<![CDATA[The River King]]>

false <![CDATA[The River King]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172342359m/165818.jpg 165818 27 There are two things any reader can count on when coming to Alice Hoffman: her prose and a remarkable empathy for those who live on the fringes of society. In her 13th novel, the author turns both to good account. Set in a tony private school located in a small New England town, The River King traces an intricate weave of intersecting lives over the course of a year. The Haddan School, founded in 1858, has long been the scene of tragedy and wonder: during its first year a tremendous storm flooded the grounds, and more than a century later "frogs can be found in the plumbing; linens and clothes stored in closets have a distinctly weedy odor, as if each article had been washed in river water and never thoroughly dried." Then there are the glorious roses planted by Annie Howe, a villager who married the headmaster and later hanged herself; these flowers have an unusual effect on sensitive girls. "When such girls walked past the brittle canes in the gardens behind St. Anne's, they felt something cold at the base of their spines, a bad case of pins and needles, as though someone were issuing a warning: be careful who you choose to love and who loves you in return." A cogent warning indeed, for as in all of Hoffman's novels, the question of whom one chooses to love and who loves in return is the crux of the matter. The River King revolves around triangles. First there is Betsy Chase, a young photography teacher at the Haddan School who has gotten herself engaged--almost accidentally--to a fellow faculty member, even as she is inexorably drawn to Abel Grey, a town policeman. Then there are Carlin Leander, a scholarship student, and her best friend, Gus Pierce. While Carlin is able to fit in, even attracting the interest of the most popular boy on campus, Gus is a defiant outcast, a tall skinny kid in a long black overcoat "who viewed his own life as a prison sentence and experienced his existence much as a condemned man might." Carlin's romance with the charismatic, cruel Harry McKenna creates a rupture between her and Gus, and fuels a mean-spirited practical joke with horrific consequences. In the aftermath of tragedy, each character's heart, conscience, and courage is tested in unexpected ways. Hoffman spins her web of love and heartbreak and transcendence with a sure hand, and in the process creates characters so palpably human in all their petty flaws and small instances of heroism that one almost expects them to step out of the book and into the room. Indeed, if there is a flaw in The River King, it is that Alice Hoffman doesn't always trust the magic inherent in her characters, relying a little too heavily at times on somewhat precious invocations of the otherworldly. But this is a minor defect in an otherwise satisfying novel, one that will keep the reader spellbound by its emotional complexity and compelling story. --Alix Wilber 1855657 2000 The River King total:1689|5:312|4:646|3:544|2:152|1:35| 1689 6115 2161 155 3 2 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 09 16:07:34 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 21 14:08:41 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 06:46:02 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 06:49:50 -0800 2008
Carlin, a poor young (but of course, beautiful!) teen, lands a scholarship to the prestigious ...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 19:35:40 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 19:38:56 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false true Fri Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 13:24:04 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 13:51:20 -0800 2008 Genre: Mystery/Horror
Grade: B-

WARNING > SPOILERS!
In the River King, a teenager named Carlin Leander escapes her dingy Florida hometown (and the inevitable pregnancy/white trash lifestyle that accompanies it) after gaining a swimming sch...more...]]> 2 2 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 05 09:17:27 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 15:45:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 12 22:12:30 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 22:20:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true false Fri Apr 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 09:49:26 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 11:20:17 -0700 2009 once decided to try it again because I loved the last two Alice Hoffman books I read, The Probably Future, and The Third Angel. But in the beginning, I didn't like it much better than I did last time--but I am glad I stuck with...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 11:27:07 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 11:41:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 16 09:44:44 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 10:04:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 07:25:40 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 09:36:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Oct 03 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Sat Jun 06 14:52:45 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 14:53:59 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 07:16:45 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 07:16:45 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 20:48:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 13:29:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jun 11 05:39:38 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 05:43:18 -0700 2009
(p. 22) "She (Carlin) had swamp dust on her feet and nicotine stains on her fingers, and came from a universe of hash and eggs and broken promises, a place where a women quickly learned that there was no point in crying over spilled milk or bruises left b...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 02:14:33 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 12:38:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 30 05:40:30 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 15:16:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Sep 04 16:18:29 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 19:16:18 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 16:18:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false true Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 19:06:27 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 08:06:29 -0700 2008
The River King didn't disappoint. Hoffman's lyrical prose drew me in to a story about an enchanted Massachusetts boarding school and the suspiciou...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 15 09:57:49 -0700 2007 Mon Dec 03 15:13:45 -0800 2007
The River King has become one of my favorite novels by Hoffman. It starts out rather slow, but the descriptions are so well written that you feel l...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Mar 20 16:13:20 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 24 06:27:18 -0800 2008
Alice Hoffman weaves a dark web of mystery and real-world magic in the small town of Haddan, M...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=165818