This book is actually a 4.5 for me. I really liked the story, in particular the mix of powerful realism and equally powerful magical realism, each in their own ways of being something strong. There's some prominent characters, plenty of historical characters of one genealogical family of Tasmania (1820s-1990s), and plenty more characters you know are there as in the whitewater rafting expedition on Tasmania's Franklin River but might not be named (the group of punters; the group of helicopter news media). And, the changeable river itself takes on the role of a character, which might be defined as an identity which interacts with Aljaz, the Cockroach, and the rafters. One good item about the story is the author's device to make deceased historical characters speak as if they were alive. Those ancient characters are recreated with their own personalities and problems in the context of Tasmanian life. One of the ancestor's from the early nineteenth century was among the transported convicts from Britain. So the story goes partly into that period of Tasmania when it was known as Van Diemen's Land. Successive generations of the Quades are subsequently recreated as living in the visions of one dying river guide. The generations are a mixture of peoples of several types and ethnicities, though sociopolitical beliefs make it hard for future generations to admit to their origins (skeletons in the closet). It's more than about pretense; the author (it's his debut fiction novel) uses the main character Aljaz Cosini to study concepts of Fate, acceptance, resoluteness, will v. drifting, life's difficulties from nature and from unequal power. An obvious struggle in this book is the rafters maneuvering their watercraft through the rushing waterfalls, the quiet water, and the flooded, cold gorges--the river symbolizing life and with what skill and precision one comes to it to navigate through it. From reading this story, I learned a lot about Tasmania and a bit about this Booker Prize-winning author. It's literary in that the story and its characters address physical and spiritual issues of life and death.
A fascinating glimpse into a Tasmanian family and culture and the land that shaped them, through the visions and remembrances of river guide Aljaz Cosini as a river sweeps over him in his dying moments. I began reading the book at a friend's cabin along a river where, a week earlier, two people had died in a rafting accident, one incident of many this summer of high and fast-moving waters. It made the story all the more dark and sobering in the telling. The drowning itself is an almost detached account, where Aljaz is sometimes in the first-person, sometimes third person in the narration. I occasionally lost my sense of who and where as the family names and stories weave in and out of a tapestry that finally brings all together.
What do You think about Death Of A River Guide (2015)?
Flanagan decided to go against all the advice you find in "how to write" book s and starts the book off with the main character dying. You might think this would rather limit the scope of the story but he manages to keep the interest going by jumping around between multiple storylines and situations throughout the narrative.While, in my opinion, not as powerful and well written as Gould's Book of Fish, this is an enjoyable romp through the unexplored backwaters of Australia's highways, byways and, mainly, creeks. With his usual flair of language plus stream of consciousness, throw ideas on a page, mind searching the book rumbles along like an unstoppable paddlesteamer.I was a little disappointed at the conclusion, but perhaps that was just me. If you like his other books then you'll love it. If you've never picked up one of his then it's a great way to find yourself inside the head of an unfortunate Australian.
—Dan Ladle
Having just finished Richard Flanagan's The Narrow road to the Deep North, the Death of a River Guide didn't quite match up to the style and sophistication displayed in Flanagan's latest book. However it is an amazing first novel. While Flanagan's writing is wonderfully descriptive and engaging I found the rapid change of time and person disconcerting and felt it tended to break the story rather than build it. Despite this Death of a River Guide was a great read with a surprising amount of suspense towards the end.
—Sharon
A torrent of a novel that swirls and eddies and washes over you like the waters of the Franklin River where Aljaz Cosini is drowning. And, as we have always heard, a drowning man sees his whole life flash before him. Here, it is more than just his life, it is also the life of his ancestors, and through them the history of Tasmania, a history that is bloody and disturbing, but touched by magnificent moments of humanity and man's struggle against nature raw in tooth and nail. It is a hugely rewarding piece of literature that tells a story, yes, but also comments on man and his relationship with the past, with nature and with his fellow man.
—·Karen·
