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A review by oceanwader
The Riverman by Aaron Starmer
5.0
Aaron Starmer's The Riverman grabs the reader by the throat from the first sentence and doesn't let go until well after the last page is turned.
A dark, haunting sense of loss and foreboding, overlaying a persistent mystery, permeate this multi-layered, sophisticated story, which merges fantasy and reality. By the end of the novel, the reader wonders which is which, the fantasy or the reality, and where the truth lies.
The novel tells of a six week period during the life of a 12-year-old boy, Alistair, at a time during which he renews an old friendship with Fiona Loomis, questions other friendships, and wonders about the people he thought he knew. Fiona says she chose to tell him her autobiography because "he is a boy who keeps secrets."
…Which begs the question: what other secrets lie beneath the surface of this seeming tranquil community?
Told in the first person by Alistair, by the end of the story the reader is left to wonder if that, too, is not also a mystery… For perhaps Alistair is no longer 12… Perhaps he is now an older adolescent. Perhaps he is even a man.
Strong in establishing a pervasive uncertainty, Starmer never tries to trick the reader. Instead, he allows the story to unfold itself, as if it follows its own natural, developmental path. You never feel like you've been manipulated and there is not a single jarring moment.
Every sentence, every paragraph, and every page flows seamlessly from one to the other. By means of Starmer's superb writing, one gets the sense of his immense respect for the story's own integrity and life, for the persistence of its characters - who insist on being who they are and not what the author or anyone else, might want them to be; and respect for the reader, who is drawn into the story and feels almost part of it.
I finished the book about 24 hours ago and read it over three days. (I typically have four books on the go at a time.) Throughout those three days and the next, The Riverman has dwelt in the back of my mind. I can only hope that Book 2 will become available soon. And then Book 3, to complete the trilogy.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best of 2014…," wrote Betsy Bird, writing in the Fuse #8 blog of the School Library Journal.
I couldn't agree more. If The Riverman doesn't win multiple awards, I will question the book awards business.
Meanwhile, I highly recommend The Riverman for anyone over the age of 12, including adults.
A dark, haunting sense of loss and foreboding, overlaying a persistent mystery, permeate this multi-layered, sophisticated story, which merges fantasy and reality. By the end of the novel, the reader wonders which is which, the fantasy or the reality, and where the truth lies.
The novel tells of a six week period during the life of a 12-year-old boy, Alistair, at a time during which he renews an old friendship with Fiona Loomis, questions other friendships, and wonders about the people he thought he knew. Fiona says she chose to tell him her autobiography because "he is a boy who keeps secrets."
…Which begs the question: what other secrets lie beneath the surface of this seeming tranquil community?
Told in the first person by Alistair, by the end of the story the reader is left to wonder if that, too, is not also a mystery… For perhaps Alistair is no longer 12… Perhaps he is now an older adolescent. Perhaps he is even a man.
Strong in establishing a pervasive uncertainty, Starmer never tries to trick the reader. Instead, he allows the story to unfold itself, as if it follows its own natural, developmental path. You never feel like you've been manipulated and there is not a single jarring moment.
Every sentence, every paragraph, and every page flows seamlessly from one to the other. By means of Starmer's superb writing, one gets the sense of his immense respect for the story's own integrity and life, for the persistence of its characters - who insist on being who they are and not what the author or anyone else, might want them to be; and respect for the reader, who is drawn into the story and feels almost part of it.
I finished the book about 24 hours ago and read it over three days. (I typically have four books on the go at a time.) Throughout those three days and the next, The Riverman has dwelt in the back of my mind. I can only hope that Book 2 will become available soon. And then Book 3, to complete the trilogy.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best of 2014…," wrote Betsy Bird, writing in the Fuse #8 blog of the School Library Journal.
I couldn't agree more. If The Riverman doesn't win multiple awards, I will question the book awards business.
Meanwhile, I highly recommend The Riverman for anyone over the age of 12, including adults.