The River

by Tricia Wastvedt

Tricia Wastvedt's debut novel, met with critical acclaim in England, is a hypnotically readable portrait of a community scarred, but eventually reawakened, by its grief. Two children drown during the summer of 1958 in the English village of Cameldip. Their parents, Isabel and Robert, are bound together in guilt and anger, and as the years pass, the tragedy weaves itself into the invisible fabric of village life.
Robert, finding solace in labor, builds several tree houses that transform the look of the town, and as the years pass the structures grow entwined with other houses. It is thirty years after the tragedy when Anna, a young pregnant woman escaping her life in London, arrives in Cameldip and is taken in by Isabel. As Anna slowly uncovers the secrets of the town's past, she becomes inexorably drawn into the conflict in which Isabel and Robert have been locked for three decades. A story of families, old scars, and new beginnings, The River is a lyrical and haunting tale of betrayal, failure, love, and fortitude.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family, Historical, Literary Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sapphir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterfully composed inventory of the consequences of a tragedy, narrated in different time frames, which is a little confusing at first, but the pieces of the puzzle are falling together more and more in the course of the story.
The blurb says: “Clear, almost lucid prose”, which is a very fitting description, I think.
All of these things combined make for an interesting and emotive reading experience, although the novel is actually a depressing story about loss, mourning and unbearable guilt.
4.5 Stars.

[Catherine Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner, absolute thriller and I am very pleased to say, I was surprised. I can often guess what happens next, but this one had some great twists and turns all the way through. You don't realise how dark it is until you finish it. Excellent book, would highly recommend.

[Saskia Sarginson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was completely seduced by Wastvedt's elegant, atmospheric prose. I found myself quickly immersed in the world she describes: the small, claustrophobic village, the intriguing characters, the slow unravelling of the tragedy at the heart of the book. In my opinion though, it's not a 'perfect' novel; there were certain flaws in the plot, things that stretched my credulity just a bit too far, and some things that didn't make sense to me. Also, as a mother, I began to be irritated by the incompetence and selfishness of nearly all the mothers in the book; and it felt too much of a coincidence to have so many bad mothers clustered in one place. However, that said, I really enjoyed the book and have huge admiration for Wastvedt's abilities as a story-teller and writer. I've already read her other book, The German Boy, which I also loved, and would read anything else she writes.

[Trish]

I tried to read this book but I couldn't make a go of it after a week and gave up. There was too much jumping around to different times and characters and I couldn't get very involved in the story. However, since there were contributing factors to how much time I was able to spend reading, that could have had an effect on my immersion and I will leave it on my sitting-here-waiting list to try again some other day.

[Karina Samyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik hoopte op een spannend boek maar dit was saai, voorspelbaar met clichématige personages. Om snel te vergeten.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was tragic yet beautifully written. The visual images it created burned into my head. I would highly recommend it.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't get on with this - very slow and quite dull. Not what I expected - disappointing

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two young children, siblings, drown. The book deals with the involvement, guilt (deserved & undeserved), and aftermath of the event 30 years later. The cast of characters includes most of the residents of a small town in England and follows them through their lives to a surprising, but mostly satisfying conclusion. Some interesting concepts with the father as a builder of tree houses to live in.

I personally didn't care for the way the book was written - too many short chapters, each focused on a different character, with not enough cohesion to bring the various characters and time spans together. But some of the writing was lovely.

I chose this book as part of the library's 2019 reading challenge to read 2 books with the same title. The River by Peter Heller was a much more satisfying read for my taste.

Suggest to: people who like gothic mysteries, non-linear storytelling

Quotes: (describing a snow storm) Roads and paths disappeared, ditches closed, and the intricate wounds of human habitation healed over flake by flake.

Memories were deceitful, treacherous things, a ragbag of delusions and desires. They were a forgery that one constructed to fit with all the counterfeits in one's life until there was no way of judging the truth of anything.

[bookssheread · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the writing style, it was different from what I usually read, and at the base level the overall story was really good and how it slowly unfolded to show just how dark it was. But there were some crucial things that I didn't like which made it a hard book to read.

Firstly the pace of the book seems inconsistent and that bothered me because just when it would pick up its pace and I would be immersed, it would hit a lull and I would lose interest. Secondly there were too many different POV's just when the atory of one person would get built up they would switch to a new pov and just ruin the flow . The constant switches also I feel prevented proper character development of some key characters Josef's especially.

I did like how the ending unfolded I would have liked to see how Isabel was now a little more.

[Susanna Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and haunting. There's a sense of foreboding almost from the very beginning This is not straightforward narrative fiction - the timelines twist and overlap and it can be hard to be sure you're following the story. But then you get swept up in the atmosphere the author creates as you connect with all these people and their village and the river. This one's going to stay with me.

[Jane Blumsom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag for me. Some beautiful language creating a haunting and atmospheric scene, however it wasn’t always clear what was happening and in which timeframe. This made it a difficult read at times. Some interesting characters but others I didn’t like. The main theme is grief and this is explored well. I didn’t like the ending and it left me unsettled.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A difficult read due to the complex web of characters and time-shifting, exacerbated by a writing style which I didn't care for.

[Cindi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not get into this story. I'm sure others may like The River, but it just wasn't a book for me.

[Maddie Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randomly found this book in a thrift store basement and it ended up being really good, the ending threw me a little but the writing was amazing, so many great passages I read over and over

[Jen Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but a blurry and disappointing ending.

[Iris DeRedelijkheid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ja hartstikke leuk maar het einde is zo verschrikkelijk klote dat het 3 sterren krijgt

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the blurb on the back of the book:

In the summer of 1958 two children drown while playing in a leaky
boat. As the years pass the tragedy becomes part of the invisible
fabric of village life until Anna, a young pregnany woman, settles
into the seemingly blissful village. Taken in by Isabel, the mother of
the drowned children, Anna and her baby unknowingly awaken the grief
that has been dormant for thirty years. As Anna tries to better
understand the people she's come to call family and the village she's
come to call home, she uncovers the secrets of the past and is
inexorably drawn into the whisper of a ghost story that surrounds the
river. Tricia Wastvedt's breathtaking debut novel is a story of loss
and despair, of rage after grief, and the power of love to heal broken
lives.

The author does a good job giving a sense of place and fleshing out
some intriguing characters. There was something missing and I'm not
quite sure what. I would have liked to delve more into the psyche of
the mother of the drowned children, but she remained a mysterious
character. Overall, good read but not as moving as one would think
from the description on the back.

[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

BookList: Cameldip is an English village harboring a haunting tragedy. The drowning death of two children ripples through the community’s life even 30 years later. When Anna comes to Cameldip for a new start in the late 1980s, she takes up lodging with Isabel but has no idea what a revelation her pregnancy will be for Isabel and the town. Telling the story in flashbacks that explore Isabel and her husband’s past, as well as the relationships of other village members, Wastvedt slowly brings readers to an understanding of how the tragedy has touched the lives of her characters. The more we discover about these people, the more we fear for them all; the tension mounts and then snowballs for a stunning conclusion. A literary thriller that is atmospheric and surprising. -- MishaStone (BookList, 03-01-2005, p1143)

[K]

In the summer of 1958 two children drown while playing in a leaky boat. As the years pass the tragedy becomes part of the invisible fabric of village life until Anna, a young pregnant woman, settles into the seemingly blissful village. Taken in by Isabel, the mother of the drowned children, Anna and her baby unknowingly awaken the grief that has been dormant for thirty years. As Anna tries to better understand the people she's come to call family and the village she's come to call home, she uncovers the secrets of the past and is inexorably drawn into the whisper of a ghost story that surrounds the river. Tricia Wastvedt's breathtaking debut novel is a story of loss and despair, of rage after grief, and of the power of love to heal broken lives. Book jacket.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book opens with a tragic accident, when a leaky boat becomes trapped on a snag in the River Camel. It continues with stories of people living in the village by the river, many of whom are affected by the tragedy.
The village itself is like a snag; there are several characters, almost all of them outsiders who drift into the village, get caught in it and entangled with each other. There are also several different time frames and chapters which follow parts of the story through different characters. It is not a straight-forward narrative, although the different parts do come together well in the end.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, brilliant writing regarding description. Unfortunately, I listened to it on CD and the narrator was not clear about each new chapter which was extremely confusing with the time shift and multiple characters. The plot was entertaining, at times alittle boring, but I wouldn't say captivating. The ending was unpredictable, though the whole story was nothing I had expected from reading the cover jacket.

[Nancy]

Setting: a small English village of Cameldip. In the summer of 1958, two children drown while playing in a leaky boat. As the years pass the tragedy becomes part of the invisible fabric of village life until Anna, a young pregnant woman settles into the seemingly blissful village. Anna begins to uncover the secrets of the past & is drawn into the whisper of a ghost story that surrounds the river.

[Daniel Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book and one of the best books I have read. A story which switches between events in the past & the present. A young soon to be mother arrives in a town by accident and ends up staying. The town has a hidden and disturbing past which is pieced together throughout the book.

I recommend this highly. I have just started reading the authors only other book to date and cant wait to get right into it.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still not certain how I feel about this book. Started listening to the audio and had to finish in print to see how things turned out. Not as I hoped.
The writing is good, captivating if a bit confusing from the mulitple characters and timelines. I kept getting confused about the secondary characters. The ending is not exactly satisfying but is life?

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my reading group selected read. It was hard to get into with lots of switches between characters and timelines, improved and I emjoyed some of the characters and some of the minor storylines, but left towards the end new characters were introduced with no real role. I felt disappointed by the ending.

[Christina McLain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved it but it is very sad.Sometimes when tragedy occurs, nothing gets put right.Set in a small village in southern England with lots of interesting characters this multi-generational tale shows us the twists the heart can take when burdened with grief and unhappiness.I would recommend this to anyone except perhaps the parents of young children.Great ending.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible writer for her use of exceptional descriptive language, which carries the reader on a journey of awe-inspiring episodes - delving into the past and philosophies of each character through colourful and enlightening segments of the story . . . and all have a personal association with The River.

[Radhika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tricia Wastvedt is one of my *favorite* authors, and I can read The German Boy any number of times. Her writing is lilting, haunting and sad, and her stories are atmospheric to the point where the plot is very secondary. I love this style of writing, but if you want something more linear and action-packed, this probably isn't for you.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It didn't help that every time I saw Cameldip I changed it to Cameltoe in my head. That probably set the tone for me taking it seriously (or not). Not sure about this book, I was easily confused with all the characters and jumping around through time; it was also difficult to leave long gaps between reading as I'd forget who was who and the relationships between them. Ending was as expected.

[Candice Landau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The River was a beautifully crafted story of loss and love and a beautifully written book. Tricia's ability to get into the mind of both men and women, across time and space is truly unique. Even though the premise is upsetting, Tricia's ability to deal with the subject of losing children it in unparalleled. I highly recommend this book to everyone!