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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
2.5- I just couldn't get into it. It jumped around quite a bit at the start and that made it hard to stay engaged. The overall story was interesting which is why I rounded up in stars, but I didn't connect to any of the characters and didn't really care about any of them, save maybe Maude, her daughter, and the elder Mr. Armstrong.
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
See my review at https://topplingbookpile.blogspot.com/2019/08/once-upon-river-by-diane-setterfield.html
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
DNF at about 60%. This is rare for me, but I realized it was making me miserable, and I just couldn't keep slogging through to the end.
A bunch of gossipy villagers in Victorian England countryside on the banks of the Thames river. A 4 year old girl is pulled from the river dead but comes back to life! The identity of the mute girl is debated and subject to conjecture from the storytelling villagers. There's also a mystic pig, mixed race family troubles, kidnapping, river gypsies, and old school photography.
The most satisfying book I’ve read in a long, long time. Compelling characters, a beautiful story, suspense, magic (but no too much), meditations on storytelling, love, loss, trauma, evolution, water, pigs, parenthood, family, heritage, memory, photography, the best and worst of what humans can be, and the interconnectedness that holds the world together (among other things). It’s a lot. And it’s a lot of fun to read. As soon as I finished it, I had the urge to read it again - out loud to someone I care about.
Cleverly, carefully woven tale. Excellent characters and period detail. Quite long!
4 ⭐
Atmospheric storytelling at its best. Part mystery, part speculative fiction, part historical fiction. This story follows three distinct mysteries through a memorable cast of characters and folklore-like storytelling.
Atmospheric storytelling at its best. Part mystery, part speculative fiction, part historical fiction. This story follows three distinct mysteries through a memorable cast of characters and folklore-like storytelling.