Red River Story

Red River Trilogy #1

by Alfred Silver

The people in this story all lived.

The settlers dreamed of a home of their own and land to farm.

The half-Indian buffalo hunters dreamed of a land kept open for their wild, free way of life.

And the great fur companies, there in the wilderness of the northern Great Plains where the Assiniboine River joined the Red, cared only for profit....


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

528 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1988

Reviews

[Jan McClelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I just finished reading it for the third time, after a gap of 20 years or so. Apart from enjoying the way Silver tells a story, and he does a fine job of that (fine used in the BEST sense of the word), I am drawn to this particular story for many reasons. One because I am a born and raised Manitoban who loves local history. I grew up on the prairie and I've been to the Saskatchewan Qu'appelle many times. In my mind's eye I see what the travellers see, I can smell the sage and the poplar and I know that longing for the open prairie. This book speaks to me. I am not Metis, I am as WASPy as it gets (English, Irish, Welsh and Scots - all here in this story!) but I understand the longing for the pays d'en haut to remain as it was, unbroken and untamed, even though if that had been the case I wouldn't be here - I come from a long line of jardinieres. My heart is tugged in two directions when I read this book and I think it takes a master story teller to have that affect on a body. Neither side is totally right; neither side is totally wrong. On top of top-notch story telling I am reminded that no one is without sin*, and sins many times have unintended and unforeseen consequences. That is one of life's greatest truths.

*Sin - an error in judgement.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author managed a good balance between history and fiction. He fleshed out the history to create characters worth caring about. His description of the landscape and significant events made reading an immersive experience. There were a few loose ends and some unsatisfying endings, but they serve to remind the reader that these were real people and life’s like that sometimes.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history. Kind of educational, but it felt rambling and random at times. There were times I was confused at to what was going on. Interesting though to do a narrative version of real historical events.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had too many characters and the dual narrative was hard to follow at times.

[Nell Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't for me. If the narrative of how they had to live and survive is true, it was worth it for that. However, the story line was difficult to follow and too strung out.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent historical fiction.

[Rey Dekker · Rating 3 out of 5]

...this is what happens when a guy writes a "romance novel" about the early settling of the plains...drama and humping...some stuff about the settlements was interesting but not much else...5 effing hundred pages long too...

[Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the information on early fur trapping and transportation of Scottish settlers.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I remembered it. I read it years ago. Some of the historical info was incorrect according to my research. Which brings all of it into question.