A review by thequeerbookish
River Queens by Alexander Watson

5.0

(Actual rating: 4.5 stars)

Review: I know less than nothing about boats and I enjoyed River Queens very much. So if you're a lover of boats you may be blown away by this book.

One of the things that I love about being a book blogger is the chance to discover non mainstream books. I don't think River Queens would have appeared on any recommendations list for me because the main theme is not one I usually read. I do enjoy the occasional memoir or two but only of people I know and like. So even if it would have popped up I don't know if I would have read it.

Luckily Alexander found my blog and saw it worthy to review River Queens. Luckily I trusted my gut feeling of "hey that's something new for me, let's try it!". So here I am being very moved by a spotted dog and two men that I don't know but for the review mails.

My grandfather owned a boat, named after his first-born grandchild (that would be me btw), and that's everything that connects me to boats. But you don't need a connection to boats to enjoy this book. You don't even need an open mind for the LGBTQIA+ community (I judge you harshly if you're not open-minded though!)

River Queens reads like a classic, one that my teacher could have chosen for class. It's written rather down-to-earth but it manages to transport humour, curiosity, and grief in a way that it felt at times like my own emotions.

The last two years America's image has been a bad one - at times very bad - and I have wondered time and time again why friends of mine don't pack up and leave the country. I'm still wondering about this and if the social system of the US doesn't change I'll never stop wondering about this, but now I'm back to seeing the people as well. River Queens shows a different kind of mankind than the news and for that I am grateful.

Last Words: If you're just a bit curious about adventure, about taking a chance on what you dream of, read River Queens.

Disclaimer: I got the book for free through the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.