Portobello Book Blog

There’s been a lot of buzz about this book and I can quite see why. Even from just reading the prologue, I was blown away by the beautiful writing. Shelley Read has a sure touch when writing about the natural world and her vivid descriptions are so evocative. Equally impressive is her characterisation.

I was quickly immersed in Victoria’s world of drudgery and subservience to the men in her life. It was so disquieting to read about how hard life was for women in 1940s Colorado and almost seemed like it was taking place in an earlier era. Despite many challenges, Victoria showed great strength, determination and courage. When she meets Wilson Moon, the decisions they make have profound consequences for both of them. In a society which shuns Wilson because of his ethnicity, their relationship faces many challenges.

A river is a powerful thing which flows, meanders and adapts depending on the landscape and obstacles it faces. Over time, it can change its course. This is a common theme in the book both for Victoria and others, and also for her beloved peach trees. There is much about displacement, putting down roots and persisting against the odds. As Victoria says to her friend Zelda, “…women endure. That’s what we do.”

Go As A River is a remarkable read about a resilient woman, a book which many reviewers are rightly calling unforgettable. It’s a powerful novel and is definitely one of my top reads this year.

About the Book

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family’s farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a dishevelled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

So begins the mesmerising story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life for ever.

GO AS A RIVER is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettable characters and a breathtaking natural setting, it is a sweeping story of survival and becoming, of the deepest mysteries of love, truth and fate.

My thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the opportunity to take part in the blogtour and for arranging a review copy of the book. Go As A River is published by Transworld and available now in hardback, digital and audiobook versions.

About the Author

Shelley Read is a fifth generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope. She was a Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades, where she taught writing, literature, environmental studies, and Honors, and was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and a support program for first-generation and at-risk students. GO AS A RIVER, her first novel, is inspired by the landscape she comes from and will be published in over twenty-five territories.