River Of The Brokenhearted (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
David Adams Richards uses the life of his grandmother as inspiration for the character Hanna Jane (Janie) McLeary King in River of the Brokenhearted, a multigenerational family saga set in a small New Brunswick village. The novel is narrated by her grandson, Wendell King, and covers four generations of the McLeary/King family. Joey Elias is the family's nemesis, as well as the Druken family. Where Janie's tenacity helps her overcome great persecution and brings her financial success, her family crumbles due to her lack of emotional support. They are overwhelmed with the petty cruelty of their lives and become alcoholics.Richards is a brilliant writer. He always covers conflicting themes of love and hate, good and evil. His character development is exquisite. And while all of his characters are flawed and struggle with memories, faith, and integrity, often their reflections strike the core of a vital truth for all of humanity. Even as Janie's descendants fail to learn from their mistakes, there is the underlying sense that redemption is possible for even the most flawed characters and that in the end justice will prevail.The sense of time and place remain consistently strong in River of the Brokenhearted. Richards has a gift for setting the scene and placing his characters squarely in that world. Even their speech patterns are distinct for each character. He can also clearly record the irrational thinking processes of those overwhelmed by greed or drink and the explanations they give themselves for their actions.I am starting a personal David Adams Richards Fan Club. After reading Mercy Among the Children and The Bay of Love and Sorrows I can safely say that Richards is an incredible, amazing writer who deserves a wider audience - and a fan club.Very Highly Recommended; http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
I'm thinking that the far East Coast of Canada is kind of like our version of Appalachia or the South. Dark twisted stories seem to brew out of these region of our friends from the North who have graced us with Tim Hortons, Propagahndi, and Alex Trebek (yes, those are the big three cultural exports from Canada, you can take it from me I got a B plus in my Introduction to Canada class in college). The book is a sweeping family drama set in a small New Brunswick river town. The central actors in the drama are members of two Black Irish families who hated each other in Ireland and then found themselves living next to each other in a small Canadian town as the more wretched of the wretched families. One family begins to better themselves and the other continues to seethe in hatred and envy. Add to the mix of these two feuding families is an Iago-esque figure with a penchant for lying but with the curious inability to ever realize he is lying who is also more than a little envious of the rising fortunes of one of the families. Mix these characters together and throw in some other unsavory elements, some dark secrets and murders and you get a novel that has most of the elements of a Greek Tragedy mixed with, well, Shakespearean intrigues. That's my book report. Oh, and there is a lot of GIN drinking going on in this book. This is the kind of book that I think Karen would love to read, and everyone knows that Karen likes good stuff, right? So, since she hasn't read this yet, you'll just have to take this a proxy Karen recommendation until she does read it, and hopefully like it (or maybe not, and I'm wrong), and when she writes a better, more entertaining and possibly more informative review than this one.
What do You think about River Of The Brokenhearted (2004)?
�historical sweep from a great storyteller�. He used 5 words when one would do. This book was a slow read. I stopped at 3/4 of the way through because I really didn�t care how it ended.
—Mary
I was one of the brokenhearted while reading this. It is true that DAR has quite the sense of humour, but there is nothing funny about the stories the characters have to tell, even when they are at their funniest, which is to say, drunk. I am not shocked by the depravity one can find in a small town, but in this small town, every day things, like going to school or the barber shop are tinged with nastiness. The writing is incredibly good, saving me from putting the book down. The only problem I had with it is that I can't remember where Cassie came from. All of a sudden she was just there and playing a huge role. I guess this can be forgiven in a narrative so well crafted. I love that Wendell King is visiting graves and doing research on his ancestors, which I do all the time. I have been lucky enough to find no one brokenhearted - so far.
—Stacy
I enjoyed this book as much as Mercy Among The Children. David Adams Richards writes a good story that gets you involved from the beginning and keeps you involved all along the way. It is similar in theme to Mercy in that it takes place along the Miramichi River in New Brunswick and is narrated by someone whose father was bullied in childhood and relates the effect that has had on the family. It spans two generations which brings the story all together. Some may find the story relentlessly disheartening with the mean-spirited people, but the brilliance of Richards writing is how he keeps you interested and waiting to see what the final outcome will be. He has become one of my favourite Canadian authors.
—Ted
