Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

12 reviews

bearybooky's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Great storytelling. Difficult subject matter. I felt satisfied with the redemption. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Terminal illness, War, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, and Rape

louisekf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 I’m a big fan of William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series, but for some reason, I hadn’t read one of his standalone novels until now. The River We Remember has us back in 1958 in a small town in southern Minnesota. 

 

When a local man is found dead in the local river, it sets off a chain of events. Lots of people had good reason to dislike Jimmy Quinn, a wealthy landowner, so there are plenty of possible suspects. However, one man is the focus of much of the suspicion, Noah Bluestone, a Native American, who also had the temerity to bring home a Japanese wife at the end of World War II. So there’s plenty of racism and prejudice among the townsfolk. Sheriff Brody Dern tries to keep things under control. He’s a war hero with dark secrets that he keeps inside. Krueger writes great characters, including the two already mentioned, a woman lawyer, a newspaper man, the diner owner and her young teen son, and more. Over the course of the book, secrets and personal histories come to light. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book, although I was rather late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, C.J. Wilson, did a terrific job with the various voices and accents. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Grief, Death, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty

dkmorello's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

Riveting story of secrets and love along the Alabaster River in Minnesota. The characters are rich and flawed. Nearly all the men are broken in small and big ways by world wars, and nearly all the women hold secrets that threaten their families and children. Highly recommend this book: The characters soar, the action unfolds at a brisk pace, and the central character, Brody, has a strong moral compass. The character of Brody is similar to Titus in All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby, specifically the moral compass. The author does a masterful job of moving the plot forward, even as he fills the story with bits of the past; chapters stayed chronological as opposed to splitting into flashback chapters. Thanks for that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, War, Incest, Physical abuse, and Blood

emily_y's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Racism, and Rape

Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation

kimreads14's review

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a great match 🫤 while I can understand the appeal of this book for some, it didn’t work out for me. 

Here are a few reasons why: 
- Sheriff Brody: I thought he was the least interesting character of them all, and he’s pretty much the leading “voice”. There are a few narrators in the book, but Brody’s voice is the one that comes up the most often. 
The books concentrate on the idea that everyone has secrets and that these secrets are likely to come and bite you in the “derrière”.  Yet, Brody’s main secret

his affair with his SISTER IN LAW

is discovered by Evangeline and… well nothing happens??? I mean seriously? I get that Evangeline herself has a big secret but… yeah no I’m sorry it doesn’t work for me

- The pacing: jeez was this book long… I even have a progress note that says “Things are happening and yet it feels like nothing is happening.” I only thought the pacing improved when Charlie took over part of the narration.

Honestly, the only reason I kept going with this book was Charlie and her chapters. Scott’s were ok but Charlie was the real start in this book. 

A few points to explain why I still gave it 2.5 ⭐️:
- Charlie: see above
- The fact that regardless of pacing and my hate for Brody this book still offers a good setting and discussion of American society in the 50s and the state of mind regarding the fall out of the two World Wars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death, Alcoholism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, War, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence

amandalachelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Incest, Torture, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, and War

kmcfall's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

I’ve read Two books set in 1958 in the past two months. Both by writers who know how to tell great storis and write sentences that make you want to read over and over. The first of these books was set in rural Ireland—This is Happiness, by Niall Williams. The second, and the one I finished this week is The River We Remember, by William Kent Krueger. 

This book was published on September 5, 2023, and noonish on that day, I put a hold on the ebook at my library. I was finally able to check it out at the end of January. Popular book! 

I’ll say first off that I enjoyed the book. Well, I enjoyed it after I got into it, and I do recommend it. I gave it three stars, and for me—just like in a staff performance evaluation—3.5 stars meant the book was doing its job and was doing it pretty well. 

I’ve been a huge fan of the author. His book This Tender Land is a favorite book of all time for me. I read it first as an eBook and then my husband and I read it to each other, aloud. And it the writing is gorgeous, and more than that, it tells a powerful story of an odyssey. While it’s historical fiction, It’s a book I think of as literary fiction. That is not how I would characterize The River We Remember. 

William Kent Krueger sets his books—both his stand alone books and his Cork O’Connor detective series—in Minnesota, though I’ve not read the series yet. 

The River We Remember is historical fiction had more of a detective novel vibe—and that’s typically not my genre. Set in a small town along the fictitious Alabaster River, the book begins with the death of prominent person that everyone hates. To a person, no one is sad about this death. He was that kind of guy. 

Once I got into the book, I had a hard time putting it down. But I had a hard time liking the main character initially—he really pissed me off. 😊 And I did not get fully immersed until about halfway through. Your individual mileage may vary. 

This book calls out the racism and sexism of the day. William Kent Krueger quite often features Dakota characters—and through his storylines points to the injustices done to them. Both this book and This Tender Land include descriptions of the US – Dakota War of 1862, as well as the mass arrests and executions.  

Beyond that, we see the impact of trauma from WWII on several characters.  

Krueger doesn’t pull punches. 

And I mentioned that he did highlight the sexism of the day, but at the same time, one of the characters, a Japanese woman is continually described in diminuitive terms.  She “looked small and childlike.” Her hands were tiny, etc. 

Interestingly, in a Q & A with the author, he originally thought the character of the female attorney would tell the story from her perspective. And I would hope that at least she wouldn’t spend so much time focusing on the stature of Kyoko.  

Okay—there’s a thing that bothered me. Friends who read the book back in September mentioned it on social media, so I knew it was coming. 

LUTHERAN PASTOR FATHER GREGORY. 

Do you see that?

Given where Kreuger sets his books, I would expect him to know that Lutheran clergy do not have the Father title. (I’m thinking of the female Lutheran pastors I know—goodness, they’d not be called Mother.)

I tend to geek out over location in Krueger novels. For anyone who is curious about exactly where this book may be set, follow and check out a separate video I have on that.  

With everything I’ve said, I heartily recommend the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Child abuse

goldenreader24's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

laheath's review

emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Tragic story of murder in a small town with beautifully written descriptions, flawed characters, and subplots that don't detract from the main plot.  The unfortunate prejudice of post-WWII Americans is prevalent.  There were so many characters battling their own demons, but they were easy to keep track of since they were so interesting.  A tense mystery with several twists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual violence, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Rape, Incest, and War

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I should have loved this book.  And according to Goodreads, many people have.  This book has everything I look for in a literary mystery - compelling themes, interesting characters, dilemmas with no easy solution, etc.  However, I found myself feeling like reading it was a chore.  I can't explain it, and I expect most people to enjoy it.  However, I won't be reading more from this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Confinement, Alcoholism, Bullying, Colonisation, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, and Mental illness