Time Is a River
February 9th, 2010
- ISBN13: 9781416546641
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
With a strong, warm voice that brings the South to life, New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe writes richly textured stories that intimately portray the complex and emotional relationships we share with families, friends, and the natural world. “Every book that Mary Alice Monroe has written has felt like a homecoming to me,” writes Pat Conroy, bestselling author of The Prince of Tides.
Time Is a River is an insightful novel that will sweep readers away to the seductive southern landscape, joining books by authors such as Anne Rivers Siddons and Sue Monk Kidd.
Recovering from breast cancer and reeling from her husband’s infidelity, Mia Landan flees her Charleston home to heal in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. She seeks refuge in a neglected fishing cabin belonging to her fly-fishing instructor, Belle Carson.
Belle recently inherited the cabin, which once belonged to a grandmother she never knew — the legendary fly fisher and journalist of the 1920s, Kate Watkins, whose life fell into ruins after she was accused of murdering her lover. Her fortune lost in the stock market crash and her reputation destroyed, Kate slipped into seclusion in the remote cabin. After her death the fishing cabin remained locked and abandoned for decades. Little does Belle know that by opening the cabin doors to Mia for a summer’s sanctuary, she will open again the scandal that plagued Belle’s family for generations.
From her first step inside the dusty cabin, Mia is fascinated by the traces of Kate’s mysterious story left behind in the eccentric furnishings of the cabin. And though Belle, ashamed of the tabloid scandal that tortured her mother, warns Mia not to stir the mud, Mia is compelled to find out more about Kate…especially when she discovers Kate’s journal.
The inspiring words of the remarkable woman echo across the years. Mia has been learning to fly-fish, and Kate’s wise words comparing life to a river resonate deeply. She begins a quest to uncover the truth behind the lies. As she searches newspaper archives and listens to the colorful memories of the local small-town residents, the story of a proud, fiercely independent woman emerges. Mia feels a strange kinship with the woman who, like her, suffered fears, betrayal, the death of loved ones, and a fall from grace — yet found strength, compassion and, ultimately, forgiveness in her isolation. A story timeless in its appeal emerges, with a power that reopens old wounds, but also brings a transforming healing for Mia, for Kate’s descendants, and for all those in Mia’s new community.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Despite the highly admirable connections to Casting for Recovery, a national program for women with or surviving breast cancer, this watery tome never rises above the unfortunately minimal standards of typical women’s fiction. There’s the usual “sisters in the struggle” sorts of female bonding and not a whole lot else. The characters are pasteboard with little appeal that can’t be found (and better!) in far too many other works of far more substantial merit. The comparisons to Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Rivers Siddons lack; the former is a far better character creatrix and storyteller, while the latter evokes sense of place lovingly and literately and too is a far better storyteller. While this reviewer stil finds it appalling that there needs to be a subgenre called “chicklit” (there is truly only one literature; the rest is merely scratches on paper), there is an absolutely huge demand for it, ‘twould seem. Readers would do far better to choose the books of Helen Fielding and Sophie Kinsella; their verve and dynamic humor raise them above subgenric considerations and so entirely outclass this present work.
Rating: 2 / 5
February 9th, 2010 at 4:46 am
…I really did …..to understand and care about Mia. I found it impossible to believe that ….in a state of complete disappointment, misery,…you name it …that although the offer to stay in the remote cabin owned by a friend might have seemed a recovery environment, a cabin with no phone, no TV, not much of any comforts of home plus being very remote would have been a comforting sanctuary. and….suddenly….a handsome, caring fly fisherman is just down the river and immediately the two…he and Mia…are as one….the whole story….including the ending seemed too contrived. I know many readers have given this a 5 star rating, I doubt I would have plowed on through to the end had I not been reviewing it for the Vine program.
Rating: 3 / 5
February 9th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Time is a River is the story of Mia Landan, a cancer survivor who goes to the mountains of North Carolina to a fly-fishing retreat. Led by Belle Carson, the retreat is called Casting for Recovery and provides both emotional healing and physical therapy as the women learn the art of fly-fishing. Mia feels that she has benefited by the experience and returns to her home in Charleston, South Carolina, where she discovers her husband, Charles in the arms of another woman.
Mia, stunned and in anguish returns to North Carolina. Belle Carson, offers to let her stay in an old mountain cabin that she owns. The cabin had belonged to Belle’s grandmother, Kate Watkins. When cleaning the cabin, Mia finds some old diaries and paintings that belonged to Kate and becomes involved with learning about Kate and the mystery of her life. Kate had also loved to fly-fish and had been considered one of the best in her day.
Mia continues to learn to fly-fish and also meets a charming fisherman who becomes a fishing buddy and perhaps something more. The fishing, new friendships and the life story of Kate Watkins, inspire Mia and give her the promise of a new life.
Rating: 4 / 5
February 9th, 2010 at 6:16 am
This isn’t a great book. But it is a good book. If you are looking for a read that you can bond with the characters, care about what happens to them, and not have to “work” to read this is the one. It is about a woman who has just finished her first year of treatment for breast cancer and then experiences her marriage falling apart. She goes to a remote cabin and becomes interested in a hobby (fly fishing) and a decades old mystery of a small town murder. The murder mystery, which is corrupted by the small town legend of it, is a subplot. As she tries to solve the mystery she also sorts out her own problems and emotions. Both plots work themselves out in predictable ways, but that doesn’t make the book less interesting. I liked it because I was looking for some “light” reading, and this fits the bill. For “light” reading it is well thought out and articulate. If you find yourself on the beach, or stuck at home during a snow storm this one is worth the time.
Rating: 4 / 5
February 9th, 2010 at 6:20 am
This book started a little awkwardly, but picked up steam around a hundred pages in. It is a great story about the journey to spiritual healing after the trauma of breast cancer. The plot was somewhat predictable, but the journey was surprisingly enjoyable. It was a delightful blend of fly fishing, personal healing, romance, and journalistic pursuits. I recommend if you want a quick, light read.
Rating: 3 / 5