Once Upon a River: A Novel
“Setterfield’s prose feels lifted from another era, a gothic lyricism resembling old classics like Jane Eyre.” —Entertainment Weekly
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful” (Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe) novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious.
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.
Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, this is “a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing” (M.L. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans).
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful” (Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe) novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a universe that remains impenetrably mysterious.
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.
Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.
Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.
Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, this is “a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing” (M.L. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans).
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thenextgoodbook.com
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
460 pages
What’s it about?
This novel begins over a 100 years ago and takes place along the banks of the Thames river in England. The story begins when a badly injured man wanders into a rural Inn with a 4 year-old girl in his arms. He immediately collapses and the owners and patrons of the Inn take charge of the girl. She seems to have drowned in the river and is thought dead. The local nurse arrives and also believes the child to be dead. While sitting with the body she is surprised to find a pulse reemerging in the child. Stories abound and three different families come forward to lay claim to the young girl who was dead and lived again. The mystery of the young girl who died and returned to life is the heart of this story.
What did it make me think about?
This novel is about stories- the ones we hand down as well as the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our world.
Should I read it?
So I really enjoyed Diane Setterfield's previous book "The Thirteenth Tale" and was expecting an easy, quick read. This book was not that! The first half of the book was pretty slow. It sets up all that happens in the second half of the book, but it takes a long time to get there. The book has great characters and the setting is wonderful. The river is almost a character in itself. I am not sure how to review this one. I did enjoy it but it was also easy to put down for the first 200 pages. If you have patience this one will reward you.
Quote-
"It was a solstice night, the longest night of the year. For weeks the days had been shrinking, first gradually, then precipitously, so that it was now dark by mid-afternoon. As is well-known, when the moon hours lengthen, human beings come adrift from the regularity of their mechanical clocks. They nod at noon, dream in waking hours, open their eyes wide to the pitch-black night. It is a time fo magic. And as the borders between night and day stretch to their thinnest, so too do the borders between worlds. Dreams and stories merge with lived experience, the dead the the living brush against each other in their comings and goings, and the past and the present touch and overlap. Unexpected things happen."
If you like this try-
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His yeats of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
460 pages
What’s it about?
This novel begins over a 100 years ago and takes place along the banks of the Thames river in England. The story begins when a badly injured man wanders into a rural Inn with a 4 year-old girl in his arms. He immediately collapses and the owners and patrons of the Inn take charge of the girl. She seems to have drowned in the river and is thought dead. The local nurse arrives and also believes the child to be dead. While sitting with the body she is surprised to find a pulse reemerging in the child. Stories abound and three different families come forward to lay claim to the young girl who was dead and lived again. The mystery of the young girl who died and returned to life is the heart of this story.
What did it make me think about?
This novel is about stories- the ones we hand down as well as the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our world.
Should I read it?
So I really enjoyed Diane Setterfield's previous book "The Thirteenth Tale" and was expecting an easy, quick read. This book was not that! The first half of the book was pretty slow. It sets up all that happens in the second half of the book, but it takes a long time to get there. The book has great characters and the setting is wonderful. The river is almost a character in itself. I am not sure how to review this one. I did enjoy it but it was also easy to put down for the first 200 pages. If you have patience this one will reward you.
Quote-
"It was a solstice night, the longest night of the year. For weeks the days had been shrinking, first gradually, then precipitously, so that it was now dark by mid-afternoon. As is well-known, when the moon hours lengthen, human beings come adrift from the regularity of their mechanical clocks. They nod at noon, dream in waking hours, open their eyes wide to the pitch-black night. It is a time fo magic. And as the borders between night and day stretch to their thinnest, so too do the borders between worlds. Dreams and stories merge with lived experience, the dead the the living brush against each other in their comings and goings, and the past and the present touch and overlap. Unexpected things happen."
If you like this try-
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His yeats of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
The book had a slow beginning for me due to the number of characters introduced in the first chapters. However, once I got into the chapters the story grabbed me. It was worth the time and I’ll probably reread at a later time.
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