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Rivers Run Back
A cross-cultural saga of love, crime, and intertwined destinies.
Rivers Run Back is a story of many lives spanning different continents, weaving together a fascinating tapestry. Shankar Chatterjee, born in a wealthy Bengali family, Marilyn Benson, an artistic but emotionally unstable girl struggling to find her balance in New York City, and Narsimha Sastry, an outcast born in a small village in India, despised by the grandparents who raise him.
Into this fray are drawn the beautiful sisters, Padma and Leela, whose lives entangle with Narsimha’s until it becomes a question of life and death. It is a story of the Indian Diaspora, the search for the American dream, and finally a story of diverse cultures connected in such a manner that we realise that what finally does matter are universal, humane principles and values.
The book is driven by both mythological and psychological themes that intersect and merge at the end.
Rivers Run Back is a story of many lives spanning different continents, weaving together a fascinating tapestry. Shankar Chatterjee, born in a wealthy Bengali family, Marilyn Benson, an artistic but emotionally unstable girl struggling to find her balance in New York City, and Narsimha Sastry, an outcast born in a small village in India, despised by the grandparents who raise him.
Into this fray are drawn the beautiful sisters, Padma and Leela, whose lives entangle with Narsimha’s until it becomes a question of life and death. It is a story of the Indian Diaspora, the search for the American dream, and finally a story of diverse cultures connected in such a manner that we realise that what finally does matter are universal, humane principles and values.
The book is driven by both mythological and psychological themes that intersect and merge at the end.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2015
1 person is currently reading
469 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Yarrow
10 books178 followersA New York City transplant now living in Seattle, Joyce Yarrow began her writing life scribbling poems on the subway and observing human behavior from every walk of life.
Joyce is the award-winning author of the Zahara Series and, according to Library Journal, her literary novels of suspense “appeal to readers who enjoy unusual mysteries with an international setting.”
ZAHARA AND THE LOST BOOKS OF LIGHT (Book 1 in the Zahara Series), was awarded 5 Stars by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and chosen as a Best Book in the Historical Fiction category by the PenCraft Awards (Spring of 2024). It has also been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. The second book in the series, STOLEN LIVES earned the 2024 Firebird Award for International Suspense.
In 2022, her coming-of-age novel SANDSTORM, won a the 2022 gold medal in Women's Fiction at the CIPA/Evvy Awards.
Joyce's other published novels of suspense include ASK THE DEAD, RUSSIAN RECKONING, and RIVERS RUN BACK (co-authored with Arindam Roy).
Yarrow is a Pushcart Prize Nominee with short stories and essays that have been widely published. She is a member of the Sisters in Crime organization and has presented workshops on “The Place of Place in Mystery Writing” at conferences in the US and India.
Joyce is the award-winning author of the Zahara Series and, according to Library Journal, her literary novels of suspense “appeal to readers who enjoy unusual mysteries with an international setting.”
ZAHARA AND THE LOST BOOKS OF LIGHT (Book 1 in the Zahara Series), was awarded 5 Stars by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and chosen as a Best Book in the Historical Fiction category by the PenCraft Awards (Spring of 2024). It has also been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. The second book in the series, STOLEN LIVES earned the 2024 Firebird Award for International Suspense.
In 2022, her coming-of-age novel SANDSTORM, won a the 2022 gold medal in Women's Fiction at the CIPA/Evvy Awards.
Joyce's other published novels of suspense include ASK THE DEAD, RUSSIAN RECKONING, and RIVERS RUN BACK (co-authored with Arindam Roy).
Yarrow is a Pushcart Prize Nominee with short stories and essays that have been widely published. She is a member of the Sisters in Crime organization and has presented workshops on “The Place of Place in Mystery Writing” at conferences in the US and India.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2016
This book took a while to grab me. It seemed like the writing got a little better as it progressed, or maybe it was the added dimension of intrigue that was better able to hold my attention. So, overall I liked the book.
October 13, 2015
ivers Run Back is my recent read. It’s a “cross cultural saga of love, crime and intertwined destinies”. The book is an engrossing read since the beginning. I immediately got hooked onto the lives of Marilyn, Shankar and Narsimha. I love the subtlety with which each character along with their follies, vices and special traits are introduced.
The novel moves between time and spaces taking you from Kerala to Allahabad to Dubai to Bombay to New York and Vancouver. All the cities are described in their authenticity and the way the narrative moves between cities keeps you hooked. The way each chapter is laid out leaves no room for confusion about what’s happening where and when.
The story has some beautifully etched out characters. Some characters don’t go beyond a few chapters and hats off to the two writers who sketch the characters beautifully and let us know their inner mechanics even if they be present only for a few chapters.
I loved the duality expressed through the characters of Padma and Leela. I still wish to hear some more about them (May be a sequel could be in making ;) ) Padma and Leela make for the two ends of a pole or as the novel suggests two poles of the same magnet. One is calm like the water of Ganges flowing through towns, the other is turbulent like Bhagirathi emerging at Gangotri.
Then there’s the various underlying themes in the novel. For instance the repeated reference to making up stories or storytelling. Victor makes up stories about people he and Marilyn encounter at the beach, then Marilyn makes up stories about people she and her daughters encounter in the train to Carol’s house. The fathers in the story too bond with their children through stories. Uttam babu tells stories to young Shankar and one can easily detect the bond they both share. Again Shankar tells stories to Padma and Leela and the camaraderie is evident. But this bond is absent in case of Narsimha who has been brought up in an abusive home away from her mother and an unknown father. Read full review here : https://thebrokeninkpot.wordpress.com...
The novel moves between time and spaces taking you from Kerala to Allahabad to Dubai to Bombay to New York and Vancouver. All the cities are described in their authenticity and the way the narrative moves between cities keeps you hooked. The way each chapter is laid out leaves no room for confusion about what’s happening where and when.
The story has some beautifully etched out characters. Some characters don’t go beyond a few chapters and hats off to the two writers who sketch the characters beautifully and let us know their inner mechanics even if they be present only for a few chapters.
I loved the duality expressed through the characters of Padma and Leela. I still wish to hear some more about them (May be a sequel could be in making ;) ) Padma and Leela make for the two ends of a pole or as the novel suggests two poles of the same magnet. One is calm like the water of Ganges flowing through towns, the other is turbulent like Bhagirathi emerging at Gangotri.
Then there’s the various underlying themes in the novel. For instance the repeated reference to making up stories or storytelling. Victor makes up stories about people he and Marilyn encounter at the beach, then Marilyn makes up stories about people she and her daughters encounter in the train to Carol’s house. The fathers in the story too bond with their children through stories. Uttam babu tells stories to young Shankar and one can easily detect the bond they both share. Again Shankar tells stories to Padma and Leela and the camaraderie is evident. But this bond is absent in case of Narsimha who has been brought up in an abusive home away from her mother and an unknown father. Read full review here : https://thebrokeninkpot.wordpress.com...
February 10, 2015
Rivers Run Back made this reader race ahead to learn what happens to the fascinating characters featured in this cross-cultural tour de force. These characters’ lives span several generations and two continents. Their meaty family histories are enriched by myth and moral and spiritual renewal and complicated by social class, marital discord, and murder. The novel’s two authors, American novelist Joyce Yarrow and Indian journalist Arindam Roy, whisk the armchair traveler from a posh private school for the sons of India’s elite to the drug-infested streets of a Vancouver slum and from a famous New York art school to an art smuggler’s Canadian lair. The dialog is credible and the narrative sections both poetic and cogent. When I finished reading Rivers Run Back, I was ready for the movie. The panoramic scope and emotional depths that make this novel a terrific read would also make it a splendid film.
March 22, 2015
Arindam RoyRivers Run Back is a cross-continental saga of life, hate, beliefs and death dexterously woven by the two amazing authors Joyce Yarrow and Arindam Roy into an absorbing and interesting story. Traversing through two generations, weaves a tapestry of complex characters and diverse cultures; a gripping storyline and a fluid narrative which never loses its pace and intrigue till the end. A highly addictive and action packed read exposing the underbelly of both the worlds, yet in the process helping us understand the universal princple of humanity.
Joyce Yarrow
Joyce Yarrow
February 28, 2015
A very good story. Binds the reader with it. Really enjoyed reading it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews