Setterfield is a master storyteller, her language flowing with a dark magic very like the river at the heart of her tale: swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Is it a miracle? Once Upon a River is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. In some ways, Once Upon a River reads like a dream sequence, where the characters float in a world not quite real. Ep 1: Bangladesh's Delta Disaster. At the same time, Setterfield’s evocation of reality is quite pronounced—the tactile qualities of the river itself, the many strands of familial love, the agonies of loss. the longest night of the year. Part 1 of the novel began with the backstory of one of the oldest inns on the Thames, the Swan Inn, that specifically drew storytellers. Once Upon a River is a story of loss, and how the missing keep living inside of us. Ep 2: Saving Indonesia's Citarum. Stedman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans). It is beautiful and heartbreaking and altogether wondrous. Dirty Halo (Will Oldham) 2:36: 10. Its title even pretty explicitly suggests both. Once Upon A River. Average GBC Member Rating. Once Upon a River. The TV rights to Once Upon a River have even sold to Kudos (Broadchurch, Spooks, Grantchester). Diane Setterfield haunts familiar ground in “Once Upon a River,” an eerily mystic tale of a mute child who captivates the local townspeople after she’s seemingly brought back from the dead. Fresh Water (Zac Rae) 0:38: 9. Below, Setterfield writes exclusively for Foyles on the roots of Once Upon a River and how storytelling helps us make sense of the world. I found the novel incredibly interesting and entertaining. Give yourself a treat and read it! My first selection was Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child. Storytelling . It’s a historical fiction/magical realism book, and it’s not something I would normally select for myself. She is the winner of a Pushcart Prize, the AWP Award for Short Fiction, and Southern Review’s 2008 Eudora Welty Prize for “The Inventor, 1972,” which is included in American Salvage . Once Upon a River is a quiet, gorgeously shot meditative sojourn into the unknown. Billy (Zac Rae) 0:46: 7. “Once Upon a River” is a historical fiction novel set during the late Victorian period in Radcot, a town on the banks of the River Thames. Once Upon A River is a film that takes a simple coming-of-age story, with a hint of Mark Twain-esque odysseys, and then twists and turns it into something brutal and enveloping; changing into something resembling a tale that many women can recite by heart. Margo Takes the River (Zac Rae) 1:22: 12. The above map shows the Swan Inn at Radcot, but if you click the "Defra" button it will show the whole area used in this lovely book - from The Swan (top right where the road crosses the river) to Buscot (bottom left) - and the rather appropriate heading on the map is "MAGIC"! For this month we’ve chosen Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield. This is a novel that is both psychologically and emotionally complicated. So I went in skeptical. Once Upon a River will stay with me for a long time. Thanks very much to Fleur Lloyd for the recommendation. Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of the National Book Award finalist American Salvage, Women & Other Animals, and the novels Q Road and Once Upon a River. Once Upon a RiverMargo Crane's odyssey on the Stark River introduces her to a world filled with wonders and dangers. Margo Wears a Dress (Zac Rae) 0:40: 5. Some say the river drowned her… some say it brought her back to life On 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 and in steps an injured stranger. Setterfield describes grief at times with dazzling beauty, such … Once Upon A River. Once Upon a River is a hearty paean to the Thames and the people who live on or near it, whose stories never truly begin or end, but flow on for ever, to a dimly imagined sea. "Once Upon a River is another entry in a developing sub-genre of post-Twain bildungsroman cinema, combining elements of fable with aw-shucks rootedness in the natural world. It will be reread some-time in the future, out of sheer admiration, as well as for study and pleasure. Book Summary: On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. Once upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Once Upon a River ruminates upon a time in the nineteenth-century when magic and science, ghost story and mystery, were two sides of the same coin. Cold Blooded Sally (Fran Farley) 2:59: 8. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and altogether wondrous. A proof copy of Once Upon a River arrived a few months ago and, noting that the story began on the winter solstice, I had set it aside for an early Christmas read ... 'It was solstice night. — Ariel Lawhon, author of I WAS ANASTASIA “Setterfield fills this richly layered plot with a fascinating cast of memorable characters … From this beginning, Once Upon a River flows into an atmospheric story touching on life and love, and a society caught between the old and new ways. Simply put, it is a joy to read." Once Upon a River is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. Give yourself a treat and read it! Once Upon a River has similarities with the author's first novel, the Thirteenth Tale. On 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 and in steps an injured stranger. and introductions of new plotlines — that fills the first quarter of the book. Parents need to know that Once Upon a River is a coming-of-age story set in 1977 rural Michigan about a teenage Native American girl named Margo (Kenadi DelaCerna).Margo's father is raising her alone, her mother having left them. Diane Setterfield has been published in over forty countries. Claire Kohda Hazelton. Madeline Miller,Orange Prize-winning author of The Song of Achilles and Circe. Once Upon A River’s winding course drags you down into the reeds and marshy depths in places, but Setterfield’s imagin­ation is powered by an otherworldly force. Author: By Diane Setterfield. Consequences (Zac Rae) 2:38: 11. Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books, 2018. Toggle share menu. Give yourself a treat and read it!' Setterfield is a master storyteller, her language flowing with a dark magic very like the river at the heart of her tale: swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. The Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity (Bridget St. John) 3:58: 6. Simply put, it is a joy to read." When not writing she reads widely, and when not actually reading she is usually talking or thinking about reading. Once Upon a River Book Review. For weeks the days had been shrinking gradually, then precipitously, so that it was now dark by mid-afternoon. It struck me that there’s an age-old tradition - it’s there at the origin of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales - of pubs and inns as places where both lives and stories converge. Once Upon a River. 'Once Upon a River is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. The historical setting is never explicitly stated, I would guess at late Victorian, early Edwardian. Diane lives in Oxford, in the UK. Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Once Upon a River (Zac Rae) 2:07: 4. It’s an expansive novel, where the author carefully weaves together four or five different plotlines featuring a huge number of characters. Once Upon a River begins with a lot of exposition — characters, backgrounds, cities, locations and families, etc. One also gets a feeling of an author trying a little too hard to reproduce the 19th Century novel. Setterfield is a master storyteller, her language flowing with a dark magic very like the river at the heart of her tale: swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. Once Upon a River is the story of three missing girls and three desperate families all set against the Thames and woven together with magic, mystery, and mayhem. Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Once Upon a River is the story of three missing girls and three desperate families all set against the Thames and woven together with magic, mystery, and mayhem. The people at the Swan called for Rita to care for the man. Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. "Once Upon A River" is the story of Margo Crane, Annie Oakley wanna-be, living along the Stark River in Michigan across from her more "well-to-do" relatives, the Murray's. Toggle share menu. On the night of the winter solstice, a man with a facial wound entered the Swan carrying a young girl, who was considered dead. It's implied that Margo participates willingly in a sexual encounter that's both incestuous and statutory rape; the incident becomes the catalyst for tragedy. 5 stars out of 5. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, this is “a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing” (M.L. 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