Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Go as a River

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Go as a River by Shelley Read

13 reviews

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Our library picked this as it's big community read, so I gave it a try. It's really well written and interesting, for sure. Beautiful prose, deep explorations of grief, women's issues, and displacement, and a Colorado setting make this book really shine. It did have the parade of painful tragedies that make me hate historic fiction. I didn’t feel that the ableism surrounding the uncle was warranted or served a purpose in this narrative. I loved hearing from the author during an author presentation at the library. She's wonderful.

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emmieanna's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Just as a single rainstorm can erode the banks and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl’s life erase who she was before.

It has taken me two months to properly review this book, and honestly I still don’t know what to say. One thing I know for sure is that it is CRIMINALLY underrated. This book affected me so incredibly deeply and I honestly don’t think I will be the same.

I wish I could give Victoria a massive hug because girl was going through it and became an incredibly strong woman despite, I would love to be her friend. She quietly absorbs and reflects, really staying true to her personal values, overall gaining a lot from the life she has built for herself.

Her eventual friendship and mutual understanding of Ruby-Alice Akers was one of my favourite elements to this story, a found family of sorts, which I thought perfectly reflected the need for silent companionship in two women who were grieving in different ways.

Shelley Read balanced plot and character development really well, I loved how encompassing and varied the topics she explored in the story. It deals with heavy themes, racism towards Indigenous Peoples and gender roles being two of the most prominent, but also highlighting familial trauma and selfless sacrifices, all of which broke my heart.

I found Victoria’s relationship with her father especially interesting, there was clearly so much each wanted to say to the other but never did. I think she did not give her father enough of a chance to step up for her in a meaningful way, and I believe that if she told him about Blue, he would have adored him. Alas, I think the beauty of this story lies in the tragic missed opportunities and experiences which she sacrificed to give her son a better life.

I found it bittersweet when she sold up and left Iola, a place she so clearly had fond memories of but was also soured by the people and what her brother did to Wil. We were robbed of a beautiful love story between two people who truly understood each other. Her resourcefulness and finding a way to keep her family and their life’s work alive in relocating the peach groves was beautiful symbolism for a fresh start and the flooding of Iola really felt like we were washing away her old life with her.

I have been and forever will recommend this book, my opinion has only inflated over time and I will never stop tell people to read it. If they don’t make a film starring Margaret Qualley or Emily Carey soon I will cry.

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smreads24's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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fcvouriot's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

4.5

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victor_constantine's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

It felt like parts of the stories dragged on and other parts were too quickly brushed aside. I wish the author had spent a little more time building up characters towards the beginning, and the ending seemed very abrupt. It feels like the author was just trying to set it up for a sequel, but it was deeply unsatisfying.

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rhiadav1's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow…….. just wow. I finished reading this book in tears. It is such a powerful story about overcoming loss and hardship. I loved the character development for Victoria - she is inspiring.

I highly highly recommend reading this book. I was hooked from the first page and didn’t put it down.

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seventhswan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I can appreciate that Go as a River is a beautifully descriptive, thematically complex book that a lot of people will really enjoy, but despite seeing this logically, I didn't particularly like it. The first half of the story was tediously slow - I enjoyed the second half a lot more, but they felt like different books to me. I also found that a lot of nuance, depth, and sympathy was given to characters like Victoria's father and brother, while more interesting characters like Wil and Ruby-Alice were deprived of agency and left quite one-dimensional. Their portrayals didn't match with what Victoria claimed to feel about them. And, honestly, I just didn't care about or connect with Victoria that much even though she was objectively going through many difficult things. Pretty much every other character seemed to have a more interesting perspective on what was going on.

The descriptions of the book's setting and the changing time periods were the highlights of this story for me, and I did feel emotional in places purely because of the amounts of suffering various characters went through. However, everything wrapped up so neatly and relied on so many improbable coincidences that it was just not a book that really worked for me.

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reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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alixcallender's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I have great affection for Victoria, and I loved the slow, reflective, mournful pacing. But I do take issue with a few things:

- Far to many peach metaphors. We get it.
- Where is Wilson Moon’s actual personality?
- The near-end was overly fluffy and convenient. (Without giving anything away, I will just say that I am not convinced that Victoria could have imagined *that outcome* with such accuracy, nor do I believe that two people can glean such perfect and correct meaning from a pile of rocks.)

It was very much like Where the Crawdad’s Sing, so if you liked that story you’ll probably like this one too. It’s a poolside read. I read it quickly, and enjoyed it!

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astoriareader's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SYNOPSIS:

It is the 1940s at a peach orchard in rural Colorado in a town called Iola. Victoria Nash is 17, and she is the woman of the house, as her mother & aunt died about 5 years ago. Due to gender roles of the time period, Victoria is expected to fill the gaps that her mother’s absence left (e.g., domestic duties, cleaning, cooking, etc). Without any choice of her own, she mindlessly fills the roles, and she becomes an adult as a child. She lives with her father, her uncle Og, and her troubled brother Seth.
One day, Victoria meets a handsome Indigenous man, Wilson Moon aka Wil. **Note: We never learn Wil’s community or nation of people, so I wish I could provide a better description.
From their first meeting, Victoria and Wil have a spark & chemistry. Sadly, Iola’s community is filled with racism, and Wil quickly becomes an outcast. He becomes a forbidden love for Victoria.
We follow Victoria’s life from 17 year old to an adult woman. The story spans about 20+ years.

MY THOUGHTS

I started this book on a Tuesday night, and I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I woke up early the next morning to finish, so I ended up reading it all in 13-14 hours.
This is the author’s debut novel, and I am surprised, as the writing is top-notch. Read skillfully paints the landscape with words and weaves a beautiful story together. I loved how easy it was to visualize & empathize with the characters.
Impressive character development. Victoria is a likable, relatable, & capable main character. I felt emotionally connected to the lows and the highs of her story. Also, loved the choice of a diverse love for Victoria. When we meet Victoria, she is only 17, and we get to see her beautiful journey over a few decades.
Victoria’s story is a heavy read, as there are many heartbreaking moments. I found myself forgetting to breathe in a few parts. As we experience lows, we get to see the rise from the ashes & follow Victoria into adulthood.
Although the initial part of the book starts slow & sets the stage, it’s worth it. It’s a well-plotted book, and if you trust the process, it becomes an enthralling ride.
There were so many intriguing themes flushed out in this one: racism, discrimination, prejudice, self-esteem, self-acceptance, gender roles, women’s roles, friendship, loss, grief, motherhood, strength, perseverance, resilience, love, loneliness.
Coming-of-age story. Although, after finishing, I did look into some of the historical points mentioned by the author (such as the town of Iola), so in a way, this also would fall into a historical fiction category.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Ended up finishing in 13-14 hrs. Sweeping coming-of-age tale of Victoria in 1940s in rural Colorado. Masterfully written & plotted. Emotionally hard to read in some parts.

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