Book Review: Shelley Read's debut is beautifully written - and unforgettable
Author Shelley Read, Picture: Andi Tippie
- Go As a RiverÂ
- Shelley ReadÂ
- Doubleday, €16.99Â
This beautifully written debut is unforgettable.
It’s set in rural Colorado in a real village which was called Iola, in an area which was destined for extinction due to the construction of the Blue Mesa Dam in 1966. The novel spans the years 1948 to 1971, from the period just after the Second World War to the Vietnam War. Yet life in this part of the US seems to have changed little in that time, with the locals wary of anyone from outside.
Victoria, known as Torie, is the narrator, and she’s 17 when the novel opens. She has lost her mother, aunt and much-loved cousin in an accident a few years previously and has been helping her father and brother run the family peach farm. She has fallen into that role, which was expected of her as a young woman growing up in that area at that time, and she has to carry out both domestic and farming tasks.
One day she meets an interesting young man. Wilson Moon is a Native American, who had run away from working in a coal mine and hopped on a train with no idea where it was heading. Their chance meeting changes Torie’s life. Wil is confident without being cocky, and he’s wise. It’s his advice to ‘go as a river’ which will influence Torie for the rest of her life.
The love which quickly develops between the two young people is believable and touching. Sadly, it leads to tragedy, due to the endemic racism in the area, and Torie has to face terrible challenges.
The novel is full of lyrical descriptions of the landscapes and the wildlife that inhabits them, some predatory. Iola lay in the foothills of the Elk Mountains which are covered in lush forests, with the River Gunnison, which Torie loves, running through the valley. In part the novel is an elegy for an area destroyed by progress, its population dispersed.
Torie is changed by what happens to her yet manages to not only carry on but thrive. When the valley is due to be drowned to create the dam, she goes to a lot of trouble to transfer her family peach farm, tree by tree, to another area safe from the waters. She faces down criticism from some locals for doing so, believing she has sold out.
Despite the awful experiences she suffers, she does not allow herself to be overcome by grief or anger but follows Wil’s advice, allowing herself to adapt and carry on. She retains her compassion for those marginalised by others — among them the interesting and tragic character of Ruby-Alice, who Torie had been reared to avoid. The locals are wary of anyone they see as strange or unusual. Though Torie does not agree with their attitudes she understands them.
Shelley Read creates a truly convincing and lovable character in Torie, who faces loss and despair, and has to make a decision which is driven by love, yet tragic for herself. It’s a captivating novel, impossible to put down and one which will be remembered long after reading it.
