Review, and Best New Poets, among other publications. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Erin has lived in Seattle, Malaysia, Spain, and two St. Petersburgs.","products":[{"product_id":"underlake-hardcover","title":"Underlake - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen a mother claims her missing daughter is alive beneath a lake in a flooded valley, a marine biologist descends into a hidden underwater settlement where those who refused to leave have built a sealed-off world--and where the consequences of that choice are beginning to surface. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In the vein of Margaret Atwood and Emily St. John Mandel, McCoy's novel is a thoughtful, ethereal story that . . . feels as though it came from the eerie depths it describes.\" --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Mesmerizing . . . Through lightless tunnels and shimmering pools . . . this book illuminates how faith, language, and truth can warp or sharpen under extraordinary pressure.\" --Susanna Kwan, author of \u003ci\u003eAwake in the Floating City\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Stunning . . . Achingly true to the human need for hope and forgiveness, \u003ci\u003eUnderlake\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the greatest depths are within the human heart.\" --Ron Rash, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Caretaker\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwelve years ago, Otta escaped her small town, determined to become a marine biologist. Now she's returned, carrying the guilt of a friend's disappearance during a deep-sea dive and unsure she'll ever be able to dive again. Then a stranger, May, appears at her door, insisting that her daughter who ran away is under the nearby lake--alive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt turns out the small-town legend is true: Three decades ago, the entire valley was flooded to build a dam, but the people who lived there refused to leave. These \"refugees of a world obsessed with change\" now inhabit an underwater realm. To find the missing girl, Otta and May come face-to-face with communities that have lived in isolation for decades, breeding extremes of delusion and nostalgia. As they push their bodies to the mortal limit, the women must confront the fear, control, and suspicion born of the misguided quest to construct a purer world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHypnotic and arresting, \u003ci\u003eUnderlake\u003c\/i\u003e brings a poet's attention to language, evoking the ethereal work of Marilynne Robinson, Lauren Groff, and Emily St. John Mandel and the imaginative brio of Margaret Atwood. In taking her place as a major new voice in American fiction, McCoy shrewdly explores the American obsession with land, inheritance, and race, asking what we cling to when the world changes--and who gets erased in the name of preserving it.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101157691615,"sku":"9780385552073","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/QVxr30zWb29780385552073.webp?v=1781068371"},{"product_id":"underlake-paperback","title":"Underlake - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA richly glittering debut about the interlocked fates of two women, raised worlds apart, who must join forces on an extraordinary journey diving leagues beneath the water's surface --and straight into the fathomless heart of fear, forgiveness, and love.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThirteen years ago, Otta escaped the small town of Steels, intent upon becoming a marine biologist. Now she's returned having failed to achieve her dream, and carrying the guilt of a friend's death during a deep-sea dive. She thinks she may never dive again, but then a stranger appears at her door. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis stranger, May, says that her daughter has run away, and insists that she's under a nearby lake -- alive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBecause it turns out the small-town legend of \"the underlake\" is true: three decades ago, an entire valley and the town in it was flooded to make way for a dam, but the people in that town refused to leave.\u003cbr\u003eNow, they're still living beneath the lake, self-proclaimed \"refugees of a world obsessed with change,\" connected --and held apart --by an intricate, airtight system of tubes and sealed buildings. To find May's missing daughter, Otta and May must travel deeper and deeper under the water. Along the way, they'll discover communities that have lived in isolation for decades, fomenting extremes of delusion and nostalgia. As the two women bond in the thrall of their search, they are each forced to confront the layers of fear, control, and uncertainty that drive their quest. Together and alone, they must challenge the laws of love and society --and push their bodies to the mortal limit. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHypnotic and arresting, \u003ci\u003eUnderlake \u003c\/i\u003easks how do we claim our place on the great timeline of history, and who do we erase in the process? It brings a poet's attention to language, gesturing at the evocative and ethereal work of Preeta Samarasan and Marilynne Robinson, while also shrewdly exploring the American obsession with inheritance, property, and race. Finally, \u003ci\u003eUnderlake\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful meditation on what is possible when women reach through time, space, and memory to relate to one another.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101952905439,"sku":"9798217290246","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/l6IXLOilgA9798217290246.webp?v=1781075953"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/erin-l-mccoy.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}