Go as a river

Title:

Go as a river

Author:

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses. Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations. Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed. -- Amazon.

Edition:

First edition

Physical Description:

305 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Bildungsromans.

Subject Term:

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Survival -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Colorado -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Spiegel and Grau,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781954118232

Publication Information:

New York : Spiegel and Grau, [2023]

Call Number:

READ

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003649772	New Adult Fiction	READ Shelley	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

* Finalist for Goodreads Choice Award * Colorado Public Radio 2023 Books We Love *

Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival--and hope--for readers of Great Circle , The Four Winds , and Where the Crawdads Sing.

"Beautiful . . . A striking first novel of love and strength and growth, set against the forests and rivers of Colorado's high country. Read is a gifted writer, and the book is a literary triumph."-- Denver Post

"With gorgeous descriptions of the great outdoors, an illicit love story, and an unforgettable protagonist, Go as a River offers something for everyone."-- Real Simple

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado--the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.

Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland--its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.

Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home--where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river--gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.

Author Notes

Shelley Read 's internationally bestselling debut novel, Go as a River , is being translated into over thirty languages and has been optioned for film by Mazur Kaplan in partnership with Fifth Season. She was a Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades, where she was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and the PRIME program for at-risk students. She holds degrees in writing and literary studies from the University of Denver and Temple University and is a regular contributor to Crested Butte Magazine and Gunnison Valley Journal . She is a fifth-generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

A young woman's courage is tested in Read's affecting if undercooked debut, set in 1940s Colorado. Victoria Nash, 17 cares for her brother and father after her mother's death, while helping keep up the family's peach farm. She's stifled by the controlling men in her life, so she takes comfort in fellow teen Wilson Moon, an openhearted newcomer who returns Victoria's feelings. Because Wilson isn't accepted by Victoria's family or the community due to his Native American heritage, the couple hide their relationship. After Victoria learns she is pregnant, she flees alone to the forest for several months and has the child there. She leaves the baby with a couple she finds picnicking, in hopes the child will have a better life, and returns to her family. In the final act, set in 1970, Victoria learns of her son's life through a series of letters, and Wilson's fate becomes clear. The fleeting nature of Victoria's two important relationships leaves them a bit underdeveloped, but Read beautifully evokes Victoria's aching love for Wilson: "I wanted more of him, like a craving for sunshine hidden too long behind the clouds." Though the family story is a bit too drawn out, there are plenty of shining moments. Agent: Sandra Bond, Bond Literary. (Mar.)