rabck from eponine38; atmospheric story set in Camelsdip, UK. The story wanders back and forth between approx 30 years, with quite a few townsfolk caught up in the drama of Isobel and Robert's children's drowning. When Anna arrives pregnant and stays with Isobel, things in the town start to unravel. ( )

The River is, at times, brilliant writing regarding description. I loved how Wastvedt captured the river and the village with its inhabitants. And while I had trouble keeping track of all the characters at first, once I got a handle on them I enjoyed how the various threads of the story wove together. Unfortunately, multiple characters acting as the narrator was confusing.

The plot was entertaining, at times a little boring, but I wouldn’t say captivating. And Isabel came across as fake to me on more than one occasion.

On the other hand, it did have a couple of quotes I enjoyed.

“But there were plenty of places that the war had not touched. And even when they turned a corner and came upon a bombed building, grass and wild flowers had already taken root.” {pg. 6}

“And if I run fast enough those hours will not happen, that night will be left behind like the tail of a comet, dust that is lost in the black of nowhere, and I am scorching bright, alive again.” {pg. 37}

“…you are very young, Sarah. Life is kind and forgiving through your eyes and we all long for a glimpse of the world as you see it.” {pg. 59}

The ending was unpredictable, though the whole story was nothing I had expected from reading the blurb about it online. And I felt it was a bit too dramatic. ( )

In 1958, two young children drown in a river. Their parents, Isabel and Robert, are never the same, and the tragedy affects the whole village. Fast forward 30 years, and a pregnant Anna moves to town thinking it is a peaceful village in the country, and she becomes Isabel's boarder. Anna and her baby unwittingly cause the tragedy to re-surface for Isabel and thus begins a horrible chain of events. The story is intense and keeps building to an unbelievable conclusion. Highly recommended for fiction lovers. ( )

This is a very good read. The different time-zones are clearly demarcated and we are led across inner landscapes and outer ones with delicacy and care. Plotting is good and the reader is kept aware of what is happening on different fronts in the action without feeling claustrophobic. Characterisation is very good with a true feeling for the weaknesses and strengths of people who may do wrong things without being, at heart, irremediably wicked. The cast of inhabitants of this small village in Devon is beautifully demarcated and its landscape and interiors are given due regard, all of which led to, I felt, an unusually lifelike sense of knowing the people and the place.
The story itself is gripping and I read this excellent book in one sitting, wanting to find out what happened to these people, what had happened in the past, and how they would survive (if they did!) their remarkable stories. ( )

About people in a community in Devon. Begins with a drowning tragedy which continues to affect what happens when a new pregnant young woman comes to town decades later. ( )