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THE FLOODMAKERS is the astute rendering of one Southern family’s struggle to survive the stormy heat of a summer tempest and its own powerful emotional undertows. Mylène Dressler’s work has been hailed by the New York Times as “splendid” and by the Christian Science Monitor as “haunting, demanding . . . perfect.” Now the critically acclaimed author of THE DEADWOOD BEETLE and THE MEDUSA TREE returns with a “tense interior drama” (Library Journal) marked by a “baroque, Tennessee Williams flavor” (Kirkus Reviews) that weaves together the lives and stories of five strong-willed characters who have one last chance to strengthen their family's bond...or break it.

Harry Buelle—the son of a famous, and famously demanding, southern playwright—awakes one morning to find himself confused and naked in his bathtub. His stepmother suddenly telephones, complaining that his father is refusing to take his heart medication. Harry has never heard Jeanie sound so tired, and with his own life obviously in shambles agrees to join his parents, along with his sister Sarah and her husband Paul, at the family’s beach house retreat.

Soon all the good-natured joking and family sparring lead to goading and to subtle manipulations. Sarah, a filmmaker, is determined to finish a documentary about her father’s brilliant life and career—but Dee Buelle appears to be obsessed with a wounded bird that has flown into the house. Paul tries to shoehorn his way into the family’s theatrical business, but is stymied by Harry’s possessiveness toward his strangely behaving father. And Jean must decide whether to play the traditional role of peacemaker in the family—or quietly resolve her own, urgent dilemma.

With poetry and precision, wit and grace, THE FLOODMAKERS delivers a unique, highly theatrical narrative that never once sacrifices “the characters that [Dressler] so lovingly, so obviously nurtures.” (thebooxreview.com)

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THE FLOODMAKERS
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 0-399-15163-X