Helpful Score: 2
I am surprised there are not any other reviews here yet. That is all right, I will be the first! I adored this story. It was fantastic and charming. I am so glad this one came into my life and that I read it sooner rather than let it sit on my TBR.
I would recommend reading this in large chunks of time - not in little bits here and there. There are many characters and many intersecting story lines. Dedicate the time this book deserves. It will be hard to get the full effect and the subtleties of the book if it is read over a long period of time (like weeks) or in small intervals (like 10-15 minutes here and there).
The characters are very well-developed, each with their own very well-thought-out story and backstory. The stories intertwine with each other and each is wrapped up thoroughly in the end - this was not a rush job by the author as we see in other book endings these days.
I know this book will not be for everyone, but for me, it will easily be one of my best of the year. It is unique and it is a story the way storytelling is meant to be.
I would recommend reading this in large chunks of time - not in little bits here and there. There are many characters and many intersecting story lines. Dedicate the time this book deserves. It will be hard to get the full effect and the subtleties of the book if it is read over a long period of time (like weeks) or in small intervals (like 10-15 minutes here and there).
The characters are very well-developed, each with their own very well-thought-out story and backstory. The stories intertwine with each other and each is wrapped up thoroughly in the end - this was not a rush job by the author as we see in other book endings these days.
I know this book will not be for everyone, but for me, it will easily be one of my best of the year. It is unique and it is a story the way storytelling is meant to be.
I would call this book whimsical. Kind of slow paced and meandering, just like a river but it keeps one afloat and pulls one on to see what is around the next bend.
I started off not so sure of this book. The very beginning was interesting but then it started added lots of characters and lots of different stories that I was having a hard time keeping up with who did what. I almost gave up but decided to tough it out. Things started coming together and stories started melding. It turned out to be quite a lovely story and I'm so glad I stuck with it.
**Note on audible version - I started out reading the book and would listen to audible during rides in the car, etc. I ended up going fully to the audible version. The narrator was absolutely superb! Highly recommended.
**Note on audible version - I started out reading the book and would listen to audible during rides in the car, etc. I ended up going fully to the audible version. The narrator was absolutely superb! Highly recommended.
The writing in Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield creates a vivid visual. The book creates a sense of something coming - an impending revelation or climax. However, for me that never happens. The pacing of the book is very slow, particularly since it does not build to a dramatic conclusion. The book seems to slowly wander and meander through the story as the river does through the countryside.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/12/once-upon-river.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/12/once-upon-river.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
What a wonderful tale. It starts off with much character and world building but soon I was thoroughly engaged. I loved how this story revolves around the mysterious appearance of a man and a child during a storm. He is badly injured. The girl at first appears to be dead and is put into a shed. Rita, a local nurse, comes hours later to help the injured man, then she goes to see the girl who she believes is dead then amazingly wakes and recovers. No one knows who she is. There are 2 families that she might belong to. So they are called in to see the girl. Both believe she is theirs. There is lots of history mixed within the mystery. So much is happening and intertwined! This was a great story I enjoyed very much!
Absolutely loved the narration. Juliet Stevenson was wonderful.
Absolutely loved the narration. Juliet Stevenson was wonderful.
Interesting tale of events in rural England involving drownings and near drownings. Good characters, story has some fairy tale elements.
I read The Thirteenth Tale and loved it so was really looking forward to Once Upon a River. Unfortunately Once Upon a River was no Thirteenth Tale. I was disappointed in this book.
In a tavern off the coast of the Thames, locals come to hear stories and drink their troubles away. Some of them are about to play a part in a story that myths and legends are made from. A little girl is brought to the tavern saved by a man who happened to see her in the river. The man passes out from exhaustion and the girl is believed dead. After the local healer comes to aide the man and confirms the child's fate. Even though the girl appears dead to the knowledgable healer she suddenly starts breathing. As the girl and man heal the hunt is on to find her family. The strange thing is 3 families want to claim her as theirs. One couple who lost their daughter 2 years ago, one widowed man searching for his young daughter, and one sister who thought she harmed her missed sister many years ago. Told like an Irish fairy tale, Once Upon A River is a mystical tale of what can destruct a relationship and what can heal it.
I loved this book from beginning to end. Anything told in a way that reminds me of an old Irish fairy tale will usually get high praise from me, especially if the story is not predictable. I thought as I started the book the time period it takes place in would only be in the intro to the story and the time period would fast forward to our time later. It does not. The book stays in the same time period throughout the book. Which for me added to the mystical side. The three families who believe the girl is their's and who the girl really is or where she belongs is a big mystery until the end. The fact that I could not predict any of the storylines is a plus for me. When my brain works out what is going to happen next I get bored. Same happens with tv shows and movies for me too.
I read Diane Setterfield first book The Thirteenth Tale. Everything in that first book that I wanted The Thirteenth Tale to be, is in this new book. I don't any thoughts on how to make it better because Once Upon A River is best as it is.
Diane Setterfield does have a mastery of words that I can not really figure out how one does write as she does. I am curious at what is next for this author. I could see a sequel or some of these characters popping up again in future books but that is not for me to decide.
I loved this book from beginning to end. Anything told in a way that reminds me of an old Irish fairy tale will usually get high praise from me, especially if the story is not predictable. I thought as I started the book the time period it takes place in would only be in the intro to the story and the time period would fast forward to our time later. It does not. The book stays in the same time period throughout the book. Which for me added to the mystical side. The three families who believe the girl is their's and who the girl really is or where she belongs is a big mystery until the end. The fact that I could not predict any of the storylines is a plus for me. When my brain works out what is going to happen next I get bored. Same happens with tv shows and movies for me too.
I read Diane Setterfield first book The Thirteenth Tale. Everything in that first book that I wanted The Thirteenth Tale to be, is in this new book. I don't any thoughts on how to make it better because Once Upon A River is best as it is.
Diane Setterfield does have a mastery of words that I can not really figure out how one does write as she does. I am curious at what is next for this author. I could see a sequel or some of these characters popping up again in future books but that is not for me to decide.
A slender mystery, told as a fairy tale, it's charming and readable -- but not quite as charming as it thinks it is.
I liked the way that Setterfield carefully balanced reality and magic: I don;t think it's a spoiler to say that there is a realistic explanation for everything. But the magical explanations proposed by the regulars at the Swan pub at Radcot, on the River Thames, also feel valid.
Unlike the Thames, not deep.
I liked the way that Setterfield carefully balanced reality and magic: I don;t think it's a spoiler to say that there is a realistic explanation for everything. But the magical explanations proposed by the regulars at the Swan pub at Radcot, on the River Thames, also feel valid.
Unlike the Thames, not deep.
