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A review by definebookish
All Rivers Run Free by Natasha Carthew
4.0
In a near-future Cornwall ravaged by floods and ruled by gangs, Ia Pendilly lives in a caravan winched into a ruined house in an isolated cove on the North Coast. Her only real link with the outside world is her abusive partner and distant cousin, gang member Bran. Then a young girl washes up onto the beach, near drowned. Determined to protect her and her own unborn child, Ia must leave her cove and embark on a perilous journey.
While this is a story of existence in a worryingly possible near-future dystopian society - water levels have risen, and even lone strangers are desperate and therefore a potential threat - All Rivers Run Free is first and foremost the story of one woman's personal survival.
This is a tale of marginalisation, trauma, grief and motherhood. Though these themes could be addressed in a contemporary setting, there's a sense that in this case, character and dystopia have sprouted from the same seed, the two components inextricable from each other and from the distinctive narrative style.
Author Natasha Carthew is also a poet, and this is evident in her lyrical, urgent prose. The flow of her run-on sentences is disorientating at first, but soon enough I fell into their rhythm, the third person narrative feeling somehow more like first, close and intense and raw. It's an uncompromising style, requiring reader to meet text halfway but yielding rich rewards for those who do.
As with poetry, there were sections I had to reread before I felt I'd got enough of a sense of their meaning to move on. Now I know the ending, I'm contemplating rereading for the imagery and allusion, and certainly the writing is beautiful enough to make retreading Ia Pendilly's footsteps a tempting prospect.
Wild and mesmerising, All Rivers Run Free is brave, bold writing. Come for the dystopia alone, and you may be disappointed. However, if you seek an immersive reading experience from a truly unique voice, I can think of no better place to start.
While this is a story of existence in a worryingly possible near-future dystopian society - water levels have risen, and even lone strangers are desperate and therefore a potential threat - All Rivers Run Free is first and foremost the story of one woman's personal survival.
This is a tale of marginalisation, trauma, grief and motherhood. Though these themes could be addressed in a contemporary setting, there's a sense that in this case, character and dystopia have sprouted from the same seed, the two components inextricable from each other and from the distinctive narrative style.
Author Natasha Carthew is also a poet, and this is evident in her lyrical, urgent prose. The flow of her run-on sentences is disorientating at first, but soon enough I fell into their rhythm, the third person narrative feeling somehow more like first, close and intense and raw. It's an uncompromising style, requiring reader to meet text halfway but yielding rich rewards for those who do.
As with poetry, there were sections I had to reread before I felt I'd got enough of a sense of their meaning to move on. Now I know the ending, I'm contemplating rereading for the imagery and allusion, and certainly the writing is beautiful enough to make retreading Ia Pendilly's footsteps a tempting prospect.
Wild and mesmerising, All Rivers Run Free is brave, bold writing. Come for the dystopia alone, and you may be disappointed. However, if you seek an immersive reading experience from a truly unique voice, I can think of no better place to start.