Michalski’s “The Summer She Was Under Water,” a Refreshing Read

Reading “The Summer She Was Under Water” (reissued by Black Lawrence Press, 2017) by Jen Michalski has been truly refreshing. It is a fictional story with deep and complicated characters, while still managing to be easy to read. Like water, the language is clear and the flow of the story smooth.

Michalski has a way of taking a common action or image and describing it in a way that feels new. When Michalski has the main character greet her brother in an embrace, it happens as, “Sam stands up and touches her hands lightly to his back. He smells of the staleness of last night’s bourbon, underarm sweat, cigarettes, and the cheap body spray he has used in an attempt to cover it all up.”

She skillfully depicts the scene, allowing the reader to feel as if they were in the room or at the lake.

I found the story relatable (though of course this is my own bias). The main character Sam is a writer (!) who comes from quite a dysfunctional family. Whether the reader is a writer or not, most of us can relate to having a family that argues, even when on vacation. Sam’s family is also facing plights like mental illness and addictions, and still this familial bond, no matter how dysfunctional, is relatable. This allows for the reader to easily make a connection to the characters compelling us to have a vested interest in what happens to them.

Sam finds herself struggling with romance, especially in the shadow of family traumas. I can relate to her on that, even if we don’t share the same traumas. Needless to say, this was different from other books I’ve read where the main character was a writer or creative type.

One of Sam’s thoughts when facing the possibility of her two-year romantic partner proposing to her stuck with me. It details items of care on a daily list of things to do for oneself (like brushing teeth and smiling) and takes into consideration if you add another human or two into the list.

“She had made it this far because marriage was one item too many. She could not make it through every day and have to attend to Michael, attend to their children. She could spend two four-hour evenings during the week, every weekend, with him, but she could not spend every day with him. It was too much time to account for, too much time during which she’d rather sit in the dark and wish she were dead. She decided to sleep on it.”

Making your own day go smoothly is daunting enough on its own, especially if you’re struggling with illness, addictions or family heartaches. Adding another person makes the already overwhelming situation unmanageable. I have often thought similarly to Sam.

“The Summer She Was Under Water” gives the reader an interesting opportunity to read two stories intertwined. The reader gets sucked into the lives of Sam, her ex, her family, and her friend from mostly Sam’s perspective while reading a story Sam wrote. The reader gets to enjoy these two fiction stories in tandem as a story within a story. Spoiler alert: Sam’s writing project is about a pregnant man. As the reader, I found myself wanting to know what happens to both Sam and her fictional, pregnant male character.

Beyond the ways I saw myself reflected in these pages, there are some interesting twists and subtle hints at the disturbing that have the reader on the edge of their seats, not wanting to put the book down. We just have to know Sam’s thoughts and secrets.

Let yourself be drawn in and under with “The Summer She Was Under Water.”

Megan Andreuzzi is an animal lover and a traveler from the New Jersey Shore. She earned a degree from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, USA in Liberal Studies with a dual concentration in writing and a minor in theatre.