To Be Sung Underwater: A Novel

Tom McNeal
Little, Brown and Company (2011)
ISBN 9780316127394
Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (6/11)

“To Be Sung Underwater” tells the story of Judith Toomey beginning at age fifteen when she went to live with her father in a quiet town in Nebraska. There she spent the next three years hanging out with her friend Deena and her boyfriend Willy Blunt. Willy was a carpenter who led a simple life, deciding not to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a farmer. Willy and Judith seemed destined to have a future together until Judith was accepted into a prestigious college in California. There she met and married Malcolm Whitman. While Malcolm was able to provide Judith with a stable home, he would never be able to live up to the whirlwind romance she thought Willy provided.

This story centers around Judith’s relationships with several different people. First is her relationship with her parents. Unsure of why they broke up, she tried futilely to get them to reconcile. A second relationship is that with her husband. Judith has never been sure if she really loved Malcolm and questions his fidelity to her. Raising a daughter has not been a particularly rewarding experience either. Her lack of maternal instincts is a problem. The one relationship Judith truly seemed to treasure was the one she had with Willy. Although she abandoned him, she never really forgot about him.

Author Tom McNeal manages to infuse some humor into what otherwise would have been an emotionally intense story. Judith’s obsession with the maple bedroom set that has been passed down through generations of her family triggers some nostalgia within her. The scenes in which she makes a shrine to her bed and concocts an alias to make her life seem more exciting provided good comic relief.

“To Be Sung Underwater” will appeal to a female adult audience. Although the story often shifts between Judith’s teenage years and the present, it is easy to follow what is happening. The family secrets and the interactions between the characters keep the story interesting. But the climactic ending really ties everything together and provides the reader with a sense of closure.

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