jolynne's review
3.0
Sonny and Ren's friendship is the tie that binds this story and it is what makes this a very endearing read. Both characters will be remembered.
what_will_jess_read_next's review
3.0
I enjoy Tony Birch’s writing a lot. If I had to summarise it, he writes real, rough, gritty Australian characters and landscapes.
And those are what I enjoyed in particular throughout “Ghost River”. When I say rough, I mean drinking, smoking, betting. Working night shifts, living pay check to pay check, murky money exchanging kind of stuff. People that swear. People that fight. People struggling with addiction.
Having already read two of his other novels, I was pretty keen to dive into “Ghost River”. I read “Blood” most recently and was blown away. It was incredible.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken with this book. I found the story quite slow. And then in the last few chapters BAM! And those last few chapters are what saved it for me.
With “Blood”, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to devour it, and it left me with much to think about afterwards. “Ghost river” had its beauty and I did care about Sonny, Ren and the river men. However, Della and her family added nothing to the story for me. I understand why they were written, I just didn’t think they were necessary.
If you haven’t read any Tony Birch, absolutely try out his novels. But maybe start with another.
And those are what I enjoyed in particular throughout “Ghost River”. When I say rough, I mean drinking, smoking, betting. Working night shifts, living pay check to pay check, murky money exchanging kind of stuff. People that swear. People that fight. People struggling with addiction.
Having already read two of his other novels, I was pretty keen to dive into “Ghost River”. I read “Blood” most recently and was blown away. It was incredible.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken with this book. I found the story quite slow. And then in the last few chapters BAM! And those last few chapters are what saved it for me.
With “Blood”, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to devour it, and it left me with much to think about afterwards. “Ghost river” had its beauty and I did care about Sonny, Ren and the river men. However, Della and her family added nothing to the story for me. I understand why they were written, I just didn’t think they were necessary.
If you haven’t read any Tony Birch, absolutely try out his novels. But maybe start with another.
strawberryyjam's review
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.5
rnmcfarlane's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bookish_teacher_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
janehaggis's review
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
Ghost River is a haunting story of the friendship between two thirteen year old boys coming to maturity on the wrong side of the Yarra River in 1970s Melbourne. For Sonny and Rem the river, polluted and derelict, offers freedom, adventure and community with the homeless men who shelter on its banks and introduce them to its mysteries. Weaving together his knowledge of marginal lives and indigenous world views, Birch makes the river a palpable character in the novel: mercurial, wild and ultimately protective of those who respect it. The climax of the book had me totally caught up in the drama as the river helps resolve the tangled webs of development, crime and corruption, love and loss and ultimately the maturing of the boys into young adults. There is a quietude about Birch's prose which belies his skill in layering characters, their lives and connections. Except perhaps in the female characters. The two women who figure are Rem's mum, Loretta, and young Della, whose family move into the house next to Sonny's. Loretta adds emotional warmth to the depictions of struggling families while Della hints at sexuality, power and desire. Birch avoids stereotyping either of them as passive victims but Della's character especially is not quite realized. Ultimately this is a book about boys, men and masculinities on the margins of a gritty city. Male violence is ever present as threat and act but Birch insists there is a softer side to these hard men and boys, a resistance to the grinding brutality of daily life on the edge, and one the river knows and respects. Romantic? I don't think so. More a recognition that ways of being, however harsh, still carry love and care.
zzara's review
4.0
As always, Tony Birch's writing is so vivid and evocative in this understated way that I love. I didn't think this book was as seamless as some of his other work, it took a bit longer for me to get into the storyline, but once I did it was so captivating. His writing about the river is truly something - I love the Yarra/Birrarung and I love hearing stories about what it means to others. This book is set in all these places I'm familiar with, and makes me miss Melbourne so much.
lmurray74's review
5.0
A book that kept me reading into the wee hours and wanting more. The simplicity of the prose and honest portrayals of the human spirit are the backbone of this novel. It tells the story of two boys coming of age in late 60s Melbourne. When Sonny moves into the neighbourhood he becomes fast friends with Ren, who lives in the house next door. The freedom the boys have to explore the river and to make friends with a group of homeless people living there is probably a relic of the past. They explore the river at a time it's been left to mild ruin but this is not the case now. The local interest drew me in but this is a universal story.
Tony Birch tells the tale with skill and respect for the reader. Bits of information are dropped in from time to time, not necessarily to inform the narrative then and there, but to give a bigger picture of the people by the river, and in Collingwood where the boys live. The story does not tie up in a bow as life doesn't tie up in a bow. I don't know if Tony Birch is planning a sequel, and I don't know if I necessarily want a sequel. This is a year in a life and it can be preserved as such. I did feel sad leaving the boys and other people in the book and this is credit to the storytelling gift Birch shares with us.
Tony Birch tells the tale with skill and respect for the reader. Bits of information are dropped in from time to time, not necessarily to inform the narrative then and there, but to give a bigger picture of the people by the river, and in Collingwood where the boys live. The story does not tie up in a bow as life doesn't tie up in a bow. I don't know if Tony Birch is planning a sequel, and I don't know if I necessarily want a sequel. This is a year in a life and it can be preserved as such. I did feel sad leaving the boys and other people in the book and this is credit to the storytelling gift Birch shares with us.
heidiliz's review
4.0
4.5*
"The truth is, all of us will be forgotten one day. Unless we do something special"
I know nothing about Tony Birch or Melbourne so I didn't know what to expect from this book. What I surely didn't expect was to get so attached to the main characters and thoroughly enjoy the plot of the book. But that's exactly what happened.
Which is honestly surprising because I'm more of a plot-driven person rather than a character-driven reader. But from the way that the neighborhood is described, I could just imagine the way that that specific suburb looked like.
Something else I honestly loved was the way that it humanized people from all class ranges. From the beginning, the suburb isn't really inhabited by the rich or powerful but rather by regular people that have struggles. But not only that, Birch is also able to humanize that people that are lower on the scale. There was the introduction of characters that lived along the side of the Ghost River, what I came to found out was based on a real river in Melbourne called the Yarra River. They received the textbook description of homeless people. Yet you can't help but root for them, even though they themselves have resigned themselves to the life they have.
Ren and Sonny, the main characters of the book are completely polar opposites yet their friendship makes so much sense. The only way to describe them is that Ren is book smart while Sonny is street smart. They lean on each other and their loyalty shines through with all of the situations they find themselves in. I loved ever scene where they were both together.
The "Ghost River" is an integral part of the book because it became a place of refuge for Ren and Sonny while becoming the home of Tex, Doc, Tallboy and Tin Can. The way they all talk about the river makes it seem alive and even I believed it was nursing their struggles.
There was the introduction of a little suspense about a third into the book. It really sped up my reading because I was so invested in it and was dying to find out the secret behind the corrupt detective. Though I wish it didn't feel like it was placed in there to create some conflict, I did like the way it waved with the path that the story was taking so no lost points there.
The only and main reason I didn't fully give it five stars was simply because it dragged a bit in the middle. I lost interest when I got to that point that I was able to put down the book and picked it back up more than a month later.
"The truth is, all of us will be forgotten one day. Unless we do something special"
I know nothing about Tony Birch or Melbourne so I didn't know what to expect from this book. What I surely didn't expect was to get so attached to the main characters and thoroughly enjoy the plot of the book. But that's exactly what happened.
Which is honestly surprising because I'm more of a plot-driven person rather than a character-driven reader. But from the way that the neighborhood is described, I could just imagine the way that that specific suburb looked like.
Something else I honestly loved was the way that it humanized people from all class ranges. From the beginning, the suburb isn't really inhabited by the rich or powerful but rather by regular people that have struggles. But not only that, Birch is also able to humanize that people that are lower on the scale. There was the introduction of characters that lived along the side of the Ghost River, what I came to found out was based on a real river in Melbourne called the Yarra River. They received the textbook description of homeless people. Yet you can't help but root for them, even though they themselves have resigned themselves to the life they have.
Ren and Sonny, the main characters of the book are completely polar opposites yet their friendship makes so much sense. The only way to describe them is that Ren is book smart while Sonny is street smart. They lean on each other and their loyalty shines through with all of the situations they find themselves in. I loved ever scene where they were both together.
The "Ghost River" is an integral part of the book because it became a place of refuge for Ren and Sonny while becoming the home of Tex, Doc, Tallboy and Tin Can. The way they all talk about the river makes it seem alive and even I believed it was nursing their struggles.
There was the introduction of a little suspense about a third into the book. It really sped up my reading because I was so invested in it and was dying to find out the secret behind the corrupt detective. Though I wish it didn't feel like it was placed in there to create some conflict, I did like the way it waved with the path that the story was taking so no lost points there.
The only and main reason I didn't fully give it five stars was simply because it dragged a bit in the middle. I lost interest when I got to that point that I was able to put down the book and picked it back up more than a month later.
autumn_melon's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5