Review: Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Setterfield's storytelling is divine, even virtuosic.  What a gift she has for weaving together multiple strands of an epic tale so that both breadth and depth are an unmatched symphony.

In Once Upon a River it is, in fact, a river that holds the heart of this magnificent once upon a time.... a river with many tributaries, spurs, meanderings and floodplains. A river with secrets. A river that takes life and delivers it, too.

You will read about children - lost and found. About a scholarly pig (yes, the animal). About injustices too long-endured. And, about the river - how it courses on yet not entirely indifferent to the history it has absorbed. What a very clever cast of characters.  It many ways this is a story about storytelling.

From the community living on the banks of this river, Setterfield has rolled up all of the conditions of humanity - into a dark mystery sprinkled generously with true love. There is tragedy and redemption and, of all things, a poignant backdrop of the supernatural. You will not be able to walk away from these pages. You will not be able to guess what will happen next. This is one-of-a-kind storytelling at its best.



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