Once Upon a River: The Sunday Times bestseller

5 stars without a second thought! I had high expectations with this book and I am very happy to have discovered that it is actually a very well written literary work with an engaging plot. Definitely one of the best books I have read this year.

In this book words and ideas and twists flow like a river to the reader's mind, steady, calm, pleasing. The story is centered around a 4 year old girl in the 19th century in England. Who is she, and what happened to her? The Vaughans want her to be their daughter Amelia, kidnapped two years ago. The Armstrongs want her to be their grandchild Alice, lost some weeks ago. Lily wants her to be her sister Ann. And nurse Rita, a strong woman without a family, without a wish of bearing a child herself, she also could imagine to raise this girl. And above all these uncertain story-lines is the big mystery of that amazing night in Radcot upon Thames, when the girl appeared out of nowhere. Found in the arms of a man, who almost drowned in the river, she seemed to be dead. No breath, no blood-pressure, no heart-beat. And a little later the amazing fact is: She is alive. How that? Was she really dead? Was it only a "wrong impression"? But she was dead! This book is like a river, flowing, sometimes with a strong current, sometimes slowly, calm. It is a most moving human story about parents and grandparents and sisters and nurses and a little child. It is a story about love and the mystery of life. It is a lovely book.

I heard about this book from my neighbour who was reading it for her book club. I'm so glad I picked it up. The story of a girl who seemingly returned from the dead is incredibly compelling. Two families both believe she is their daughter and I found myself turning the pages trying to discover her true identity. Coupled with this mysterious tale is incredibly beautiful writing. I particularly enjoyed how the author described the Thames River making it almost a character in the story itself. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read. I look forward to future novels from this author.

More than once I was swept by the notion that the true protagonist of the story was the river Thames itself. And here's why, "Every year the river helps herself to a few lives. One drink too many, one hasty step, one second’s lapse of attention is all it takes." 'When Joe's eyes returned to the room, he was ready and opened his mouth to speak. 'Once upon a time----' The door opened.' . . And begins the story of the dead girl who was later alive. Also those of the Vaughan couple, the Armstrong household, Daunt - the photographer, Rita - the nurse, Lily - the parsonage maid, Ruby - the Vaughan's baby-sitter, and most importantly, the Ockwells of the Swan Inn. . . Upon the heart of Thames, is the Swam Inn known for its story-telling folks, but everything changes on the long winter night when a stranger intrudes the story-telling aura of the inn, with a drowned child in his arms and thereafter collapses into unconsciousness, with his body a picture of bruises. . . . Nobody knows who the girl is, who was dead a while ago, and has come to life, quite shocking to the folks present. It is considered a miracle, one, the villagers have never witnessed. Thereupon, people from come forward laying a claim upon the girl, revealing their darkest secrets in the process. . . . The Vaughan's have lost their only daughter, about the same age, two years back. The Armstrongs put a claim to her name after their wayward son Robin abandons his wife and daughter and resorts to low means of living through trickery, thieving, and the likes. Lily believes the girl to be her sister Ann, who died of mysterious circumstances in childhood, and who has come back from the dead. . . . Rita, Daunt, and several other people at the Swan, who have laid eyes on the girl, who either is Vaughans' Amelia or Armstrong's Alice, drip of obvious temptation to raise the girl as their own child. . . . Amidst a most tiresome chasing of the truth behind the mute child, unfolding of stories after stories of the several households in Bampton, Radcot, Buscot, Kelmskott, and Brandy Island, runs the magnificent, all-encompassing, all-pervading, incomprehensible, yet exceedingly alluring, the Thames. . . . The book is perfect in all sense, except that it wasn't anywhere close to The Thirteenth Tale. The writing was as beautiful as TTT, except it couldn't stir the gentle waves inside of me that craved to be wrecked. Somewhere after 200 pages, the pace dulled down to a crawl and the characters could do only so much to keep you intrigued. It is an absolute masterpiece if you haven't tasted the magic TTT is, and yet I couldn't stop myself comparing knowing full well that it does not do justice as a reviewer. But this once, I want to shake off the rules, and bask in the magical glory TTT is, that at which OUAR, unsatisfactorily failed. . . . Stories and stories and stories waited to jump at you at every corner, which proved once again, the prodigy that Setterfield is when it comes to story-telling. She truly is a master of the art, and yet somehow everything felt short of something, like an emptiness after you're done reading, like a tickling void that even 450+ pages couldn't completely fill. . . . It is a four for the amazing story-telling, but I really did expect so much more. And that is why I hold back that one star, that one glorious star!

一生懸命最後まで読みましたが、結局なんだったのかわからなくてがっかりしました(ちなみに英語は母語です)。ダイアンセッターフィールドの「十三番目の物語」に感動したので、期待していた分落ち込みました。少し難しいので読むのに時間もかかったので…。ただ描写や文章の組み方が相変わらず素晴らしく、繊細さや神秘的な世界観がよく伝わってきました。 The story doesn't clarify itself until the last words of the book, so I don't think you can judge without finish reading it. Her famous The Thirteenth Tale also made sense in the very end. However... though I didn't find it boring, I couldn't understand what it was all about even after the answer was (indirectly) revealed in the last page. I was so upset! Especially since her writing is intricate it took so long for me to finish. This is recommended for people who are good at picking up metaphors and connotations...