The River Burns

by Trevor Ferguson

[Lianne]

I received an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/04/14/review-the-river-burns/

The River Burns is an interesting novel that utilises its setting to amplify the tension between various parties concerning an old bridge. Both sides make valid points for their respective arguments, and their determination to win the debate drives them to do things that, in any other situation, no one would even think of. And the reprecussions of their actions, their anger, really brings out a lot of the ugly in people. The novel ties in themes of the environment, of community and of people’s livelihoods quite nicely as the drama unfolds.

The characters were interesting enough, more so because almost all of them (save two characters) were well-acquainted with each other, either by blood or through the community. Everyone’s lives are affected by the debate of the old bridge, as well as their relationships. Ryan in particular was put in a rather awkward position, with the attention going back and forth between what he’s going to do and the belief of Denny’s role in the events that unfolded. Tara was interesting enough but she didn’t quite resonate with me, her backstory seemed a little too far-fetched but I can understand her desire to start anew somewhere else.

The River Burns was a fascinating read. The author does a wonderful job in presenting a sense of place and in bringing these characters together in conflict. The town hall sequence was probably my favourite in the whole novel because it really got down to the root of their conflict and it also portrayed the characters quite wonderfully. It’s a fairly subtle novel given its location but the drama and the conflict was interesting to read, I couldn’t quite stop once things started picking up and falling together.