- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Viking Pr; 1st Edition edition (Jan 1946)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670599735
- ISBN-13: 978-0670599738
- Product Dimensions: 50.8 x 50.8 x 50.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,563,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The tale is one of a child growing up. During a brief Indian winter, Harriet knew death, birth, cruelty, kindness, retribution, and the shadow of love. As she watched the flow of the river mirror the inexorable changes in her life, she was becoming a woman - though not quite an ordinary one, as she herself suspected.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
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 edges of beginnings and ends . . . The River is Rumer Godden's beautiful tribute to India and childhood, made into a film by Jean Renoir. And in a preface for this novel she explains how the classic tale came to be written. 'So intense, so quietly demanding of attention, that at the time there will be nothing in your thoughts but a small girl in India, and the people and places that were her world' Saturday Review 'Compassionate wisdom and serence understanding . . . with each book she writes Miss Godden's position as one of the finest of English novelists becomes more secure' Orville Prescott
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My grandmother gave me this book when I was about ten years old. It is one of the few books I will read time and again - always finding something new and thought provoking. It is about growing up - however old you are - self discovery and first love; whilst never wasting a word in mawkish sentimentality. It's probably not read anywhere near enough - do buy it, pass it on to friends and spread the word!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the story of a young girl's growing awareness of the flow of life (the river is a metaphor for this) and the inevitability of death.
Harriet is the principal character from whose point of view the story is told. It is also an autobiographical portrayal of the author who similarly had an admired older sister (Bea in the novel). Like the author Harriet is a writer. She is caught at a moment between childhood and adolescence when she belongs neither in one camp nor in the other.
This is a very accurate portrayal of the self-centredness of childhood and how it is to live in a child's world. It's also about entering the world of adulthood, recognising personal responsibility, becoming aware of adult love, learning the facts of life and seeing one's parents from a new perspective.
The Indian backdrop is also beautifully described.
It's a real achievement to convey so many themes in one short book and to make it such a gripping and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
Harriet is the principal character from whose point of view the story is told. It is also an autobiographical portrayal of the author who similarly had an admired older sister (Bea in the novel). Like the author Harriet is a writer. She is caught at a moment between childhood and adolescence when she belongs neither in one camp nor in the other.
This is a very accurate portrayal of the self-centredness of childhood and how it is to live in a child's world. It's also about entering the world of adulthood, recognising personal responsibility, becoming aware of adult love, learning the facts of life and seeing one's parents from a new perspective.
The Indian backdrop is also beautifully described.
It's a real achievement to convey so many themes in one short book and to make it such a gripping and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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. It is hard to think of another writer who can so well convey what it is like to be one of her characters, and who describe scenes and events so vividly. One modern writer she can possibly be compared with is Alexendar McCall Smith - like him she is a writer who always wants to understand why people are the way they are, and who never condemns others. Her writing has a delicacy and subtlety sadly lacking in most modern authors.
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. It is hard to think of another writer who can so well convey what it is like to be one of her characters, and who describe scenes and events so vividly. One modern writer she can possibly be compared with is Alexendar McCall Smith - like him she is a writer who always wants to understand why people are the way they are, and who never condemns others. Her writing has a delicacy and subtlety sadly lacking in most modern authors.
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