"Along the borders of this world lie others.
There are places you can cross.
This is one such place."
Once Upon a River is a story somewhere between historical fiction and magical realism. On the bank of the Thames at Radcot, there was an inn where the locals liked to tell stories. One dreary evening, a stranger brings in a girl who appears to be dead, yet hours later returns to life, miraculously. Word spreads, and soon the mute girl has three families keen to take her in as their own lost daughter, granddaughter, or sister.
The author definitely has a way with words. Her writing was very ethereal and set the mood for the entire book. However, this book did seem to drag on a bit, much like a meandering river. I thought it would be more exciting with more magic (at least magical realism), but it fell disappointingly short. That’s not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable read – because it was – but it wasn’t as enthralling as I was hoping it would be.
I will say it was interesting because, as an outside observer of the future, things the characters in this time took as magic (e.g. psychiatry, someone coming back from the dead, photography, etc.) are actually well-explained scientific (or otherwise) phenomena today. Just as an aside.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I enjoyed this slow, yet atmospheric, book, and I look forward to reading more from Diane Setterfield in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, BookishFirst, and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There are places you can cross.
This is one such place."
Once Upon a River is a story somewhere between historical fiction and magical realism. On the bank of the Thames at Radcot, there was an inn where the locals liked to tell stories. One dreary evening, a stranger brings in a girl who appears to be dead, yet hours later returns to life, miraculously. Word spreads, and soon the mute girl has three families keen to take her in as their own lost daughter, granddaughter, or sister.
The author definitely has a way with words. Her writing was very ethereal and set the mood for the entire book. However, this book did seem to drag on a bit, much like a meandering river. I thought it would be more exciting with more magic (at least magical realism), but it fell disappointingly short. That’s not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable read – because it was – but it wasn’t as enthralling as I was hoping it would be.
I will say it was interesting because, as an outside observer of the future, things the characters in this time took as magic (e.g. psychiatry, someone coming back from the dead, photography, etc.) are actually well-explained scientific (or otherwise) phenomena today. Just as an aside.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I enjoyed this slow, yet atmospheric, book, and I look forward to reading more from Diane Setterfield in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley, BookishFirst, and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.