Once Upon a River

Our Review

It might only be early days, but I think I may have just finished reading my favourite book of 2019. Once upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a beautifully crafted book. It reminded me very much of another book I love called The Bear and the Nightingale in terms of the writing style and whimsical content.

The book begins with the author describing the numerous inns that line the river Thames each one with its own specialism.

“The Swan at Radcot had its own specialism. It was where you went for storytelling.”

When the story begins on the night of the Winter Solstice in an ancient inn on the Thames, the locals are telling stories when the door bursts open and a badly injured man comes in with the corpse of a little girl in his arms.

Many hours later, the dead girl returns to life.

Afterwards everyone has many questions. Was it a miracle or magic? Who is the little girl? And how did she end up in the river?

Diane Setterfield has created a marvel of a novel but, a word of warning, it is a slow burner out of necessity. The plot is character driven and that it one of the novels charms, but this may put some readers off.

 I loved learning the backstory for the many characters. In some books having a whole host of characters can make the novel feel crowded but, in this book, it was definitely an advantage. Having their backstory as well helped the reader feel like they knew the characters and made them easier to follow.

For example, the landlady of The Swan Margot Bliss:

“It was rumoured she even slept on her feet, but she had given birth to thirteen children, so clearly she must have lain down sometimes.”

One of my favourite minor characters was Margot’s husband Joe and I loved reading the part of the novel which described how they met.

“The frail- looking young man with floppy black hair that contrasted with his pallor sat unnoticed, eking out his glass of ale, admiring the innkeeper’s daughter and listening to a story or two. He found it captivating to be among people who spoke out loud the kind of tales that had been alive in his head since boyhood.”

Joe’s ability to tell stories is probably the reason why he is among my favourite characters.

“In a quiet interval he opened his mouth and Once upon a time…. came out. Joe Bliss discovered his destiny that day…with a bit of practice he found he could turn his tongue to any kind of tale, whether it be gossip, historic, traditional, folk or fairy.”

The author is very good at setting the scene of the action in such a way that the reader feels like they are there too.

“It is a time for magic. And as the borders between night and day stretch to their thinnest, so too do the borders between worlds. Dreams and stories merge with lived experience, the dead and the living brush against each other in comings and goings, the past and the present touch and overlap. Did the solstice have anything to do with the strange events at The Swan? You will have to judge for yourself. Now you know everything you need to know; the story can begin.”

On solstice night the regulars are telling stories as is their want, when I man stumbles into the pub and then shortly after collapses.

“The man – if man it was – was tall and strong but his head was monstrous, and they boggled at the sight of it. Was it a monster from a folk tale?’

The people in the pub are horrified when they learn that what they mistook for a puppet in his arms was actually the corpse of a young girl.

“The folds of her cotton frock were plastered to the smooth lines of the limbs, and her head tilted on her neck at an angle no puppeteer could achieve. She was a little girl, and they had not seen it, not one of them, though it was obvious.”

Once they see how badly injured the man is, they send for the local nurse and midwife Rita. Rita happens to be another of my favourite characters because she is no nonsense and straight to the point. She doesn’t mock the others for their superstitions, but she chooses to think about the scientific explanation first before joining them.

Rita is the first to notice that something is not right with the dead girl – there appears to be no cause of death.

“A body always tells a story, but this child’s story was a blank page.”

It is Rita who first discovers the girl is alive and then the legend of the girl who was dead and is now alive spreads far and wide and people come looking to claim the girl as their own.

I won't discuss anymore of the plot as I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I would like to say that this book probably has one of the best final paragraphs I have read for a while.

Once Upon a River frequently blurs the lines between the real and the mystical. What can be explained by science and psychology and thinks that have no obvious explanation. Often the interpretation is left to the reader. Are the noises Helena keeps hearing really water goblins? Can Bess really see into people’s souls with her ‘bad’ eye? Can Maud the pig really understand what Mr Armstrong is saying?

Anyone looking for a Grimm style dark fairy tale should try reading Once Upon a River. It won’t disappoint.

Our Final Rating...

Sat, 5th January 2019