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Down to the River
Down to the River is a family saga set in the late 1960s in Cambridge, Massachusetts against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. Twin brothers, Nash and Remi Potts, have grown up as entitled, Harvard-educated, golden boys, heirs to an old, but dwindling family fortune. With the passage of time, the gold veneer of prosperity begins to chip away, and their lives begin to falter. We meet Remi and Nash in 1968, in their mid-forties and partners in a sporting goods store in Harvard Square. The twins' marriages are in trouble. Their youngest children, Chickie and Hen (mistakes, they're often called....), are coming of age during the turbulent urban wilderness of the late 1960s— school bomb threats, racial tensions, war protests and demonstrations at Harvard and beyond. With all hell breaking loose at home, and any semblance of “parenting” hanging ragged in the wind, the two cousins are left largely to their own devices. Suddenly freed from old rules and restrictions, they head out onto the streets of Cambridge, which become their concrete playground, tumbling headlong into a world of politics, sex, drugs, rock and roll. Chickie and Hen forge an unbreakable bond as they join forces and hearts to stay afloat in the sea of upheaval that surrounds them, the lines of family love and loyalty often blurring.
- GenresFiction
323 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2022
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May 11, 2022
“A family saga set in the late 1960s in Cambridge, Massachusetts against the backdrop of the Vietnam War”
Well! I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders, now that I have closed the final page on this epic family saga and I am able to breathe freely again, without feeling quite so claustrophobic and suffocated. Author Anne Whitney Pierce, admits that she likes her novels long and rambling, so I can see why these pages might have spent many years, shoved under the bed and half finished, obviously just waiting for her to have the stamina and strength to resurrect them, in anticipation of bringing events to a dramatic finale, which imploded spectacularly and left me feeling oddly bereft, as in this wonderfully detailed character analysis of two related and completely dysfunctional families, there really were no winners and, I suspect, that is always how Anne always intended it to be!
Before I even attempt to offer what I hope is a largely spoiler-free, potted-version, of the story which unfolded between the many pages of this book, I really feel that a warning about some of the explicit cultural content contained therein, including scenes of a sexual, alcohol and drug fuelled nature, is in order, for the unwary readers amongst you. Although I would also add, that such references are on the whole, commensurate with the period of the late 1960s/early 1970s, to which the majority of the narrative and dialogue pertains, so in that respect are not gratuitous or used out of context.
…
Twins have always had and always will have, that second sense of being as one, thinking as one, acting as one and protecting each other no matter what and without question. Nash and Remi (Naylor and Remington) Potts, are the end of a dynasty. The family’s inherited wealth and entitled privilege, has all but run dry and under the rather untender ministrations and extravagances of the two virtually alcoholic brothers, it is only a matter of time before life as they have known it, will come to a spectacular end and only genteel poverty awaits them. Nash has always been his brother’s loyal protector though, so cut one and they both bleed, hurt Remi and you will face the wrath of Nash. However, Remi has more secrets than Nash would ever have thought possible, which should they ever become public knowledge, or be spoken aloud, will have the potential to damage their familial bonds beyond repair.
Their attempts at earning a living for themselves in business, are faltering and rather haphazard, and their marriages which were more of a convenience for the brothers and a state of safety and security for their then new and unworldly wives, are definitely a fast fading star. They live next door to each other and each have two children of the same ages. In this golden time of the late 1950s though, parenting is considered to be very much a young person’s game, so when a drunken evening and a reckless wager, by Nash and Remi, results in both Faye and Violet, who are now in their thirties, becoming pregnant for a third time, after so many intervening years, life is about to change dramatically for them all once again.
Nash and Remi have never been much use around their respective houses, which are now in a sad and unloved state of disrepair and chaos, and neither of them feel any responsibility for helping out with the children, especially not babies Minerva (Chickie) and Henry (Hen). Faye and Violet begin to let things go and that incudes the reins on their older offspring, who have now either gone off to college, or eagerly left home to find their own way in the world. Chickie and Hen, unfettered and almost feral, are therefore closer than most cousins and some might say far too close, although their parents seem completely oblivious to the dangers this may present, as they grow up.
With a war taking hold in Vietnam, protests on the streets, constant bomb threats and racial tensions, the latter which because of their lax parenting, Nash and Violet will soon find out all about first-hand, both Faye and Violet decide that now has to be ‘their’ time, so Chickie and Hen, Nash and Remi, are all pretty much left to their own devices, as the newly liberated and independent women both decide that owning their own businesses, is the way to go. With moral codes changing and even in some cases crumbling away, when a vulnerable and disturbed Chickie, has personal and traumatic experience of a procedure which is still then very much illegal in many States, her extended family, after their initial moment of shock, appear unmoved to alter their ways, or attempt to steer their children in a more informed or safety conscious direction, and it is only Hen who is standing there by her side through it all. A clear-minded, although admittedly scared Hen, who has made his mind up that he will not be drafted into a war he doesn’t think is just or fair, so will be doing anything and everything possible to avoid his call-up, whether that is ultimately with or without Chickie.
Both Faye and Violet have secrets of their own though, and although Nash does manage to work out what Violet is hiding from him, a poor hapless Remi just doesn’t get where Faye is coming from at all, or how damaged she is and has always been. Both helpless, guileless men, assume that offering their forgiveness and promises of their undying love, which I truly think they believed when they spoke the words, will fix things, and they fail to see that it is all too little, too late.
The last time we see the two families together is at the graduation of Chickie and Hen, although even then, one of Nash’s daughters is absent without explanation. I suspect, although the ending is as surreal as the times, that this is the dissolution of the Potts clan and the last time they will ever all meet again. The final scenario played out, still intrigues me though, as I could have taken it in one of two directions, which would have had such different outcomes for at least one of the Potts twins. Was it simply a tragic accident, an act of uncontrollable rage, or the sudden unacceptable realisation that a hitherto expected way of life was about to change forever?
…
From a post I read on Anne’s website, it would some that some elements of this storyline track that of her own teenage years. However, as I seem to have enjoyed a much more sheltered upbringing, despite us being of a similar age, I am certain I have only managed to scrape the surface nuances of this multi-layered, complex, intense, textured, and totally absorbing storyline, where what isn’t said, is every bit as important as the words which appear on the pages, although that might easily cause the writing to appear lacking in some fluency. The chapters are quite long, although really the story is one wonderfully immersive, continuous timeline anyway, and there are some well placed paragraph breaks, where I could draw breath and take stock of the current prevailing situation.
The physical footprint of the storyline is very small, so whilst some excellent descriptive narrative and thoughtful observational dialogue really evoke a real sense of time, and places I could track for myself on the map, this saga is really all about the characters, their feelings and interactions with each other and with the wider community around them. Characters who on the whole, were not authentic, most unlikeable and to whom I was unable to relate in any way, let alone invest in as any kind of reliable role models for future generations. For much of the time the Potts adults acted more childishly and petulantly than their offspring and the rest of their lives they spent in denial of the realities and responsibilities of parenthood, forging for themselves a one way ticket into self-destruct mode. This lack of ethics and shattered family dynamics, left the Potts children vulnerable, volatile, emotionally starved and a raw complex jigsaw of human emotions.
What always makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every new book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination, stir my emotions and stimulate my senses. This story was definitely one of a kind, having the power to evoke so many feelings, that I’m sure I won’t have felt the same way about it as the last reader, nor the next. Being quite close in age to the author, this is very much a story of my era, although a vast ocean separates us in culture, making some elements of the family saga relatable, whilst other aspects are so very far removed from my own experiences. Therefore, I can only recommend that you read Down To The River for yourself to see where your journey leads you!
Well! I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders, now that I have closed the final page on this epic family saga and I am able to breathe freely again, without feeling quite so claustrophobic and suffocated. Author Anne Whitney Pierce, admits that she likes her novels long and rambling, so I can see why these pages might have spent many years, shoved under the bed and half finished, obviously just waiting for her to have the stamina and strength to resurrect them, in anticipation of bringing events to a dramatic finale, which imploded spectacularly and left me feeling oddly bereft, as in this wonderfully detailed character analysis of two related and completely dysfunctional families, there really were no winners and, I suspect, that is always how Anne always intended it to be!
Before I even attempt to offer what I hope is a largely spoiler-free, potted-version, of the story which unfolded between the many pages of this book, I really feel that a warning about some of the explicit cultural content contained therein, including scenes of a sexual, alcohol and drug fuelled nature, is in order, for the unwary readers amongst you. Although I would also add, that such references are on the whole, commensurate with the period of the late 1960s/early 1970s, to which the majority of the narrative and dialogue pertains, so in that respect are not gratuitous or used out of context.
…
Twins have always had and always will have, that second sense of being as one, thinking as one, acting as one and protecting each other no matter what and without question. Nash and Remi (Naylor and Remington) Potts, are the end of a dynasty. The family’s inherited wealth and entitled privilege, has all but run dry and under the rather untender ministrations and extravagances of the two virtually alcoholic brothers, it is only a matter of time before life as they have known it, will come to a spectacular end and only genteel poverty awaits them. Nash has always been his brother’s loyal protector though, so cut one and they both bleed, hurt Remi and you will face the wrath of Nash. However, Remi has more secrets than Nash would ever have thought possible, which should they ever become public knowledge, or be spoken aloud, will have the potential to damage their familial bonds beyond repair.
Their attempts at earning a living for themselves in business, are faltering and rather haphazard, and their marriages which were more of a convenience for the brothers and a state of safety and security for their then new and unworldly wives, are definitely a fast fading star. They live next door to each other and each have two children of the same ages. In this golden time of the late 1950s though, parenting is considered to be very much a young person’s game, so when a drunken evening and a reckless wager, by Nash and Remi, results in both Faye and Violet, who are now in their thirties, becoming pregnant for a third time, after so many intervening years, life is about to change dramatically for them all once again.
Nash and Remi have never been much use around their respective houses, which are now in a sad and unloved state of disrepair and chaos, and neither of them feel any responsibility for helping out with the children, especially not babies Minerva (Chickie) and Henry (Hen). Faye and Violet begin to let things go and that incudes the reins on their older offspring, who have now either gone off to college, or eagerly left home to find their own way in the world. Chickie and Hen, unfettered and almost feral, are therefore closer than most cousins and some might say far too close, although their parents seem completely oblivious to the dangers this may present, as they grow up.
With a war taking hold in Vietnam, protests on the streets, constant bomb threats and racial tensions, the latter which because of their lax parenting, Nash and Violet will soon find out all about first-hand, both Faye and Violet decide that now has to be ‘their’ time, so Chickie and Hen, Nash and Remi, are all pretty much left to their own devices, as the newly liberated and independent women both decide that owning their own businesses, is the way to go. With moral codes changing and even in some cases crumbling away, when a vulnerable and disturbed Chickie, has personal and traumatic experience of a procedure which is still then very much illegal in many States, her extended family, after their initial moment of shock, appear unmoved to alter their ways, or attempt to steer their children in a more informed or safety conscious direction, and it is only Hen who is standing there by her side through it all. A clear-minded, although admittedly scared Hen, who has made his mind up that he will not be drafted into a war he doesn’t think is just or fair, so will be doing anything and everything possible to avoid his call-up, whether that is ultimately with or without Chickie.
Both Faye and Violet have secrets of their own though, and although Nash does manage to work out what Violet is hiding from him, a poor hapless Remi just doesn’t get where Faye is coming from at all, or how damaged she is and has always been. Both helpless, guileless men, assume that offering their forgiveness and promises of their undying love, which I truly think they believed when they spoke the words, will fix things, and they fail to see that it is all too little, too late.
The last time we see the two families together is at the graduation of Chickie and Hen, although even then, one of Nash’s daughters is absent without explanation. I suspect, although the ending is as surreal as the times, that this is the dissolution of the Potts clan and the last time they will ever all meet again. The final scenario played out, still intrigues me though, as I could have taken it in one of two directions, which would have had such different outcomes for at least one of the Potts twins. Was it simply a tragic accident, an act of uncontrollable rage, or the sudden unacceptable realisation that a hitherto expected way of life was about to change forever?
…
From a post I read on Anne’s website, it would some that some elements of this storyline track that of her own teenage years. However, as I seem to have enjoyed a much more sheltered upbringing, despite us being of a similar age, I am certain I have only managed to scrape the surface nuances of this multi-layered, complex, intense, textured, and totally absorbing storyline, where what isn’t said, is every bit as important as the words which appear on the pages, although that might easily cause the writing to appear lacking in some fluency. The chapters are quite long, although really the story is one wonderfully immersive, continuous timeline anyway, and there are some well placed paragraph breaks, where I could draw breath and take stock of the current prevailing situation.
The physical footprint of the storyline is very small, so whilst some excellent descriptive narrative and thoughtful observational dialogue really evoke a real sense of time, and places I could track for myself on the map, this saga is really all about the characters, their feelings and interactions with each other and with the wider community around them. Characters who on the whole, were not authentic, most unlikeable and to whom I was unable to relate in any way, let alone invest in as any kind of reliable role models for future generations. For much of the time the Potts adults acted more childishly and petulantly than their offspring and the rest of their lives they spent in denial of the realities and responsibilities of parenthood, forging for themselves a one way ticket into self-destruct mode. This lack of ethics and shattered family dynamics, left the Potts children vulnerable, volatile, emotionally starved and a raw complex jigsaw of human emotions.
What always makes reading such a wonderful experience for me, is that with each and every new book, I am taken on a unique and individual journey, by authors who fire my imagination, stir my emotions and stimulate my senses. This story was definitely one of a kind, having the power to evoke so many feelings, that I’m sure I won’t have felt the same way about it as the last reader, nor the next. Being quite close in age to the author, this is very much a story of my era, although a vast ocean separates us in culture, making some elements of the family saga relatable, whilst other aspects are so very far removed from my own experiences. Therefore, I can only recommend that you read Down To The River for yourself to see where your journey leads you!
April 13, 2022
‘The barnyard names were just coincidence, the rest was by design.’
Naylor (Nash) and Remington (Remi) Potts are identical twin brothers living in Cambridge Massachusetts. Born into a wealthy family and Harvard-educated, Nash and Remi are partners is a sporting goods store in Harvard Square. They married Faye and Violet in a double wedding and occupy houses next to each other on Hemlock Street. Both couples have three children, with their third children born in 1951. Nash and Violet had three daughters: Persephone (Seph), Janie and Minerva (Chickie). Remi and Faye are the parents of Cameron (Buzz), Victoria (Tory) and Henry (Hen). Chickie and Hen are much younger than their siblings, born after their fathers made a bet in a bar, and grow up during the turbulent 1960s.
In the meantime, the family wealth is disappearing, the twins’ marriages are crumbling, and the social rules are disintegrating. Chickie and Hen, released from the parental restrictions their siblings endured, are free to negotiate their own paths through a world coloured by the politics of the Vietnam War, racial tensions, sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Those of us who were alive in the 1960s will be familiar with some of the issues covered and the social upheaval experienced. However, it took me a while to become familiar with the characters and to appreciate their circumstances. Aspects of the story made me uncomfortable, while the inevitable disintegration of the family units seemed sad. Privilege and wealth do not last forever, and the 1960s turned the world upside down for many. I finished the novel wondering what the future held for Chickie and Hen.
‘Pray for the babies.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and the Meryl Moss Media Group for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Naylor (Nash) and Remington (Remi) Potts are identical twin brothers living in Cambridge Massachusetts. Born into a wealthy family and Harvard-educated, Nash and Remi are partners is a sporting goods store in Harvard Square. They married Faye and Violet in a double wedding and occupy houses next to each other on Hemlock Street. Both couples have three children, with their third children born in 1951. Nash and Violet had three daughters: Persephone (Seph), Janie and Minerva (Chickie). Remi and Faye are the parents of Cameron (Buzz), Victoria (Tory) and Henry (Hen). Chickie and Hen are much younger than their siblings, born after their fathers made a bet in a bar, and grow up during the turbulent 1960s.
In the meantime, the family wealth is disappearing, the twins’ marriages are crumbling, and the social rules are disintegrating. Chickie and Hen, released from the parental restrictions their siblings endured, are free to negotiate their own paths through a world coloured by the politics of the Vietnam War, racial tensions, sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Those of us who were alive in the 1960s will be familiar with some of the issues covered and the social upheaval experienced. However, it took me a while to become familiar with the characters and to appreciate their circumstances. Aspects of the story made me uncomfortable, while the inevitable disintegration of the family units seemed sad. Privilege and wealth do not last forever, and the 1960s turned the world upside down for many. I finished the novel wondering what the future held for Chickie and Hen.
‘Pray for the babies.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and the Meryl Moss Media Group for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
March 4, 2022
Nash and Remington (Remi) Potts are twin brothers, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a wealthy family whose glory is fading. They go to Harvard (because that’s expected of them), marry Violet and Fran (a double wedding—of course), and settle down in side by side houses to run a sporting goods shop (financed with the last crumbs of the family fortune). Their lives run along in the usual fashion until, a few years later, they make a fateful bet while drinking at the local bar. Nine months later, their last children, Minerva (nicknamed Chickie) and Henry (Hen), arrive; they grow up amid the rapidly changing world of the 1960s. This is beautifully rendered family drama, character driven and rich with a sense of place. The author kept this tucked away while she wrote other books, and it was worth the wait.
Recommended
Recommended
May 4, 2022
Down to The River, Anne Whitney Pierce, Author
I really enjoyed reading this book. There was no gratuitous sex and no unnecessary use of foul language, unless it was pertinent to the story. The author’s personal political views were not inserted to disrupt or distract from the narrative. All of the descriptive words and scenes were purposefully placed and necessary. My first thought when I turned the last page of this book, was WOW.
Those who have lived through the 60’s and the times leading to them, will surely submerge themselves right into the narrative, as it authentically describes an era of chaos and confusion in America. Those who are only being introduced to the decade of trauma that overtook the country, during that time of The Silent Generation, monstrous assassinations, the Vietnam War, bomb threats, cults like the Hare Krishnas, free love, racism, bra burnings, drugs, Black Panthers, Woodstock, alcohol abuse, SDS, riots, and all sorts of other protest movements, will join with the ones who knew it, and both will view it as a momentous moment of our history, but there will be an “aha” moment too, that informs them all, as they think, so this is how we got where we are today! One might ask oneself, are the results of those times positive or negative?
Presenting the story through three generation of the Potts family, the reader bears witness to success and failure, pleasure and despair, hopes, fading dreams and heartbreaking loss. All of this occurs around them, and therefore everyone else, often without anyone noticing. In this book, as in our own lives today, we are experiencing the same kinds of moments. Although the book will encourage profound thought, and perhaps not be a quick read, it will be a very satisfying, enlightening read for everyone and an amazing choice for discussion in a book group or discussion group about America and how we all fit into its puzzle. As love grows or fades, as time passes and we mellow or fill with regret for what we have not accomplished, is the end result always a desire for more? Is there a moment of contentment that any of us reach? Using two brothers, identical twins, we see two sides of the same coin growing up, morphing into adults that are incomplete and not totally satisfied with their lives when they are finally able to be introspective and examine them with honesty. Can their sins be forgiven? Do we all sin? Are we all square pegs trying to fit into round holes? Do we own our children? Are we responsible for how they turn out? Do they want us to be? Are we “helicoptering” or abandoning them? Is it possible to be happy and grateful for what we have been given? Must we always feel shortchanged? Can rage be controlled? Can we find satisfaction?
Remi and Nash are married to Faye and Violet. They are the respective parents of Chickie and Hen, Minerva and Henry, who might as well be twins, growing up as close to each other as they did. Is that healthy? Is that all they want? Is it acceptable to want more? In 1943, when the adults married, they all looked forward to being parents. Women, though, were wives, mothers, maids and cooks, as the men mostly stood by and watched and were the breadwinners. How times have changed! This novel really informs the reader of how that viewpoint morphed into the independent woman of today. Was it worth it? Are our children better off now or are they still conflicted? Is neglect a universal problem along with excessive need on the other side. Are women or men happier with the standards of today? Have we learned to live together more peacefully? Six decades have passed, surely some things have changed. What are they?
As the very foundation of American society was questioned by women and the young who demanded less control, even as they craved boundaries, by music trends that had sexual innuendoes, and men who were conflicted by the demands placed on them to fight in foreign wars, all were forced to deal with changing mores, values and standards of behavior. Were we sleeping at the wheel, unaware of the profound cultural sea changes taking place? Secrets and a lack of outlets to express our emotional needs as children and adults began to take precedence over the regular pattern of our daily lives. More freedom, to perhaps selfishly enjoy life, was pursued, but was anyone really fulfilled when they ventured outside their gates? Pierce has truly investigated every avenue of society as it existed then. However, she used a very light touch so as not to titillate, nor to in enrage, but merely to inform and enlighten the reader as to the existence of those last vestiges of traditional society in America. So clearly has she captured the times and the emotions, the lifestyles and the pitfalls, that the reader is immersed in the moment as each character grows in a different direction. The ability of the author to capture, so purely, the atmosphere of those times, was critical for this book, and Pierce was pitch perfect. It required extraordinary research or the experience of having lived at that time. The very essence of our society’s morality was being questioned.
Unbeknownst to the author, she was prescient, for the idea of abortion in her book is front and center in America today. As the laws surrounding the right to abortion are being questioned, and Planned Parenthood is demonstrating against the highest court in our land, she has given the topic a significant role in this book. I was left wondering if easy access to abortion was perhaps instrumental in encouraging a great deal of the changes in female behavior and in our overall moral code? Did the idea of Margaret Sanger and her hateful idea of eugenics actually morph into an idea that would degrade society’s morality and become an unexpected method of customary birth control, sometimes dangerously close to infanticide? In the sixties, Planned Parenthood actually took young women from one state to another, without parental approval, for legal abortions.
With a narrative that sometimes-used staccato sentences to probe into the thoughts of her characters, their unfulfilled desires, disappointments, misunderstandings, and failures, the author upends the prevailing views of their day, perhaps foreshadowing the prevailing views of today. Men were chauvinists, are they still? Women stayed home to be homemakers, do they still? Real men fought in wars; do they still feel that way? Did they strive for happiness or challenges? Did anyone ever achieve contentment? One might ask, what is contentment?
It was a tumultuous period in history captured perfectly by the author and the communication that takes place between the characters is pitch perfect.
I really enjoyed reading this book. There was no gratuitous sex and no unnecessary use of foul language, unless it was pertinent to the story. The author’s personal political views were not inserted to disrupt or distract from the narrative. All of the descriptive words and scenes were purposefully placed and necessary. My first thought when I turned the last page of this book, was WOW.
Those who have lived through the 60’s and the times leading to them, will surely submerge themselves right into the narrative, as it authentically describes an era of chaos and confusion in America. Those who are only being introduced to the decade of trauma that overtook the country, during that time of The Silent Generation, monstrous assassinations, the Vietnam War, bomb threats, cults like the Hare Krishnas, free love, racism, bra burnings, drugs, Black Panthers, Woodstock, alcohol abuse, SDS, riots, and all sorts of other protest movements, will join with the ones who knew it, and both will view it as a momentous moment of our history, but there will be an “aha” moment too, that informs them all, as they think, so this is how we got where we are today! One might ask oneself, are the results of those times positive or negative?
Presenting the story through three generation of the Potts family, the reader bears witness to success and failure, pleasure and despair, hopes, fading dreams and heartbreaking loss. All of this occurs around them, and therefore everyone else, often without anyone noticing. In this book, as in our own lives today, we are experiencing the same kinds of moments. Although the book will encourage profound thought, and perhaps not be a quick read, it will be a very satisfying, enlightening read for everyone and an amazing choice for discussion in a book group or discussion group about America and how we all fit into its puzzle. As love grows or fades, as time passes and we mellow or fill with regret for what we have not accomplished, is the end result always a desire for more? Is there a moment of contentment that any of us reach? Using two brothers, identical twins, we see two sides of the same coin growing up, morphing into adults that are incomplete and not totally satisfied with their lives when they are finally able to be introspective and examine them with honesty. Can their sins be forgiven? Do we all sin? Are we all square pegs trying to fit into round holes? Do we own our children? Are we responsible for how they turn out? Do they want us to be? Are we “helicoptering” or abandoning them? Is it possible to be happy and grateful for what we have been given? Must we always feel shortchanged? Can rage be controlled? Can we find satisfaction?
Remi and Nash are married to Faye and Violet. They are the respective parents of Chickie and Hen, Minerva and Henry, who might as well be twins, growing up as close to each other as they did. Is that healthy? Is that all they want? Is it acceptable to want more? In 1943, when the adults married, they all looked forward to being parents. Women, though, were wives, mothers, maids and cooks, as the men mostly stood by and watched and were the breadwinners. How times have changed! This novel really informs the reader of how that viewpoint morphed into the independent woman of today. Was it worth it? Are our children better off now or are they still conflicted? Is neglect a universal problem along with excessive need on the other side. Are women or men happier with the standards of today? Have we learned to live together more peacefully? Six decades have passed, surely some things have changed. What are they?
As the very foundation of American society was questioned by women and the young who demanded less control, even as they craved boundaries, by music trends that had sexual innuendoes, and men who were conflicted by the demands placed on them to fight in foreign wars, all were forced to deal with changing mores, values and standards of behavior. Were we sleeping at the wheel, unaware of the profound cultural sea changes taking place? Secrets and a lack of outlets to express our emotional needs as children and adults began to take precedence over the regular pattern of our daily lives. More freedom, to perhaps selfishly enjoy life, was pursued, but was anyone really fulfilled when they ventured outside their gates? Pierce has truly investigated every avenue of society as it existed then. However, she used a very light touch so as not to titillate, nor to in enrage, but merely to inform and enlighten the reader as to the existence of those last vestiges of traditional society in America. So clearly has she captured the times and the emotions, the lifestyles and the pitfalls, that the reader is immersed in the moment as each character grows in a different direction. The ability of the author to capture, so purely, the atmosphere of those times, was critical for this book, and Pierce was pitch perfect. It required extraordinary research or the experience of having lived at that time. The very essence of our society’s morality was being questioned.
Unbeknownst to the author, she was prescient, for the idea of abortion in her book is front and center in America today. As the laws surrounding the right to abortion are being questioned, and Planned Parenthood is demonstrating against the highest court in our land, she has given the topic a significant role in this book. I was left wondering if easy access to abortion was perhaps instrumental in encouraging a great deal of the changes in female behavior and in our overall moral code? Did the idea of Margaret Sanger and her hateful idea of eugenics actually morph into an idea that would degrade society’s morality and become an unexpected method of customary birth control, sometimes dangerously close to infanticide? In the sixties, Planned Parenthood actually took young women from one state to another, without parental approval, for legal abortions.
With a narrative that sometimes-used staccato sentences to probe into the thoughts of her characters, their unfulfilled desires, disappointments, misunderstandings, and failures, the author upends the prevailing views of their day, perhaps foreshadowing the prevailing views of today. Men were chauvinists, are they still? Women stayed home to be homemakers, do they still? Real men fought in wars; do they still feel that way? Did they strive for happiness or challenges? Did anyone ever achieve contentment? One might ask, what is contentment?
It was a tumultuous period in history captured perfectly by the author and the communication that takes place between the characters is pitch perfect.
May 9, 2022
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗱𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.
Cambridge, Massachusetts twin brothers Nash and Remi Potts are born into the upper echelon of society, heirs to a family fortune that is ‘dwindling’. They are Harvard-educated, but the times and the families they create with their wives will expose their flaws. It is the 1960s, the Vietnam War is raging forward and will weave through their own story. With the stable world they once knew fracturing, people are starting to question what their life is made of. Women want more, including possession of their own bodies and sexuality, careers outside of the home. Sons don’t want to throw away their youth by jumping into a war they don’t agree with, likely to come home in a box or scarred by the experience. When we first meet Nash and Remi, we get the rundown on their childhood that proudly follows in the footsteps of all the Potts men before them. Prep School, then Harvard, athletic prowess, and the strength of their family name. They find their women, have a double wedding and are gifted, by their grandfather before his death, with ‘old, rambling Victorians’ neighboring each other. Children arrive fast, and the brothers open a sporting goods store on Harvard Square. Life rushes forward, their wives, Faye and Violet (of hard work and character), are good wives and mothers but it is with their late in life birth of their last children, Minerva “Chickie” and Henry “Hen”, that the money has dwindled and the parents are slipping. This is where the real story comes alive. No longer do the twins’ wives strive to adhere to the old ways in raising perfect cookie cutter children, not like their first offspring, not for this odd pair. The other siblings weave in and out but the focus is on the twins, their wives and the last born children.
Remi’s son Hen is different from the start, a child who doesn’t much defend himself, a sensitive, golden-haired boy. A child other people talk about, one who they say is maybe ‘slow, stupid.’ They love him to bits, and if he’s not like every other child, so what, he has his cousin Chickie to defend him. Chickie with her hot temper and intelligence that could sway to madness. The cousins have a unique bond, creating a world of their own, so close that any outsider is a threat. As they come of age, Chickie ‘feels the leash’ tighten, but she won’t be groomed into a proper little lady, far more of a feral child. She is too bold, too brash to be tamed. She wants what she wants, and no one will stop her. Violet feels her own youth being buried, watching the rise of her beautiful, strong willed girl. It seems so unfair! Now Violet has time outside of the home, and builds a life for herself, a career but it puts a strain on her marriage and her relationship with Chickie. She and Nash are drifting away from one another. Hen, so much like his mother Faye, so unlike the Potts’ men with his graceful and quiet nature. An easy target for school bullies, so much more going on that he keeps to himself, feeling resentment toward his father, who drinks too much and threatens with his sour moods. It is troubling to his father that Hen isn’t dating, nothing like Remi who couldn’t wait to ‘fumble around with girls in the backseat of his car’. Maybe it is the times but he wants his boy to be strong, and for once he wants to be seen as a good father, one Hen can look up to. Eventually Hen does mess around, and Chickie feels a little left out, jealous even while her own passions surpass his. The reality is, Hen and Chick hold their parents’ secrets, while struggling with their own coming of age and worried about the future. They have always had each other, and always will even if they get caught up in new people. The threat of war becomes too real for Hen, with the draft lottery. He is tired of keeping dangerous secrets, of worrying about his mother. Chick explores sexuality, sick of the double standard for girls, and the things her own mother is getting up to is leaving too much freedom for Chick to get herself in trouble. Both families are crumbling under the pressures of the times, their cracks are showing, and it becomes impossible to hide their betrayals.
Faye and Violet are very important characters, far more involved in the lives of their children then Remi and Nash. Fathers always seemed to be on the periphery, coming and going as they pleased, the women shouldering the rest. It is a dying dynamic though, by the time Hen and Chickie come along. Following traditions and routines become old hat and even Faye and Violet are questioning the banality of their lives. They both want more. In fact, why the two women, who could have been so close, never really opened up about the problems with their husbands and their own longings and disappointments is poignant. The brothers aren’t really what they project either. There is resentment between Remi and Nash, as Remi never feels he measures up. There is also a strange dynamic in why Remi and Nash chose the partners they married. They say fake it till you make it, but that comes at a price and can lead to an inauthentic life.
This is a character driven novel and the author draws out the emotional inner struggles with perfection. The relationship dynamics are brilliant too, how people can lift us into our higher selves as much as they can bury us, eclipse us and sometimes harm us by trying to save us. Hen and Chickie deal with thoughts and feelings that many young grapple with. Chickie’s a strong girl, but she still needed a guiding hand. Hen may appear fragile, certainly he isn’t the football tossing all American boy so many fathers hoped to raise, but he is stronger than he appears, shows up when he is most needed. A real man, at his core. The adults’ characters are contrary in their behavior, reckless, lonely, aggressive and they begin to act out as much as the teenagers. There never is true freedom, whether you’re young or old. Every action has consequences, every choice sets off it’s own chain of events. This is a good read.
Published May 3, 2022 AVAILABLE NOW
Meryl Moss Media Group
Regal House Publishing
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗱𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.
Cambridge, Massachusetts twin brothers Nash and Remi Potts are born into the upper echelon of society, heirs to a family fortune that is ‘dwindling’. They are Harvard-educated, but the times and the families they create with their wives will expose their flaws. It is the 1960s, the Vietnam War is raging forward and will weave through their own story. With the stable world they once knew fracturing, people are starting to question what their life is made of. Women want more, including possession of their own bodies and sexuality, careers outside of the home. Sons don’t want to throw away their youth by jumping into a war they don’t agree with, likely to come home in a box or scarred by the experience. When we first meet Nash and Remi, we get the rundown on their childhood that proudly follows in the footsteps of all the Potts men before them. Prep School, then Harvard, athletic prowess, and the strength of their family name. They find their women, have a double wedding and are gifted, by their grandfather before his death, with ‘old, rambling Victorians’ neighboring each other. Children arrive fast, and the brothers open a sporting goods store on Harvard Square. Life rushes forward, their wives, Faye and Violet (of hard work and character), are good wives and mothers but it is with their late in life birth of their last children, Minerva “Chickie” and Henry “Hen”, that the money has dwindled and the parents are slipping. This is where the real story comes alive. No longer do the twins’ wives strive to adhere to the old ways in raising perfect cookie cutter children, not like their first offspring, not for this odd pair. The other siblings weave in and out but the focus is on the twins, their wives and the last born children.
Remi’s son Hen is different from the start, a child who doesn’t much defend himself, a sensitive, golden-haired boy. A child other people talk about, one who they say is maybe ‘slow, stupid.’ They love him to bits, and if he’s not like every other child, so what, he has his cousin Chickie to defend him. Chickie with her hot temper and intelligence that could sway to madness. The cousins have a unique bond, creating a world of their own, so close that any outsider is a threat. As they come of age, Chickie ‘feels the leash’ tighten, but she won’t be groomed into a proper little lady, far more of a feral child. She is too bold, too brash to be tamed. She wants what she wants, and no one will stop her. Violet feels her own youth being buried, watching the rise of her beautiful, strong willed girl. It seems so unfair! Now Violet has time outside of the home, and builds a life for herself, a career but it puts a strain on her marriage and her relationship with Chickie. She and Nash are drifting away from one another. Hen, so much like his mother Faye, so unlike the Potts’ men with his graceful and quiet nature. An easy target for school bullies, so much more going on that he keeps to himself, feeling resentment toward his father, who drinks too much and threatens with his sour moods. It is troubling to his father that Hen isn’t dating, nothing like Remi who couldn’t wait to ‘fumble around with girls in the backseat of his car’. Maybe it is the times but he wants his boy to be strong, and for once he wants to be seen as a good father, one Hen can look up to. Eventually Hen does mess around, and Chickie feels a little left out, jealous even while her own passions surpass his. The reality is, Hen and Chick hold their parents’ secrets, while struggling with their own coming of age and worried about the future. They have always had each other, and always will even if they get caught up in new people. The threat of war becomes too real for Hen, with the draft lottery. He is tired of keeping dangerous secrets, of worrying about his mother. Chick explores sexuality, sick of the double standard for girls, and the things her own mother is getting up to is leaving too much freedom for Chick to get herself in trouble. Both families are crumbling under the pressures of the times, their cracks are showing, and it becomes impossible to hide their betrayals.
Faye and Violet are very important characters, far more involved in the lives of their children then Remi and Nash. Fathers always seemed to be on the periphery, coming and going as they pleased, the women shouldering the rest. It is a dying dynamic though, by the time Hen and Chickie come along. Following traditions and routines become old hat and even Faye and Violet are questioning the banality of their lives. They both want more. In fact, why the two women, who could have been so close, never really opened up about the problems with their husbands and their own longings and disappointments is poignant. The brothers aren’t really what they project either. There is resentment between Remi and Nash, as Remi never feels he measures up. There is also a strange dynamic in why Remi and Nash chose the partners they married. They say fake it till you make it, but that comes at a price and can lead to an inauthentic life.
This is a character driven novel and the author draws out the emotional inner struggles with perfection. The relationship dynamics are brilliant too, how people can lift us into our higher selves as much as they can bury us, eclipse us and sometimes harm us by trying to save us. Hen and Chickie deal with thoughts and feelings that many young grapple with. Chickie’s a strong girl, but she still needed a guiding hand. Hen may appear fragile, certainly he isn’t the football tossing all American boy so many fathers hoped to raise, but he is stronger than he appears, shows up when he is most needed. A real man, at his core. The adults’ characters are contrary in their behavior, reckless, lonely, aggressive and they begin to act out as much as the teenagers. There never is true freedom, whether you’re young or old. Every action has consequences, every choice sets off it’s own chain of events. This is a good read.
Published May 3, 2022 AVAILABLE NOW
Meryl Moss Media Group
Regal House Publishing
April 28, 2022
An enjoyable story does not have to be one that makes the reader comfortable. Down To the River is one of those stories.
Anne Whitney Pierce’s novel centers around the Potts family and their struggles around the beginning of the Vietnam War. With their family inheritance dwindling, cousins Chickie and Hen are the first of the family to enter public school and, in turn, the first to not have the comforts of the family fortune. The town of Cambridge is theirs to explore while they come of age in the mid 1960s, a time where “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll” wasn’t just a saying. Meanwhile, their fathers are trying to discover what went wrong in their young adult years and how to prevent their homes from falling apart after years of emotional abandonment and alcoholism.
While the novel is mainly character-driven, Whitney Pierce’s writing beautifully describes the backdrop of Massachusetts. Her paragraphs allow the reader themselves to feel as if they’re exploring every nook and cranny of the cousins’ neighborhood.
I do have to note that Down To The River is not a light, breezy read. There are mentions of domestic and substance abuse, manipulation, and abortion. Like mid-century novels that students remember reading in High School, many characters can be hard to root for, or even like. However, without spoiling the plot, it’s obvious that this is the author’s intention.
If you’re looking for a darker historical fiction that centers around multiple generations, I highly recommend this book. Down To The River will be available for purchase on May 3rd, 2022.
Many thanks to Meryl Moss Media Group and Regal House Publishing for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Anne Whitney Pierce’s novel centers around the Potts family and their struggles around the beginning of the Vietnam War. With their family inheritance dwindling, cousins Chickie and Hen are the first of the family to enter public school and, in turn, the first to not have the comforts of the family fortune. The town of Cambridge is theirs to explore while they come of age in the mid 1960s, a time where “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll” wasn’t just a saying. Meanwhile, their fathers are trying to discover what went wrong in their young adult years and how to prevent their homes from falling apart after years of emotional abandonment and alcoholism.
While the novel is mainly character-driven, Whitney Pierce’s writing beautifully describes the backdrop of Massachusetts. Her paragraphs allow the reader themselves to feel as if they’re exploring every nook and cranny of the cousins’ neighborhood.
I do have to note that Down To The River is not a light, breezy read. There are mentions of domestic and substance abuse, manipulation, and abortion. Like mid-century novels that students remember reading in High School, many characters can be hard to root for, or even like. However, without spoiling the plot, it’s obvious that this is the author’s intention.
If you’re looking for a darker historical fiction that centers around multiple generations, I highly recommend this book. Down To The River will be available for purchase on May 3rd, 2022.
Many thanks to Meryl Moss Media Group and Regal House Publishing for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 10, 2023
Novel of family dysfunction set in CAMBRIDGE, MA
Down To The River is set in Cambridge MA in the late 1960s. It is a time of the Vietnam War and much disruption in society. Twin brothers from established local families, Nash and Remi, had grown up as entitled Harvard educated golden boys. They both married well and had children. Their last children, Hen (for Remi) short for Henry, and Chickie (for Nash) ‘short’ for Minerva were deemed by many to be late mistakes.
Nash and Remi jointly owned a sports shop. Times were less good than they had been and finances were not as they were. Both their houses were in need of some TLC. Their respective wives, Violet and Faye, set up their own small businesses which took up much of their time and reduced what was available for their young children. Hen and Chickie were inseparable as they grew up. Life got more chaotic as they developed into teenagers, and they began experimenting with sex, drugs, politics, and rock and roll. They became ever more inseparable as they tried to stay afloat in a world that was rapidly changing. Any sense of parenting disappeared.
Down To The River is an impressive work that attacks major issues in society. It is, though, somewhat rambling in its presentation. It feels as though it may have been put together over a number of years – perhaps at slightly different phases in the author’s life.
It is, though, a book that I found fascinating. It covers a generational switch in outlooks and behaviour. Cambridge MA is not especially important to the story, but the city is well described.
Not an easy book to read, but one that I found worth persevering with.
Down To The River is set in Cambridge MA in the late 1960s. It is a time of the Vietnam War and much disruption in society. Twin brothers from established local families, Nash and Remi, had grown up as entitled Harvard educated golden boys. They both married well and had children. Their last children, Hen (for Remi) short for Henry, and Chickie (for Nash) ‘short’ for Minerva were deemed by many to be late mistakes.
Nash and Remi jointly owned a sports shop. Times were less good than they had been and finances were not as they were. Both their houses were in need of some TLC. Their respective wives, Violet and Faye, set up their own small businesses which took up much of their time and reduced what was available for their young children. Hen and Chickie were inseparable as they grew up. Life got more chaotic as they developed into teenagers, and they began experimenting with sex, drugs, politics, and rock and roll. They became ever more inseparable as they tried to stay afloat in a world that was rapidly changing. Any sense of parenting disappeared.
Down To The River is an impressive work that attacks major issues in society. It is, though, somewhat rambling in its presentation. It feels as though it may have been put together over a number of years – perhaps at slightly different phases in the author’s life.
It is, though, a book that I found fascinating. It covers a generational switch in outlooks and behaviour. Cambridge MA is not especially important to the story, but the city is well described.
Not an easy book to read, but one that I found worth persevering with.
April 26, 2022
Nash and Remi Potts, twins and heirs of the now squandered Potts fortune, are middle-aged now. They use their Ivy League degrees to run their sporting goods store, each have three children, a wife, and matching dirty houses. They are raging alcoholics who have made some not-so-great choices, and this is their story. As well as their wives’ story. And their children’s story. Welcome to 1969. Read along as the Vietnam war divides the US and the Potts family continues their spiral of destruction.
Did I like the book? I don’t know. On the one hand, it was beautifully written. Just excellently done. Pierce knows how to make a statement while still encouraging her readers to think for themselves. She takes on alcoholism, abortion, domestic violence, infidelity and so much more in this novel. She created human characters. Flawed, but worthy of love. I wanted a different outcome at almost every turn in the novel, but maybe that was the point. Life doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes, it just goes. And that’s my “on the other hand” - it’s a bit of a depressing read. At least it was for me. I waited for things that didn’t happen, but again, maybe that was the point.
Pub date: 5/3/22. I would not recommend this to people who read for a bit of an escape. This book is real life. It is not fun. It’s not a quick read. I would recommend it to people who want to think, who want to feel, who want to evaluate. There’s a lot to unpack. And while it’s worth it, it’s not easy.
Thanks to Anne Whitney Pierce, Regal House Publishing, and Meryl Moss Media Group for this ARC in return for my honest review.
Did I like the book? I don’t know. On the one hand, it was beautifully written. Just excellently done. Pierce knows how to make a statement while still encouraging her readers to think for themselves. She takes on alcoholism, abortion, domestic violence, infidelity and so much more in this novel. She created human characters. Flawed, but worthy of love. I wanted a different outcome at almost every turn in the novel, but maybe that was the point. Life doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes, it just goes. And that’s my “on the other hand” - it’s a bit of a depressing read. At least it was for me. I waited for things that didn’t happen, but again, maybe that was the point.
Pub date: 5/3/22. I would not recommend this to people who read for a bit of an escape. This book is real life. It is not fun. It’s not a quick read. I would recommend it to people who want to think, who want to feel, who want to evaluate. There’s a lot to unpack. And while it’s worth it, it’s not easy.
Thanks to Anne Whitney Pierce, Regal House Publishing, and Meryl Moss Media Group for this ARC in return for my honest review.
April 24, 2022
Identical twins Nash and Remi Potts marry their wives Violet and Faye at the same wedding ceremony and raise their families next door to each other. Both brothers run their store together and seem to be doing okay. Over time, they each raise their 3 kids and maybe things aren’t so fine after all those years.
The story center mainly on Nash’s youngest daughter, Chickie, and Remi’s youngest son, Hen, who were born in 1951 after the brothers decide together to get their wives pregnant after a drunken night. Chickie and Hen are best friends as their siblings are much older them. But the Vietnam war is brewing and Hen worries about being drafted. Chickie is trying to find her way during a time of free love and both of their mothers are finding the strength to become more independent and fulfill their own desires. As the threads of the families begin to fray, Chickie and Hen are trying to find their own path during those tumultuous times.
This book sounded like it had a great premise of coming of age in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s but honestly, I could not get into it at all. I couldn’t understand why the characters were making the choices they were… maybe there wasn’t enough context? It felt like an unresolved story that rambled in different directions. And to make it worse, the formatting of this electronic ARC was incredibly difficult to read. I’m sure this will be fixed prior to publishing but it was not easy to figure out who was talking and when new paragraphs started.
I do thank @netgalley for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.
The story center mainly on Nash’s youngest daughter, Chickie, and Remi’s youngest son, Hen, who were born in 1951 after the brothers decide together to get their wives pregnant after a drunken night. Chickie and Hen are best friends as their siblings are much older them. But the Vietnam war is brewing and Hen worries about being drafted. Chickie is trying to find her way during a time of free love and both of their mothers are finding the strength to become more independent and fulfill their own desires. As the threads of the families begin to fray, Chickie and Hen are trying to find their own path during those tumultuous times.
This book sounded like it had a great premise of coming of age in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s but honestly, I could not get into it at all. I couldn’t understand why the characters were making the choices they were… maybe there wasn’t enough context? It felt like an unresolved story that rambled in different directions. And to make it worse, the formatting of this electronic ARC was incredibly difficult to read. I’m sure this will be fixed prior to publishing but it was not easy to figure out who was talking and when new paragraphs started.
I do thank @netgalley for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.
August 14, 2022
"Down to the River" is a family saga, set in the backdrop of the 60's, the emerging social and political changes, including themes of marriage, family dynamic, and the complications of dissipating social status. Drug and sexual experimentation, the feeling of questioning all the old American family values, and the spreading ennui of those who don't feel they have a purpose is captured very well in this book. There was a lot of honesty in the conversations between people who are discovering what most of the rest of us already know - life is hard, confusing, and unpredictable.
That being said, I still felt mixed about this book. Many of the rambling paragraphs didn't hold interest for me; and while the dialogue felt real at times, often the conversations felt like nails down a chalkboard - like bored New Englanders who are sad about their lots in life, pampered versus unpampered, wealthy vs. struggling. In the end, the book was a chore at times to push through - lacking the type of engaging family saga we could find out of books by John Irving and John Steinbeck. Over all, for me, it didn't quite work.
Thanks to MerylMossMedia and Regal House Publishing for a free copy of the book for an honest review.
That being said, I still felt mixed about this book. Many of the rambling paragraphs didn't hold interest for me; and while the dialogue felt real at times, often the conversations felt like nails down a chalkboard - like bored New Englanders who are sad about their lots in life, pampered versus unpampered, wealthy vs. struggling. In the end, the book was a chore at times to push through - lacking the type of engaging family saga we could find out of books by John Irving and John Steinbeck. Over all, for me, it didn't quite work.
Thanks to MerylMossMedia and Regal House Publishing for a free copy of the book for an honest review.
April 21, 2022
Down To The River would be a great pick for those that like a family saga, coming of age story. Centered around the Potts family, the reader follows twin brothers and their two children born close in age, later in the twins marriages. The families experience up and downs, the cousins trying to figure out their place in the world. All set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the protests and school bombings. A deep seated, character-driven story keeps the reader rooted in the 1960's Cambridge, Massachusetts. I thought the story was well written, and character development was impeccable... for my individual taste the pacing of the story was too slow, it was an okay read. I think for those that love to sink their teeth into a good strong character -driven story, with intricate details this is a great option.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy
April 29, 2022
Set in the 1960's amidst the rise of rock n 'roll, drugs, and nasty politics, you get a story of twin brothers Nash and Remi and their families in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The family is experiencing hard times financially, so the youngest children are forced to go to public school. You get the story of each family, their interconnectedness, all with the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
Bad choices have been made, and therefore, many consequences to be faced. This story is dark and really reflects real life for a lot of people. If you are looking for a happy or even mysterious family saga, this is not it. This is not the typical tale I enjoy reading, however, Anne Whitney Pierce is a good writer. This type of story is enjoyed by many, so I recommend you give it a shot.
Thank you to Meryl Moss Media Group and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.
Bad choices have been made, and therefore, many consequences to be faced. This story is dark and really reflects real life for a lot of people. If you are looking for a happy or even mysterious family saga, this is not it. This is not the typical tale I enjoy reading, however, Anne Whitney Pierce is a good writer. This type of story is enjoyed by many, so I recommend you give it a shot.
Thank you to Meryl Moss Media Group and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.
May 10, 2022
I was interested in reading this book because I grew up in the 60’s and went to school in Boston in the ‘70’s. So much imagery and memories for me with the streets and places and upheaval of the time.
That time period was chaotic with much rioting, the Vietnam war, Woodstock and drugs.
This is a story of a very complicated family. Twin brothers and their family baggage, quite different wives and children that are a mess to say the least. Ms. Pierce gives a lot of development to the angst each character was going through.
Like many good books it can be hard to read and, for me, much of the book was disturbing.
If you are from the Boston area and grew up during that era, it is a bit of a trip down memory lane.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy. These opinions are strictly my own.
That time period was chaotic with much rioting, the Vietnam war, Woodstock and drugs.
This is a story of a very complicated family. Twin brothers and their family baggage, quite different wives and children that are a mess to say the least. Ms. Pierce gives a lot of development to the angst each character was going through.
Like many good books it can be hard to read and, for me, much of the book was disturbing.
If you are from the Boston area and grew up during that era, it is a bit of a trip down memory lane.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy. These opinions are strictly my own.
April 26, 2022
I am not sure how to write a review on this book.
Nash and Remi are identical twin brothers and they used to be a wealthy family. But after getting married their wealth is dwindled. Fast forward, the story is set in the 1960's during the Vietnam war and is centered around their youngest children Minerva known as Chickie and Henry known as Hen.
The book unfortunately was not for me--however on the good side of the story, the writing was really great, the author must have done tremendous research of what life was like during the 1960's to early 1970's. I did enjoy reading those parts. But the bad side was, maybe it was just me, this book wasn't really for me--it kind of got boring to me but then I did like the plot.
Overall, I would give this 2.5 stars.
Nash and Remi are identical twin brothers and they used to be a wealthy family. But after getting married their wealth is dwindled. Fast forward, the story is set in the 1960's during the Vietnam war and is centered around their youngest children Minerva known as Chickie and Henry known as Hen.
The book unfortunately was not for me--however on the good side of the story, the writing was really great, the author must have done tremendous research of what life was like during the 1960's to early 1970's. I did enjoy reading those parts. But the bad side was, maybe it was just me, this book wasn't really for me--it kind of got boring to me but then I did like the plot.
Overall, I would give this 2.5 stars.
Read
May 4, 2022I requested this on Net Galley as an arc because the synopsis appeared to include so much of what I love... generational trauma, family drama, and a potential for healing. I must say, I was very disappointed by this one and I ended up DNFing this book at about 100 pages in.
I went in with such high hopes but it just didn't land for me. There was too much going on with too many points of view and character lines. There were the twins, their wives, and each of their children who all had a backstory that seemingly was meant to be important but just led to more confusion overall.
I will say that I think that this could be a different experience reading it as a physical copy rather than a digital arc as the chapters weren't always distinct on my kindle.
I went in with such high hopes but it just didn't land for me. There was too much going on with too many points of view and character lines. There were the twins, their wives, and each of their children who all had a backstory that seemingly was meant to be important but just led to more confusion overall.
I will say that I think that this could be a different experience reading it as a physical copy rather than a digital arc as the chapters weren't always distinct on my kindle.
June 8, 2022
WOW! That’s my first thought after finishing this book. There’s so many different plot lines happening because there was so much happening in the world during the tumultuous late ‘60 ish timeline. There’s sex, drugs, gambling, protests against the Vietnam war, police brutality, alcohol abuse, & housewives starting to look outside the home for fulfillment. There was free range parenting, draft lotteries, abortions, rock and roll, LGBTQ & race mixing. The world was innocent but on the cusp of huge changes and no age group was left out of the resulting confusion and upset. I absolutely love the author’s writing style because it reflects the chaos, freedom and the beauty of the time so colorfully. Great read!
May 2, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and regal house for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was looking forward to reading the book, the description sounded very interesting. I was born in the 60s so I do like to see what was going on when I was born but this book was too heavy.I don’t know how to describe it except to say it made me feel claustrophobic and like they were too many words. All I could think to do was put it down, which I did over and over, until I couldn’t pick it up anymore. I went ahead and gave it a three star review because it is an interesting era and just because I didn’t like it does not mean it was a bad book.
May 24, 2022
I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was certainly surprised. This rather dark novel about the Potts family can drag you into depression, set you alight with rage, and yell at the abject stupidity of the parents and more. But, once I hit chapter 3, I was into it and couldn’t put it down. This is not a beach read, it is not an easy read, but if you like complicated relationships, some of which are not socially acceptable at all, then Down to the River should be your next read. Pierce does a wonderful job of writing angst and you’re left wondering just it was that you read. I don’t know if there will be a sequel, but I’d sure like to know which twin had the knife at the end.
October 28, 2024
This book is about twin brothers, Nash & Remi and their families based in the 1960’s & 1970’s.
As typical of the time frame, there was a lot of talk about the Vietnam War. There are lots of characters with their POV’s.
This book wasn’t for me. I almost stopped reading ¼ in. I made it. To ½ and couldn’t continue.
I received an advanced copy of this book and the format had me confused and am hopeful it was changed before the official release of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
As typical of the time frame, there was a lot of talk about the Vietnam War. There are lots of characters with their POV’s.
This book wasn’t for me. I almost stopped reading ¼ in. I made it. To ½ and couldn’t continue.
I received an advanced copy of this book and the format had me confused and am hopeful it was changed before the official release of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
April 7, 2022
I received an ARC of, Down to the River by, Anne Whitney Pierce. Im so glad I was not around in the 60"s. Just not my scene. I could not finish this book, the lack of morals and integrity, really got to me.
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July 12, 2022This was well-written, but just not for me. It is the story of an extremely dysfunctional family living through turbulent times. Too much depressing/disturbing content for me. Alcoholism, abortion, parental neglect....
August 7, 2022
One family's story in Cambridge, Massachusetts during the 60s and 70s. Some parts are hard to get through but in the end, it's an entertaining novel.
My Review
My Review
January 9, 2025
I'm not sure how to even review this book.
I started it long ago, and have been a few chapters in between other books. Its just not preferred writing style.
Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read this and for an honest review.
I started it long ago, and have been a few chapters in between other books. Its just not preferred writing style.
Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read this and for an honest review.
September 4, 2022
An engaging book. Maybe takes on too much? The ending left me a little flat.
May 17, 2022
The times changed drastically from the 1950s to the 1960s. The families of twins Remi and Nash, two different yet same households roughly transition into a time of free love, of pot, of war. The novel is a story of the families-the wants, the desires, the questions, and the good/bad changes. For those who lived those years, it is a torn memory in time. For those who didn’t, it is a colorful, agonizing page of history.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
October 7, 2022
Thoughful and proving.
This book really held my interest. Ms. Pierce draws deep characters who interact in sometimes strange, mysterious ways and sometimes just like everyday people interact.
This book really held my interest. Ms. Pierce draws deep characters who interact in sometimes strange, mysterious ways and sometimes just like everyday people interact.
Read
June 29, 2024Enjoyed it probably more because I was born in Massachusetts in 1964. So a lot of local references. Plot was simple some characters developed more than others. Overall an enjoyable read though.
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