Anne Raeff

A novel that spans decades and continents, Pepa is from a Jewish family who fled WWII Vienna for the safety of Nicaragua, and then a few years later to New York City. While in Nicaragua, Pepa and Guillermo, a boy from the village become inseparable. They spend their time with each other in the jungle and along the river. Two adult Germans males live in the outskirts of the village and Pepa and Guillermo become friends with them.Decades past and Pepa's and Guillermo's families intersect again when Pepa's daughter Liliana returns to the country to determine what happened to her brother William, presumed to have been killed when he joined the fight against the Contras in the 1980.
The story is told by multiple individuals and goes back and forth. A well written multigenerational novel.
I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for a review. Would definitely recommend it.… (meer)

I don't generally enjoy multi-generational family sagas. I prefer novels that take a narrower focus and really sink in to a particular perspective. Only the River, bu Anne Raeff, is an exception to that generalization for two reasons.

Reason 1: Only the River focuses on two seldom-depicted historical moments: the dispersion of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany to unexpected destinations, in this case Nicaragua, and the impact of the Sandinista-Contra conflict on the lives of Nicaraguan villagers.

Reason 2: The multiple and very specific perspectives Raeff makes use of in this novel.

Only the River has its origins in the experiences of Raeff's own family, though their destination wasn't Nicaragua. A Jewish (by descent, not by active practice) husband and wife team of doctors are able to get visas to Nicaragua because the country is attempting to eradicate yellow fever and needs more medical workers. Because the parents are traveling to isolated villages, their children Pepa and Kurt are alone much of the time. Readers don't learn much about Kurt, but we see Pepa shaping her own life without the usual restrictions faced by young women. Pepa falls in love with Guillermo, one of the villagers, and the two plan to build a life together, but those hopes are blocked. A generation later, Pepa's son William becomes an idealistic volunteer with the Sandinistas. The paths of all these characters—and more—cross in ways that create a complex web of loyalties, with each person holding a part of the picture, but with no one seeing the whole.

The narrative moves among perspectives. Pepa, her daughter Liliana, her son William, Guillermo, and Guillermo's daughter Federika become the focus at different points. Raeff depicts each of these characters with precision, creating unique individuals whose foibles shape their lives in unexpected ways.

Only the River is a must-read title.

I received a free electronic review copy of the novel from the publisher via EdelweissPlus. The opinions are my own.… (meer)