Lord willin' and the Review don't rise
Sep. 22nd, 2013 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluegargantuaHey,
So I just finished up Rivers by Michael Farris Smith.
This may well be the best book I've read (or will read) all year. I highly recommend it.
The book takes place in the near future where the Gulf Coast region of the US has been abandoned. An endless stream of storms and hurricanes batter the coastline and the government has abandoned the region and established The Line 90 miles inland. Below the Line, you're on your own.
But people do live down here, trying to scrape out an existence. Cohen is one of them. Unable to abandon the house of his dreams, he sits and waits out the rains, trying to finish a house that's always in danger of being blown away. Then, what little he has is taken from him and Cohen sets out north to reach the Line and try to make a new life. Along the way he encounters madmen and bandits and picks up fellow refugees, all of them finally forced to flee.
It's a complex book that weaves back and forth between Cohen's past and present, a hustler named Charlie, a prophet named Aggie and a young woman named Mariposa. The writing is lyrical, but pushes along well and the characters are all incredibly compelling.
Again, probably the best book so far this year. Well worth picking up.
later
Tom
So I just finished up Rivers by Michael Farris Smith.
This may well be the best book I've read (or will read) all year. I highly recommend it.
The book takes place in the near future where the Gulf Coast region of the US has been abandoned. An endless stream of storms and hurricanes batter the coastline and the government has abandoned the region and established The Line 90 miles inland. Below the Line, you're on your own.
But people do live down here, trying to scrape out an existence. Cohen is one of them. Unable to abandon the house of his dreams, he sits and waits out the rains, trying to finish a house that's always in danger of being blown away. Then, what little he has is taken from him and Cohen sets out north to reach the Line and try to make a new life. Along the way he encounters madmen and bandits and picks up fellow refugees, all of them finally forced to flee.
It's a complex book that weaves back and forth between Cohen's past and present, a hustler named Charlie, a prophet named Aggie and a young woman named Mariposa. The writing is lyrical, but pushes along well and the characters are all incredibly compelling.
Again, probably the best book so far this year. Well worth picking up.
later
Tom
