River of Dreams

by Gay Courter

When Margaret Claiborne, a beautiful and brilliant American pianist, marries Brazilian empire builder Erik Larson, she is plunged into the cosmopolitan life of nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro and the complex mores of a society she only half understands

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

592 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

River of Dreams follows the beautiful Margaret Claiborne, as she comes back to the south from Brazil, were she fled during to the civil war. Margaret is a beautiful and talente-...zzzZZZZZZZzzzzzz.......

This was a real snoozefest.
*yawn


I tend to enjoy slow meandering books, but River of Dreams was a long, tedious, and uneventful read.

Judging from the back cover blurb and reviews of Courters other books, I expected a glittering family saga with a strong historical backdrop, what I got a pointless clunker of lackluster plot and prose.

The plot was spread throughout the book fairly well, but it was spread to thin. So slow, it's tedious to tread through.
Even when dramatic things happen, it's so monotome and apathetic. This book deals with a lot of taboo subjects: adultery, rape, and domestic violence. But even these plot points are dealt with in a way that's devoid of any real emotion.
I'm not exactly sure why I even bothered to finish it, no one was particularly likeable to interesting.
Do yourself a favor, skip this one.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My local library is full of these old historical fiction sagas from the 1980s, a decade that was all about these long dramas (think CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, THE THORN BIRDS, PILLARS OF THE EARTH). I happened across Gay Courter's and thought I'd give it a chance, despite its horrendous cover. It is set in late nineteenth century Brazil and revolved around Margaret, an American from New Orleans, whose family moved to Brazil to try to make their fortune.

The book was complete fluff. What I love about long historical fiction family sagas is not just the drama but also getting a sense of a particular time and place, i.e. learning more about a historical era and country. But I didn't learn much about nineteenth century Brazil in Courter's book, which was very disappointing. While it's easy enough to read, it dragged on by the end, and I probably wouldn't have known it was set in Rio de Janeiro if Sugar Loaf Mountain hadn't been mentioned so much. The characters were two-dimensional and not all that likable too. But if you just want a soap opera in a book, and one that is forgettable, then read this.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took forever to get into this book.

[Emily Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I am sorry that I only have one more Gay Courter novel to read...I have really liked the other four that i have read. The sections of River of Dreams focused of certain characters and their points of view, while including the other characters in the action. It was a very good historical view of Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro in particular and made me anxious to visit there. I particularly appreciate the strong women characters Gay Courter presents and how they emerge from difficult situations to become the powerful and strong pillars in their families.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dislike the title of this book and the author has sex on her mind a little too often for my taste, but I learned some interesting things about Brazil particularly Rio de Janeiro.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best work. Drags.