Genre Fiction
![Shelley Read - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B0BM8QND7V.jpg)
Go as a River: A Novel
Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival-and hope-for readers of Great Circle, The Four Winds, and Where the Crawdads Sing
"Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature…. Completely unforgettable." -Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
"A splendid American Gothic tale of a young woman broken by circumstances who must find a way to forgive before she can love."-Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone
Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado-the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.
Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland-its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.
Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home-where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river-gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.
"Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature…. Completely unforgettable." -Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
"A splendid American Gothic tale of a young woman broken by circumstances who must find a way to forgive before she can love."-Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone
Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado-the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.
Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland-its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.
Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home-where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river-gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.
Editorial Reviews
"Shelley Read has written a splendid American Gothic tale of a young woman broken by circumstances who must find a way to forgive before she can love. Victoria Nash is a character for the ages as she navigates loss and despair on the road to redemption. The vast plains and desert canyons of her Colorado home are filled with ghosts until a mysterious drifter arrives and changes the course of her life forever. Go as a River is a stunning debut set in the soul of the American dream."-Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone
"Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature, and when she lends it to a woman leading a hardscrabble life in rural Colorado, the result is tragic, uplifting - and completely unforgettable."-Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
"In Go as a River, Shelley Read delivers a heartbreaking and uplifting tale of a girl becoming a woman in a man's world. Young Victoria Nash is as tough and resilient as the Colorado mountains where she takes refuge, and as tender as the peaches that are her family legacy. Book clubs will love this redemptive story."-Tiffany Quay Tyson, author of The Past Is Never
"Completely spellbinding, vivid, and luminous."-Jane Green, author of Sister Stardust
"Shelley Read's devastatingly beautiful debut, Go as a River, delivers so very much: the tenderness and curiosity of young love, the eternal pangs of loss, the brutality of racism, the sustaining power of nature even in the face of man's destruction, and the precarious miracle of a mother's love. Suffused with wisdom and compassion, this shattering testimony to life is one to be savored, treasured, shared."-Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris
"Read delicately unfurls the growing attraction between Torie and Wil, set against vicious bigotry toward Native Americans. Their love is the "small fateful twist" that forever changes the trajectory of Torie's life. With delicate precision, Read evokes both Colorado's rugged wilderness and the landscapes of her characters' troubled hearts. An auspicious debut."-
"Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature, and when she lends it to a woman leading a hardscrabble life in rural Colorado, the result is tragic, uplifting - and completely unforgettable."-Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
"In Go as a River, Shelley Read delivers a heartbreaking and uplifting tale of a girl becoming a woman in a man's world. Young Victoria Nash is as tough and resilient as the Colorado mountains where she takes refuge, and as tender as the peaches that are her family legacy. Book clubs will love this redemptive story."-Tiffany Quay Tyson, author of The Past Is Never
"Completely spellbinding, vivid, and luminous."-Jane Green, author of Sister Stardust
"Shelley Read's devastatingly beautiful debut, Go as a River, delivers so very much: the tenderness and curiosity of young love, the eternal pangs of loss, the brutality of racism, the sustaining power of nature even in the face of man's destruction, and the precarious miracle of a mother's love. Suffused with wisdom and compassion, this shattering testimony to life is one to be savored, treasured, shared."-Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris
"Read delicately unfurls the growing attraction between Torie and Wil, set against vicious bigotry toward Native Americans. Their love is the "small fateful twist" that forever changes the trajectory of Torie's life. With delicate precision, Read evokes both Colorado's rugged wilderness and the landscapes of her characters' troubled hearts. An auspicious debut."-
Readers Top Reviews
Christy H
Just as a single rainstorm can erode the bank and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl's life erase who she was before'. Life for Victoria Nash, growing up on a peach farm in rural Colorado is pretty ordinary. Left motherless at 12 years of age, she quietly stepped into her shoes; fulfilling the role of homemaker without having had time to be taught it. One day, a chance encounter with a stranger, Wil Moon, and her life is changed; simultaneously doors are opened and they are shut, 'But it is often the small fateful twist that can alter our lives more profoundly...' No longer satisfied with life as she has lived it, she realises that her life was a stagnate pond of preconceived ideas and judgements, and heeds Wil's advice to 'go as a river': to keep moving, wash over obstacles, change course if forced to and repulse agains the banks which define and shape you. 'Go as a River' is a beautiful coming of age. We follow Victoria's journey from a motherless, aimless teenager to a strong, self-sufficient woman who has known sacrifice and hardship but has found the inner-strength to move on and do better. Shelley Read has a lovely way with words and has somehow managed to relate a story which is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I was so invested in Victoria's journey, that I would have appreciated an epilogue to see how the rest of her life turned out. Nevertheless, reading this story will give you pause for thought and reflection upon your own life choices.
mamacappsreads
This book is a wonderful example of lyrical, beautiful writing and excellent storytelling. I love coming of age stories and the main character here, Victoria, demonstrates so much resilience as she grows from a 17 year old in love for the first time to a capable, independent woman. This is not a light, flowery read. This is a tragic story with a lot of trauma and heartache but it still manages to be hopeful. While I enjoyed the whole story, I especially liked the last quarter of the book. The voice changes and my heart was really touched by that change. This was not a propulsive, I can’t put this down kind of book for me. Instead it slowly and steadily moved through Victoria’s life and I really enjoyed that slower pace and think it matched the life she was living.
Shirley McAllister
The time spans the 1940's to the 1970's. The place is a small town in Colorado. A family tragedy takes the mother of the family leaving the father to cope and raise his son and daughter. He does not cope well and the running of the household is left to his daughter Victoria. At seventeen Victoria is in desperate need of her mother. She is young and naive and when she meets a young boy new to town she is taken in by him. It is however a forbidden romance and because of it tragedy strikes. Victoria runs away and in the forests of Colorado she learns what it is to become an adult and the responsibilities she faces for her actions. Although it is a tragedy that changes many lives and especially that of Victoria she learns love and forgiveness and meets the world with courage and determination. I listened to the audio book and the pleasant voice of the narrator. It was a great story the narrator did a wonderful job and I enjoyed listening to it. Thanks to Shelley Read for writing a great story, to Cynthia Farrell for the great narration, to Orange Sky Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to listen to and review.
Sarah Walder
This book was heartbreaking and beautiful. Such a fantastic story with incredible writing. I just loved Victoria and watching her rise up through struggles and getting to see her redemption.
FlowerChildReads
Go As A River is the story of Victoria (Tori) Nash in 1940’s Colorado who has lost her mother at a young age and is forced to become the only woman to care for her father, brother, and ailing uncle on their farm. A chance meeting with Wilson Moon, a young Native American boy, becomes a friendship and eventually a clandestine romance. Tori is warned by her family against associating with Wil. What follows is both heartbreaking and uplifting. The lyrical writing carries the reader through the hardships, loss, and pain. The landscape is harsh, unforgiving, and the place Tori escapes to for solace. I was immediately drawn into the story, and didn’t come up until the last page was turned. Read does an excellent job with the complexities in the relationships, letting the story unfold at a pace that seems organic. It’s a story of resilience, of perseverance, of blind faith against all odds. It’s about grief, forgiveness of others and ourselves. I highly recommend for those that read literary fiction, for book clubs and buddy reads. I can’t wait to see what Shelley Read writes next as I think she’s definitely an author to watch. Thank you to Spiegal & Grau, Shelley Read, and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.
