It's been decades since I last read a novel by Wally Lamb, so when I heard that his first novel in 9 years was soon to be released, I jumped at the chance to get an early copy of it. "The River is Waiting" is a hard-hitting, all-encompassing novel that hits on a number of pressing issues - many of which are still prevalent today.

In 2019, Corbin "Corby" Ledbetter is a struggling husband and father. Unemployed since his layoff as a designer, he's doing his best to juggle the responsibilities as the primary caretaker to his twins Maisie and Niko, all the while keeping his growing dependence on alcohol and overuse of benzodiazepines from his wife Emily. Things come to a head when an initial oversight becomes a life-shattering consequence, and Corby is sentenced to three years in prison at the Yates Correctional Facility. In those three years, Corby forcibly enters an entirely different world, with its own rules (or lack thereof) and systems and must adapt in order to survive. Despite the brutality and frequent inhumane treatment of the prisoners, Corby does find small windows of hope and consistency to hold onto - but his doubt on what his future looks like continues to be the question of all.

The novel focuses on the incarceration system and the many injustices and inequities present - both in terms of the cruel and inhumane treatment of those imprisoned, the deplorable conditions and resources offered, and the inconsistent sentencing made based on factors like race, wealth, and privilege. Corby's experience brings to light the lack of governance and oversight on the correctional officers, and how little can be done when they abuse their power and mistreat those they're meant to oversee. Lamb also covers difficult topics like white supremacy, and the prevalence of it dating back to the forcible taking of Native American land and territory; the lack of support for those with mental illness and substance dependency; and how poorly supported those who go through the prison system are both during and after their sentence.

This is certainly not a light-hearted novel, but in between the darkness, Lamb sprinkles moments of hope and joy - we see Corby overcome many of his initial demons and forge strong friendships and bonds with fellow inmates as he grapples with the guilt of his actions and decisions. It is a bittersweet, emotional journey as we follow along both his triumphs and failures and his gradual character growth and self-awareness. Very much a recommended read when "The River is Waiting" is published in May 2025!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! Wally Lamb is a LEGAND and it has been years since I have read any novels by him. After devouring "The River Is Waiting" I will need to pick up more of his books.

Boldly written and raw, with so much detail about the correctional institutions in America. I could not soak up enough knowledge!

My only red-flag would be the Covid-19 talk. I understand that it hit prisons hard, but it felt like it was bringing a 2024 novel too far into the past, when everyone just wants to forget about the quarantine.

No spoilers ….
And instead of a more normal type review that I might write — I suggest ‘read the blurb’. It’s all any reader needs to know ahead of time.
Frankly, I’m absolutely thrilled that I had not read one review.
Going in ‘mostly’ blind with this emotionally charged novel is the best way!!!

So… I’ll leave some tidbits from notes taken — (all out of context) …

“Forgot to turn off the burner and the friggin smoke alarm started wailing, so —“

“Any explanation for why your pupils would have been so dilated this morning?”

….Corbin (Corby) left college just short of his degree.
….Got laid off from a job, and came home drunk to the twins birthday party.

Corby was taking (prescribed) Ativan for anxiety. He had been nervous about their finances since being laid off — but he took more pills of Ativan than what the doctor prescribed.

Corby said he had been having trouble sleeping.

“Addicts get to be really good liars” . . .

….Letters exchanged
….Sketchbooks,
….Art supplies,
….Photos of Maisie
….Lucky River Stone
….Haunting memories
Building B, first floor
Connecticut Yates Correctional facility
….Seek the light . . .
….A giraffe family story, with illustrations - pterodactyls?
….A big wall painting - a mural
in the library.
….Native women and men going about their lives like those peasants in the painting . . .
….Coping with confusion of emotions… sorrow anger, despair, love . . .

….He tells me he’s an art agent in New York, but has been in Stonington Village for the past few days, doing some appraisals for an antique dealer. (hope & possibilities)

“Being able to design and paint the mural was the best thing that’s happened to me here. I wasn’t all that comfortable with the attention I got at the reception, but I survived and was grateful, most of all to Fagie Millman, the Yates librarian. She’s been my champion.

“When that judge came out of her chambers with her decision, she said some sentences were easy to decide, others kept her up at night, and mine was one of the ladder ones. My decision is that you are to be incarcerated for a period of three years with another three years of probation to follow. Then she pounded her gavel and left the courtroom”.

I’m saying -NO MORE!!!!
Other than…..
If this book doesn’t become a number one (#1) best seller next year, I will eat my hat!
It’s THE BEST!!!!!
Discussions will be happening globally!!!

Some books ask us to pause to highlight excepts —
Other books flow sooooo effortlessly— we don’t even realize we’re reading. We forget to highlight because we are soooo IN THE MOMENT!!

Wally Lamb is a very gifted storyteller. I’ve read every book he’s published.
He hasn’t published a book in nine years. The waiting was more than worth it.

Top to the charts….
“The River is Waiting” will be published May 7, 2025

Highly recommended to anyone who has read a Wally Lamb novel.
And to everyone else who hasn’t.
It’s horrifically sad — beautifully written — almost ‘old school’ unruffled free-flowing writing…..
A storytelling masterpiece!!!

Wally Lamb is an incredible author. I had the rare opportunity to hear him speak at a library conference several years ago, and it made a lasting impression on me. He truly is exceptional.

In this narrative, he expresses profound emotions while vividly illustrating themes of grief, life in prison, and the shortcomings of a flawed system. The story provides a touching glimpse into the human experience, fostering empathy and understanding of how individuals deal with tragedy and pursue redemption. The heart-wrenching premise of a father unintentionally causing his child's death evokes strong emotions and moral conflicts, prompting readers to contemplate the essence of forgiveness and the chance of discovering solace after unimaginable loss.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended first purchase, particularly for collections where Lamb's previous titles were popular.

I was excited to get the latest ARC from Wally Lamb. I’ve been a fan from the first book. He really is a great writer and knows how to suck you in. I had a hard time putting this book down once I started it. It will probably stay with me for a while.

The book is about a young family with twins. The father loses his job and becomes a stay at home dad who starts to drink and abuse prescription benzodiazepines. A tragic event occurs and the whole family has to cope and pay the consequences for what happened.

There is a lot going on in the book and I kept turning pages as I wanted to know what happened. There are some really good characters in the book and you learn about each of them.

Even though I loved this book, I felt the author tried to touch on too many subjects that are or were in the headlines. He wanted to cover all the social ills like homosexuality and the AIDS epidemic, Trump, police brutality, COVID, suicide, the opioid crisis, the unfair treatment of minorities in the prison system, and the treatment of native Americans. It felt like a little too much IMHO. He wasn’t over the top about it but he really made sure to cover all the bases. Not sure why he felt the need to put all that in one book.

That being said, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

Wally Lamb has been one of my favorite authors for decades so to say that I was excited to read his newest book is an understatement. This book did not disappoint. The River Is Waiting is a story of addiction, of loss, of survival and of redemption. We get to know Corby as a young father who's been down on his luck for some time - laid off from his job and unable to find work for more than a year, turning to drugs and alcohol to get through the day as he feels the judgement of everyone around him (whether real or imagined). When Corby's son dies because of his actions he's forced to make a decision whether to deny his role in the death or to come clean and finally take some responsibility for his actions. If you're reading this, you probably know where this is going. You know that Corby goes to prison and you know that Corby absolutely deserves to be there. We spend the last three-quarters of the book reading about the realities of prison life and are forced to contemplate the very difficult questions of redemption and recovery as we sit side-by-side with Corby in various corners of those old prison walls.
This is a novel that will stay with you, that will take you to another place - sometimes one you'd rather not visit but you know you've just got to be there. It's a novel that will help you see humanity in even the darkest places. And that is exactly why I love Wally Lamb.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.

I mean, Wow.

The River is Waiting is my pick for my top read of 2024. I expect fully that this will be a runaway hit of 2025 when it is published.

From page one, Wally Lamb drew me in. I could not put this book down and I've had a slump of a reading year.

I devoured this book in two days. At times, I had to set it down for a moment and just absorb. At times my heart was just breaking.

I'm not really sure how I feel about the last chapters, I'll need some time to dwell on that. But man oh man, this is not a book I will be forgetting any time soon. I highly, highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book contained so many important topics that it's hard to include everything. Among these are:addiction, prison conditions and racism. Sometimes when an author covers so many areas it can feel forced, like they had a checklist of areas to include. Wally Lamb expertly crafts his way through it all. So well written and thought provoking. Is there any act so horrible that a person can not be forgiven? I found myself going back and forth with feeling angry and sympathetic with Corby, the main character. A perfect choice for book clubs. This one will stay with me for awhile.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wally Lamb is back! Compelling, engaging, could not put this down. A must-read, though at times difficult to swallow, this will be a perfect addition to book club discussions.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the opportunity to read The River is Waiting in exchange for my honest review.

This is a tragic, heartwrenching story that is written so beautifully by Wally Lamb. I am a very slow reader, but when I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it and what was going to happen next. The story is told mostly from Corby's perspective as he goes through life and the trials of love, marriage, family, addiction, and a tragedy that ultimately leads Corby to prison. I found myself in tears a few times as the characters in this story were very relatable.

The River is Waiting is one that I will stick with me for a long time. I give this all five stars and would give more if I could.

This story took me on a roller coaster of emotions. These emotions did not allow me to put the book down. Corby Ledbetter engaged in actions that resulted in the death of his son which landed him in prison. He lost his job, and his wife. While in prison he experienced acts of kindness from his cellmate and the prison librarian. This was a great reminder that although men/ women are in prison they are human and worthy of kindness

#AMustRead #TheRiverIsWaiting

I love Wally Lamb’s writing and was thrilled to receive this arc. I was not disappointed! This is a heartbreaking tale of a father who accidentally runs over and kills his young son while under the influence. It is so tragic for everyone involved. The father goes to prison as punishment and the story details the ups and downs of his time there. The characters are authentic and well/drawn. The writing is phenomenal and the story very difficult but also mesmerizing. This was a joy to read from start to finish and will be a huge hit with book clubs next year.

Man, this one was a tour de force. I will be thinking about this novel for a long time. Though some of the subject matters were difficult, this will bring out the most empathic emotions in us all.

Absolutely gripping story written in a way that instills instant empathy for the characters. Left me crying for hours after the last page.

Another heart wrenching, emotionally charged Wally Lamb novel! A father accidentally kills his baby son and the family must now deal with the fallout. It was difficult reading at times due to the subject matter, but overall a good book. Thanks for the advance read.

This was a tough read for me. The subject matter was extremely difficult to imagine (a tragedy beyond words) and the remaining topics of drug/alcohol dependency struggles, prison inadequacies, and tracing of patterns all the way back to the founding of our nation showing the consistency of mans inhumanity to man-made it really tough! I'm glad I stuck it out as Wally Lamb is an excellent writer and the characters were amazing. Being able to connect with each character, their experiences and their resulting reactions carried the reader through a very deep and emotional storyline, allowing the ability to see different viewpoints and better understand experiences most of us likely already have opinions about which may surprise many to be completely off track until we have the ability to "walk in the shoes of another" as this story allowed. I honestly almost stopped reading it several times, but I'm glad I finished it, as it gave me a lot to consider regarding our society.

(4.5 stars) Another memorable book from Wally Lamb. This time, he has used his familiarity with correctional institutions to write a wholly believable book about prison and the human experience. Lamb remains a very good writer. This is an very readable book that takes readers’ emotions for a ride…mostly an enjoyable ride, although it often lands in dark places. When I tried to pass this book along to my husband, he said he wasn’t interested because Wally Lamb’s books are “too depressing”. Thinking on this, I find I have to agree, although this didn’t (and won’t) keep me from reading Lamb’s books. It’s the curse of literary fiction – real life is often messy and, yes, depressing, and it doesn’t end well…for anyone. A bad ending doesn’t keep us from striving everyday to enjoy life, however, and it won’t keep me from enjoying Wally Lamb’s books.

The River is Waiting is a good old-fashioned novel, featuring memorable characters, a compelling storyline and an emotional ending. It will appeal to a wide range of readers and will challenge those readers’ opinions of prisons and the people in them, many of whom are, if not innocent, are at deserving of our sympathies. Literature that generates empathy towards others holds the potential to change lives, and this is one such work. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for providing this eARC in exchange for my opinion.

Wow! Heartbreaking story but like all other Wally Lamb's book - fantastic! So well-written and thought out. Great characters - you really feel for them and what they are going through. It's like you are right there with them experiencing it all.

I couldn't put this one down until I finished it - seriously, I stayed up until 3:00 am. I've seen this word used so often to describe books, "unputdownable" and have never used it in a review. This book was UNPUTDOWNABLE!

A must read for 2025.

Thank you #netgalley and #Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Book for the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The River is Waiting is the story of Corby Ledbetter, a father who makes a life-altering mistake that consequently sends him to prison. While pining for his wife and child waiting for him on the outside, Corby meets people in prison who will teach him things that completely change his outlook on life.

While the premise of the book was intriguing to me, especially Corby as a morally gray character, I had a bit of an issue with the writing style. especially the dialogue. It didn’t read as a natural speaking style to me. Also, this was my first Wally Lamb book but for all the praise I’ve seen for this book and his other books, I expected a little more nuance and depth overall.

Corby does experience a lot of growth throughout the book. If you like slice-of-life literary fiction, and/or reading about prison life, I would recommend this to you. It wasn’t a great book for me personally but I seem to be in the minority on that opinion.