Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
My thoughts:
Already being hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling Once upon a River is an otherworldly tale of myth and legend woven around the winding river Thames in times gone by.
It's a book-lovers book based on traditional storytelling, with a touch of magic, a hint of the supernatural and a lot of twisting and turning. As the river meanders so does the tale.
Although its a relaxing piece of escapism, don't get too comfortable, this is a book with depth and needs a good level of concentration to follow it, constructed as it is from lots of separate stories which weave together to become a book.
This clever and mysterious book is set in various hostelries and Inns along the river in an indistinct past era, where storytellers gather and tales get passed on until nobody is sure which are fact and what is fiction.
We begin our journey in the Swan Inn nestled on the banks of the Thames. This is a waterman's Inn which has been there for years and where drinkers gather at the end of a long shift to chat and yarn and sup together. One particular evening a disturbance interrupts the cosy scene when a drenched, wounded man stumbles through the door carrying the body of a young child in his arms.
As patrons and workers rush to help, the man is bedded down in a spare room and following a careful examination which reveals the little girl is not breathing, her body is also laid to rest. But in the morning whilst the man remains part conscious, the girl suddenly draws a breath and wakes. Is it a miracle? Or something more sinister?
As folk try to work out who she is, the strangely silent child becomes the pivot around which stories unfold and one by one we learn about mysteries and tragedies, all of which, as they unfold make the reader realise that there is something of the folklore about each event and personage around which this story unwinds.
We have a couple awaiting the return of a missing child who was taken by the river who claim her as their own, a man who may be her grandfather, is she a daughter or sister or perhaps she is a creature of the river who never belonged to anyone human?
There's a great sense of mystery and loss and longing in this intriguing book and you are never quite sure whether what you are reading is a factual account, a richly embroidered rural legend or merely a fairytale told to while away the dark hours spent in an Inn by the River. The characters are rich and lively and a teeny bit larger than life, with foibles and quirks, many have mysteries and dark deeds hidden in their pasts.
If this hasn't whetted your appetite enough to rush out and buy this magical book here is the publishers blurb to tempt you further
The Blurb:
THE LONG-AWAITED, SPELLBINDING NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING THE THIRTEENTH TALE, A 'MISTRESS OF THE CRAFT OF STORYTELLING' (Guardian).
A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child.
Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.
Is it a miracle?
Is it magic?
Or can it be explained by science?
An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DianeSetterfield’s bestselling novel, The Thirteenth Tale waspublished in 38 countries, sold more than three million copies, and was madeinto a television drama scripted by Christopher Hampton, starring Olivia Colmanand Vanessa Redgrave. Her second novel was Bellman & Black, and her new novel is Once Upon a River. Born in rural Berkshire, she now lives near Oxford, by the Thames.
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