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sophiafpeach's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
shelfofunread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
1948. Iola, Colorado. When Victoria ‘Torie’ Nash bumps into Wil Moon at the intersection between Main Street and North Laura, her life changes forever.
Seventeen-year-old Torie has been keeping house for her father, uncle and younger brother on the family peach farm ever since her mother died. It’s a quiet life – and not an entirely satisfactory one – but Torie never questions the rhythm of it until one fateful encounter with a stranger.
Wilson Moon is an enigma. He says he’s just a drifter: that he moves through life as a river and lives life as he chooses. But Wil is Native American and to others in the small town of Iola, that means trouble. Soon Torie isn’t the only one trying to find Wilson Moon. Her troubled brother, Seth, and his friends are after the reward that has been placed on Wil’s head. As Torie and Wil are drawn into a love affair as passionate as it is dangerous, tragedy shadows their footsteps. And when it arrives, Torie will need every ounce of her inner strength and courage to follow Wil’s advice and go as a river, wherever her life leads.
Go As A River, the debut novel from Coloradoan author Shelley Read, is as lyrical as it is is moving. It is clear that this novel has been written by an author who knows and loves the landscape of Colorado. I sometimes struggle with long paragraphs of description but the luscious rendition of the mountains, canyons, and creeks are an absolute delight to read, and Read’s depiction of small-time life means that Iola and its inhabitants leap off the page.
The characters are, for the most part, wonderfully drawn, especially Torie herself who comes of age and flourishes into a strong and independent woman as the novel progresses. I also found Seth, although abhorrent as a human being, to be a convincing antagonist, driven through life by envy and resentment. I was a tad less convinced by Wil who, at times, seems almost too good to be true but, as the novel is told from Torie’s perspective, it’s natural that she would see him as this ‘perfect’ figure given the events that take place and her own experiences up until that point in her life.
The novel deals with some very difficult issues so trigger warnings for racism/racial hatred/racial slurs, discrimination, alcohol abuse, PTSD, death of a parent, childbirth/birth trauma, abandonment, and mentions of violence, domestic violence and violent death. For the most part these issues are navigated sensitively although there were one or two areas where I felt the novel would have benefited from slightly more nuance. There’s a lot packed into 300 pages and although it is by no means a ‘pacy’ book – with lingering, lyrical descriptions throughout and a relatively sedate opening section – there were times when I felt the story needed a little more room to breath.
The need to move the plot forwards occasionally detracted from some of the larger themes that the novel engages with, such as the treatment of Native peoples, the effects of poverty in small-town rural America, and the impact that developments made in the name of ‘progress’ can have upon communities and individuals. This is a shame because Shelley Read writes so beautifully and clearly has a great passion for Colorado, it’s history, its landscape, and its people. I honestly can’t believe that this is a debut novel because the quality of the writing is exceptional.
As a coming-of-age novel, Go As A River is a compassionate and moving portrait of a young woman finding her place in the world. Richly descriptive and evocative, this is sure to appeal to fans of writers such as Kristen Hannah. Although I didn’t find all the characters as fully-drawn, the focus upon one women’s journey and her interactions with the world also has similarities to Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle, and the lush descriptions of the landscape are sure to appeal to anyone who has loved Where the Crawdads Sing.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the Blog Tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Seventeen-year-old Torie has been keeping house for her father, uncle and younger brother on the family peach farm ever since her mother died. It’s a quiet life – and not an entirely satisfactory one – but Torie never questions the rhythm of it until one fateful encounter with a stranger.
Wilson Moon is an enigma. He says he’s just a drifter: that he moves through life as a river and lives life as he chooses. But Wil is Native American and to others in the small town of Iola, that means trouble. Soon Torie isn’t the only one trying to find Wilson Moon. Her troubled brother, Seth, and his friends are after the reward that has been placed on Wil’s head. As Torie and Wil are drawn into a love affair as passionate as it is dangerous, tragedy shadows their footsteps. And when it arrives, Torie will need every ounce of her inner strength and courage to follow Wil’s advice and go as a river, wherever her life leads.
Go As A River, the debut novel from Coloradoan author Shelley Read, is as lyrical as it is is moving. It is clear that this novel has been written by an author who knows and loves the landscape of Colorado. I sometimes struggle with long paragraphs of description but the luscious rendition of the mountains, canyons, and creeks are an absolute delight to read, and Read’s depiction of small-time life means that Iola and its inhabitants leap off the page.
The characters are, for the most part, wonderfully drawn, especially Torie herself who comes of age and flourishes into a strong and independent woman as the novel progresses. I also found Seth, although abhorrent as a human being, to be a convincing antagonist, driven through life by envy and resentment. I was a tad less convinced by Wil who, at times, seems almost too good to be true but, as the novel is told from Torie’s perspective, it’s natural that she would see him as this ‘perfect’ figure given the events that take place and her own experiences up until that point in her life.
The novel deals with some very difficult issues so trigger warnings for racism/racial hatred/racial slurs, discrimination, alcohol abuse, PTSD, death of a parent, childbirth/birth trauma, abandonment, and mentions of violence, domestic violence and violent death. For the most part these issues are navigated sensitively although there were one or two areas where I felt the novel would have benefited from slightly more nuance. There’s a lot packed into 300 pages and although it is by no means a ‘pacy’ book – with lingering, lyrical descriptions throughout and a relatively sedate opening section – there were times when I felt the story needed a little more room to breath.
The need to move the plot forwards occasionally detracted from some of the larger themes that the novel engages with, such as the treatment of Native peoples, the effects of poverty in small-town rural America, and the impact that developments made in the name of ‘progress’ can have upon communities and individuals. This is a shame because Shelley Read writes so beautifully and clearly has a great passion for Colorado, it’s history, its landscape, and its people. I honestly can’t believe that this is a debut novel because the quality of the writing is exceptional.
As a coming-of-age novel, Go As A River is a compassionate and moving portrait of a young woman finding her place in the world. Richly descriptive and evocative, this is sure to appeal to fans of writers such as Kristen Hannah. Although I didn’t find all the characters as fully-drawn, the focus upon one women’s journey and her interactions with the world also has similarities to Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle, and the lush descriptions of the landscape are sure to appeal to anyone who has loved Where the Crawdads Sing.
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the Blog Tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War