Fabulous imagery created in the mind's eye is testament to Mr Heller's writing skills. This is quite different my usual diet of whodunit/crime/police procedural but I found the book to be a refreshing as the woods and waters therein.

Another excellent book from the author of The Dog Stars. An easy read, but a fast-paced story. It would make a great movie.

Atmospheric, an adventure tale of two friends, you are definitely put in the story with them but I think you have to be in the right mindset to dive deep into the story and I wasn't really there. Otherwise, the language is beautiful.

I really liked this book! The story was as fast moving as the river, filled with great descriptions and imagery. There were enough detours, confusion, nature, and mystery to draw in any adventure-loving reader. Heller drew us into the mystery. On top of that, he did a masterful job of drawing the reader into the drama of man against nature. When I wasn’t worried about the characters surviving the vagaries of nature, I was worried about someone killing them in an ambush. Such a good, crazy ride of a book!

The River by Peter Heller


The prologue of this magnificent adventure story shows the reader that the coming tale will be more than a travelogue of two college kids on a canoe trip. Wynn and Jack have been smelling smoke for two days and they know that they’re approaching a forest fire – “who knew how far off or how big, but bigger than any they could imagine.” The prologue teases the reader with what’s to come via Wynn and Jack’s encounter with “two men and a plastic fifth of Ancient Age bourbon drunk on a summer morning.” In those first few pages, they also glimpse a couple they hear arguing. Through these brief foretastes, Peter Heller, the author of the spectacular Dog Stars and The Painter, offers glimpses of the troubles to come before he helps us know and care for protagonists Jack and Wynn.

Heller tells us that Jack, who grew up on a Colorado ranch, is grieving the death of his mother then shares how that grief feels. “When Jack got accepted at Dartmouth, his Dad said, ‘Your mother would be over the moon.’ Over the moon. She was over the moon. It was almost exactly how he had been thinking of her these past years. When he walked halfway to the horse barn on a cold night and stood in the frozen yard and watched the moon climb over Sheep Mountain, he sometimes whispered, ‘Hi, Mom.’ He wasn’t quite sure why, it just seemed that if she were to be anywhere it would be there. Maybe it was because his favorite book when he was very little was Goodnight Moon. She had read it to him over and over, and after she drowned he kept the battered copy on the little shelf above the bed and sometimes fingered the worn corners and flipped through it before he slept. And it was books he took solace in. When he wasn’t out on the ranch, or riding the lease, or fishing.”

At Dartmouth, he met Wynn and “He and Wynn had that in common, a literary way of looking at the world. Or at least a love of books, poetry or fiction or expedition accounts.” The two had met on a freshman orientation trip backpacking through the White Mountains. “Jack was startled. He’d never had conversations like this with another kid, and he’d never imagined anyone else his age would love to read as much as he did – especially a guy who seemed to be able to more than handle himself in the woods. They were best friends from that first day, and whatever else they were doing, they never went very long without trading books.”

As the two friends row their way through a Canadian wilderness, Heller presents us with unique, yet earthbound views of the trip. “His fly hit the water and was met with a small splash and tug. A hard tug, and Wynn’s spirit leapt and the rod tip doubled and quivered and he felt the trembling through his hand and arm and, it seemed, straight to his heart, where it surged a strong dose of joy into his bloodstream.”. . . “It was not a long fight and not a huge fish, but it was a fourteen-inch brown—who knew how they had come to live way up here – big enough, the first like him they’d seen, and with a gratitude and quiet joy he did not know he still had, he got the slapping fish up on the rocks and thanked him simply and thwacked him on a smooth stone and the golden trout went still. Phew. Lunch. A few more like that and they’d be set for the day.”

Despite their need to return to civilization quickly, Jack and Wynn turn around to warn the men and the couple about the impending fire and they find Mia, the woman they’d heard previously. She’d been left to die by her husband who now knew that they knew what he’d done so they were all targets with more than the fire to fear. Thus the novel turns from a simple adventure tale to a harrowing page-turner with the reader wondering if anyone will survive.

As they take turns sitting watch at night, each ponders their lives. Jack sits observing Wynn and thinks, “Wynn was an angel in a way. He slept usually as soon as his head hit the pillow or rolled up jacket, he slept easily and hard because, Jack figured, his conscience was clear and he had faith in the essential goodness of the earth and so felt cradled by it.
Imagine. That’s what Jack thought. Imagine feeling that way. Like God had you in the palm of his hand or whatever.”. . . “It sort of awed Jack. Sometimes, usually, it made him crazy.”

The River is part thriller, part adventure tale, and part elegy. The sum of those parts is an extraordinary view of what’s important in life. It’s simply spectacular.

Summing it Up: The River’s exquisite sentences celebrate nature and epitomize the best aspects of true friendship. It’s a thriller. It’s an outdoor lover's dream of an adventure tale. It’s quite simply one great novel.

Rating: 5 stars
Category: Fiction, Five Stars, Gourmet, Grandma’s Pot Roast, Book Club
Publication date: March 5, 2019
Author Website: http://www.peterheller.net/
Read an Excerpt: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576820/the-river-by-peter-heller/
Reading Group Guide: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576820/the-river-by-peter-heller/9780525521877/readers-guide/
What Others are Saying:
Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-heller/the-river-heller/
Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-52187-7
“Using an artist’s eye to describe Jack and Wynn’s wilderness world, Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist Heller has transformed his own outdoor experiences into a heart-pounding adventure that’s hard to put down.” –Library Journal (Starred Review)

The River is a thrilling, intense slow-burn of a novel that pits the ingenuity and heart of humanity against the great outdoors.

I wish the characters of Wynn and Jack had been fleshed out a little more to allow for a connection with the characters. Felt at times this was more of an instructional manual about canoeing, camping, rivers, etc. that bogged down the slow-burn, suspenseful plot.

Ok, so parts of this I loved because it felt very faced paced and then other parts seemed way too slow and descriptive. Still thought it was a good story and would recommend to patrons of the library.

This is a great adventure book. What starts as a nice trip down the river for two friends turns into a much scarier adventure that threatens their lives. This is a fast paced book that you won't want to put down.

The River is a heartrending novel about friendship, loyalty, and endurance with unforgettable characters. The sense of place is vivid. But the danger that Jack and Wynn face is palpable. It’s hard to put this book down as mounting tension, suspense, and desperation accelerate. The shocking conclusion will leave you stunned.

The River will appeal to readers of outdoor adventure and survival books.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Heller does an amazing job of making intense situations so real that the reader feels as though (s)he is experiencing them personally, while at the same time writing with such beauty that the reader is inclined to slow down and experience the language. This push-pull between fast-paced highly engaging plot and slowing for intentional appreciation of glorious writing adds to the tension the author creates. Heller has always written amazing prose about fly-fishing, but in "The River" he places that pursuit in the midst of huge personal danger and in a highly unusual environment, which he describes exquisitely.

I'll leave it for others to recount the plot line, but the thing you should know is that you will not find such amazing writing in a thriller often. This is one to savor at the same time you find yourself flying through the pages to find out what happens.

Heller’s novel reminds me of LORD OF THE FLIES in its exploration of human nature and outdoor nature. And it reminded me of Hemingway’s short story: THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO. The dialogue is one of my favorite parts of Heller’s novel, and it had the flavor of Hemingway (for me). Realistic, maybe a little awkward, stripped down — and an understanding between the characters (we know each other, we don’t need to over-explain) and a trust of the reader (you’re smart, I don’t need to relay the backstory via over-done dialogue)

This is an enjoyable, well-written book.
I found the plot to be slow at first but was well paced once the action started to pick up.
It contains lots of interesting themes: the violence that people are capable of; man vs. nature; the impact of choices; how a person's past colors his/her world-view.
I wish there was more development of the side characters, but for the length of the book, it is a solid read.

This book was not my cup of tea. But it's been getting so many great reviews from others, so it might be for you. It was a bit slow and because of the way it was written I didn't feel like I had empathy for the characters as much as I do during very character driven books. It is very short so it is a quick read, despite not loving it.

The perfect summer read! Peter Heller does not disappoint. Anyone with an imagination could conjure the scenario - hearing something while in a remote part of the woods. Wondering what it was? Should confrontations be had? We all know how quickly things can take a turn for the worse. This is a survival title at it's best!

After the first few introductory chapters, the suspense just keeps building until the end. The descriptions of place and conditions were excellent. Actually, just a bit over the top in some areas, like kinds of fishing lures! And the two main characters were very well fleshed out. Enjoyed this one!

Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.

There is arresting action and nature writing in this book, but I took a strong antipathy against the lead character. Jack has extremely dim view of human nature and is proved right at every turn, which may reflect the beliefs of the author.

Heller writes novels and nonfiction like his life depends on each sentence. This novel meanders between the relationship of two Dartmouth friends, Jack and Wynn, in the peak condition of their youth, canoeing the sublime Canadian river system and the terryfing wilderness fire that threatens their lives. To complicate the danger they face from the ominous fire, the young men intervene in a deadly domestic dispute between a husband and wife and the two friends react and behave in polar opposition to each other, Being out in the wilderness with one's best friend, fly-fishing, attuned to each other's rhythm and cadence is bliss, yet in this novel, the dazzling and blinding beauty of an exquisite river adventure turns the elastic nature of time into fight or flight for two friends who share a deep and poetic connection to each other,

OMG! OMG! WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!! This was my first book by this author. I didn't read the description, just the title grabbed me so I started to read and couldn't stop! It's amazing! The story is so very magnetic, with being outside on the river, beach, forest and water. You will love this action packed book. But that's not all it is. Heartfelt friendship, delightful detailed landscapes, wildlife every page and ruthless weather it's got all that with much much more. I laughed and cried because it was that very real. Trust me!! I will now go get this authors past books to read with relish.

A slow burn of a novel that draws you in to the story of friends Jack and Wynn like the heat draws one in to the campfire, or in this case, a forest fire. Heller's writing is a beautiful narrative of nature and friendship, with darker undertones foreshadowing what is to come. The threat of a forest fire pressures their long-awaited canoe trip but they encounter more than they bargained for in the woods.
Highly recommend for fans of Heller, nature, and suspense novels.