I love the First Look Book Club from Penguin Random House. Every week I receive daily emails with the beginning of a book. When Once Upon a River was shared, I fell in love with the enchanting story-telling. When I didn't win a copy from the FLBC I tried again when it was a Bookish choice. With Bookish you read an excerpt and write a first impression for the chance to win a book. My review disappeared--twice--and I missed a chance to win an ARC! Finally, I requested an egalley from NetGalley and was thankful that Atria books granted me access to a galley!
I was determined to read this book!
Setterfield's story is a blend of fairy tale and mystery, set in a village on the Thames River in the mid-19th c. It is a time when scientific advances and superstition live side by side.
The Swan Inn was the place where people gathered to tell stories; one bitterly cold night, the inn's doors open and a man staggers in, carrying a bundle, and they become the story. As the townsfolk gather to help the battered and nearly frozen man, they discover he holds a girl he found in the river. The child is pronounced dead, but in a while the innkeeper's son alerts that the girl breathes.
The speechless girl has a magnetic draw. Mrs. Vaughen is sure the girl is her child who was kidnapped several years ago. Mr. Armstrong believes she is his grandchild abandoned by his wayward son. Lily White fears it is the sister who drowned when they were girls. And others like Rita and Mr. Daunt long to keep her with them.
As the Thames reaches a record flood stage, the mystery unfolds and backstories are revealed, Setterfield explores the complexity of human nature as the characters confront their past decisions and open to new possibilities.
Setterfield is a magical storyteller. I loved this book.
I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Once Upon a River: A Novel
by Diane Setterfield
Atria Books
Pub Date 04 Dec 2018
ISBN 9780743298070
PRICE $28.00 (USD)
