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24th out of 129 books
—
136 voters
The River
by
Rumer Godden
Harriet is between two worlds. Her sister is no longer a playmate, her brother is still a child. The comforting rhythm of her Indian childhood - the noise of the jute works, the colourful festivals that accompany each season and the eternal ebb and flow of the river on its journey to the Bay of Benghal - is about to be shattered. She must learn how to reconcile the jagged...more
Paperback
Published
by Pan
(first published 1946)
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The River is a story of childhood in India, much although not all the story is a tribute to Rumer Godden's own childhood. In her preface to the novel Rumer Godden explains how the novel came to be written.
Four British siblings, who have been brought back from school in England are living at the side of a river, just along the road from the jute works. This is their world, the garden, the house, the servants, Indian festivals, the jute works and Captain John - who was once injured in the war. Ha...more
Rumer Godden had a long and prolific writing career, but her centenary in 2007 seemed to pass unmarked. If you are not familiar with her then you have missed one of the few truly great British novelists of the twentieth century.
The River, which was later filmed by Jean Renoir, is a very short and, in parts, sad book, but in many ways typical of Rumer Godden's work: set in India, the main characters children, the theme growing up, and how to be perceived by adults as a person rather than a child...more
The River, which was later filmed by Jean Renoir, is a very short and, in parts, sad book, but in many ways typical of Rumer Godden's work: set in India, the main characters children, the theme growing up, and how to be perceived by adults as a person rather than a child...more
Aug 02, 2011
Alun Williams
added it
Rumer Godden had a long and prolific writing career, but her centenary last year seemed to pass unmarked. If you are not familiar with her then you have missed one of the few truly great British novelists of the twentieth century.
The River, which was later filmed by Jean Renoir, is a very short and, in parts, sad book, but in many ways typical of Rumer Godden's work: set in India, the main characters children, the theme growing up, and how to be perceived by adults as a person rather than a chil...more
Decidí leer 'El rio' para satisfacer mi imperiosa necesidad de leer historias sobre niñas que crecen, porque (lo digo siempre) hay muchísimas historias sobre niños que crecen pero poquísimas sobre niñas que crecen. La protagonista de 'El rio' es Harriet, una preadolescente que vive al lado del rio Ganges, que se está haciendo mayor y que no acaba de encajar ni en el mundo de los niños ni en el de los adultos, pero además también se encuentra dividida entre dos culturas, la inglesa y la india, si...more
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Beautifully told story of a European girl named Harriet coming of age in Colonial India. About Life, growing, death, birth, love, so many first experiences, poetry, beauty and presence of nature.
My grandfather knew Renoir and loves his films. We finally watched The River over Thanksgiving and I enjoyed the movie very much, despite its simplicity and datedness. I figured I should read the book, I've had my grandmother's old copy sitting on my bookshelf for years. So I read it in 3 days and the bo...more
My grandfather knew Renoir and loves his films. We finally watched The River over Thanksgiving and I enjoyed the movie very much, despite its simplicity and datedness. I figured I should read the book, I've had my grandmother's old copy sitting on my bookshelf for years. So I read it in 3 days and the bo...more
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A friend sent me this book in a mystery book swap thing (which I've yet to reciprocate) back in, uh, July.. But I finally got around to reading something from that box!
There isn't really a plot, which is actually totally okay. I like the main character. I like all the characters, actually.
The setting reminds me of The Secret Garden, very magical... Both stories feature a young girl character I imagine to be about the same age, and both of them lived in India (this book actually takes place there...more
There isn't really a plot, which is actually totally okay. I like the main character. I like all the characters, actually.
The setting reminds me of The Secret Garden, very magical... Both stories feature a young girl character I imagine to be about the same age, and both of them lived in India (this book actually takes place there...more
I can almost smell the smells of India/Pakistan when I read books like this. She effortlessly conjures up the atmosphere and makes me homesick for the years I lived in Pakistan, a Brit who struggled to get to grips with the culture and loved it despite often not really understanding what was going on and often finding it challenging.She is someone who really seems to express these mixed feelings. She describes the flowers and trees, her attention to detail is great, she comes across as devoted,...more
read in our Sunday evening book group. A charming memoir of an pre-adolescent girl's discovery of herself and her family. The author certainly captures the feelings that we could remember of our own girlhood. Harriet is a talented writer, but alternates between her adult insights and her child-like emotions: love for her brother who is killed by a cobra sting, and a nostalgic "crush" on the adult male friend, Captain John.
This book was very short and very vivid. A book about a young girl living and growing up in India and the tragedy that befalls her family. As with all of Godden's books, you truly grow to love and cherish the characters she brings to life with her prose. I found myself wishing Icould flash forward and find out what happens to this family 10 years later...
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So,I was assigned to read this book in high school....28 years ago. I skimmed it for the test and never read it. 'Til today. It was a good book. Ms. Godden gives us a wonderful and complex coming of age story. Twists in ways that I didn't expect. Well worth the read. Glad that I fianlly got to it. Better late than never.
River is my most recent read of the five and only read once a year or two ago. I include it though because I can’t stop thinking about this book. It is absolutely beautiful, true and the only thing better than British authors are British authors who live/d in India and this is everything a British/India novel ought to be.
Rumer Godden, a woman born in 1907 is one of my all-time favorite authors, she is a particularly good children’s author as well; highly influenced by things Eastern, religion,...more
Rumer Godden, a woman born in 1907 is one of my all-time favorite authors, she is a particularly good children’s author as well; highly influenced by things Eastern, religion,...more
Beautifully written story of a young girl on the cusp of growing from girlhood to womanhood. Harriet, a daughter in a European family living in India, has a writer's soul, and she is thoughtful and observant. In the brief span of the book (about a year), she experiences birth, death, love, loneliness, pain and joy while she tries to understand the changes in her body and how differently she is begininng to see the world. She observes the people around her and her own life in the context of the t...more
used to be one of my favourite books but on rereading it last year i decided against it. Maybe I've grown? Maybe I've just read it too often. Still love Rumer Godden though.
A little book, unusual, centred around a river in India and the inevitable continuation of that river
o matter what else occurred in everyday life.
o matter what else occurred in everyday life.
Just like The Greengage Summer, I read this at my mother's urging, but never saw what she saw in it. I think I was too young.
Childhood, memories, India... An unforgettable novel, as simple and as complex as childhood itself, that inspired Renoir to do one of his most beautiful movies. It unfolds like an exotic, mesmerizing tale, and Godden's voice is impossible to resist.
I love the protagonist Harriet. She's motivated me to write again.
Sweet little book.
Una storia fra l'infanzia e il tempo di crescere, fra il fiume e la sughera, l'India e l'Inghilterra, la vita e la morte, la scoperta e il dolore, fra filosofia e raziocinio.
Poesia pura.
Poesia pura.
May 20, 2013
Kathryn
marked it as to-read
May 04, 2013
Moe
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May 02, 2013
Kristina
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Apr 19, 2013
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Gabrielle
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She was born in Sussex, England, but grew up in India, in Narayanganj. Many of her 60 books are set in India. Black Narcissus was made into a famous movie with Deborah Kerr in 1947.
Godden wrote novels, poetry, plays, biographies, and books for children.
For more information, see the official website: Rumer Godden
More about Rumer Godden...
Godden wrote novels, poetry, plays, biographies, and books for children.
For more information, see the official website: Rumer Godden
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“Sometimes,' she said, remembering that morning, 'I write poems that are taller than I am”
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2 people liked it
“Harriet was silent, thinking, and then she said, "It is too hard to be a person. You don't only have to go on and on. You have to be--" she looked for the word she needed and could not find it. Then, "You have to be tall as well," said Harriet.”
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1 person liked it
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Sep 12, 2009 01:43pm