Welcome to Litsy!

Atmospheric and haunting, the story of a kidnapped girl, and a dead girl who lives again. And a very special pig.

This moody, dreamy novel of a young mute child saved from drowning, the three missing girls she might be, the people who want her to be theirs, and those involved in saving her is very much a typical Setterfield novel. It is well written and centers the power of storytelling. The end is a bit quick but er all, this is well worth the read. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-once-upon-river-by-diane.html

Being from a town not far from that river, I know Cricklade, Lechlade, and Oxford. It is a strange place full of strange people. This put me in mind of the Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, Philip Pullman‘s La Belle Sauvage, Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth, English Settlement by XTC, the books of Angela Carter and the work of PJ Harvey. Tall ish gothic tales told in pubs up and down the Thames, about life and death, animals and the river.

#StorySettings #River
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

#storysettings #river
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
On my tottering TBR pile.

Kristen! Thank you so much for the book and the bookmark! I‘m so excited to read this one!

Also, don‘t feel bad. I am so behind on #litsylove letters! I also didn‘t even originally know there was a giveaway for #lastfirst so it was a lovely surprise!

#wondrouswednesday Thanks for the tag @Eggs !
1) I have a fondness for the 1920s
2) tagged
3) According to my tracking apps possibly It by Stephen King

Heading to Key West for my run on Sunday and found this down the long terminal to the small planes, which I rarely, if ever, end up on. And I thought I should start a new book for the trip too.

My first read of the year is probably one of those love it or hate it books, but I definitely loved it. It reads like a fairy tale for adults, but just when you think it‘s going to veer off into magical realism, it offers grounded explanations for everything that you can choose to believe (or not if you want to subscribe to a more fanciful interpretation of events).

#lastfirst I wanted to take a break from my current read & squeeze in one last book in 2023 that had a New Year‘s Eve vibe. My plan was to reread Lillian Boxfish, but it seems I don‘t actually own a copy?!! (don‘t worry I ordered one 😆). Luckily the universe provided & my Libby hold of Rules of Civility fortuitously showed up several weeks early. So it will be my last book of the year, & I‘ll return to Once Upon A River as my first book of 2024.

There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a day‘s walk from the source. #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I finally got a little kitty foot warmer to come over here while I read my new book which is good because I‘m completely engrossed by this story, but it‘s making me sooooo cold! I had to take a break after the first few chapters and get into a hot bath cause even under all the blankets I was shivering. 🥶

Loved the start of this with its ghost story/ mystery vibes, but then it felt like the story took off downstream and left its author behind. Late Victorian Oxfordshire, a young girl washes up in the arms of a stranger & half the community covets & claims her. Grief. Beautiful sentence-level work, but plot wanders away. Refrain: SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. So give it to us, already. 2018

Ok, so this was a lovely book. It‘s beautifully written, and it‘ll give you many feels. Howeverrrrr it gives very strong fairy tale vibes (not in the sense that it was young, but the whole magical realism thing just has a certain flow), and that‘s not what I was in the mood for. I planned on going back to it, but it‘s been months since I “took a break” and it‘s time to call it. Maybe next year?

A girl appears dead on a stormy night and comes back to life, three different people claim is their missing girl all having lost one to the river. A mystery full of magic realism and little charming details, a fairy tale for adults with characters very well drawn; some very tough themes are dealt with very subtly and delicately. ⬇️

Great audiobook!!

One winter solstice a little girl disappears from her home, two years later on the winter solstice a little girl reappears in the village. Is it the same girl? Three families claim her- does she belong to any of them? This story is as much about the river as the people who live upon it and as such it meanders its way through the lives and backgrounds of a lot of characters. ⬇️

#12BooksOf2022

August‘s pick is Once Upon a River which I inhaled and thought was pure perfection from the first page to the last. Reading it felt as if the author had peered into my brain, discovered exactly what type of story I love the most and then did me the great favor of writing it. Absolutely love this story that celebrates the magic, awesome power, wonder, and beauty of stories and storytelling.

@Andrew65

I loved this book, it‘s almost like a modern fairytale, telling the tale of an unknown young girl rescued from the River Thames in Oxfordshire one dark night.

#AdventRecommends
@emilyrose_x

Lovely list @mrsmarch ! I‘ve already read City of Brass and the adult version of Stamped. I have Once Upon a River on audio and All That She Carried in print, so I‘ll start there. This is the second time my #auldlangspine list has had You Should See Me in a Crown, so I definitely feel I should read that one! I‘m looking forward to diving in! Thank you for running the show @monalyisha !

#Two4Tuesday

1. Tagged—maybe my favorite book of the year.

2. The short unhelpful answer is everything—I liked everything about it. The better answer is that the writing was fantastic and more than that, I loved the way the author told the story.

@TheSpineView

Every so often you come across a book that reads as if the author tapped directly into your reading brain, saw all the things you love about stories, and wrote something just for you. This is such a book for me. I loved everything about it—the writing, the story & the way in which it was told, the characters…just everything. I loved that it is a celebration of the wonder, mystery, & power of stories & storytelling. Excellent & highly recommended.

Grabbing a few minutes of quiet reading in between the errands and packing for college. I am LOVING this book, every word warrants your attention and there is no skipping or skimming here. So good—the setting, the mood, the unfurling of the mystery, and, of course, the ever present celebration of storytelling and the power it has.

Starting this one tonight…

• TBR since July 2, 2018
So glad that I finally picked this up.

A dark midwinter‘s night. The Swan, an ancient inn on the banks of the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the corpse of a drowned child. Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can it be explained by science?

Nearly Bailed on this in the early stage - due more to a gnarly reading slump rather than the quality of the writing/plot - I'm so glad I stuck with it as it is quite delightful. A well told, enthralling tale with some fantastic characters & a touch of magic. As it unfolded its layers to me, I became more & more bewitched. I loved Rita - I related to her in some deeply personal & moving ways. Good ending too, resolution AND a touch of mystery.

This was tough. First, I had to pick a book for the month. The Taking of Jemima Boone or Louisa May Alcott‘s Hospital Sketches were also amazing, recommendable reads. I went with a book that was amazing and also accessible, being a YA book. But then I had to choose between Straight on Til Morning and Empire of Pain. EoP was a slog but an accessible slog, and an important slog. I‘ve talked about it SO MUCH since reading it. But I know it would👇🏻

Not sure what to say about this book. It was interesting, but didn‘t pull me in. The ending was reasonably satisfying (in a “no clear answers” kind of way). It relied heavily on a pet peeve of mine, POV characters knowing/realizing something but that information being deliberately kept from the reader until later.

#TBRPile 📚 “There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a long day‘s walk from the source.”

On the night of the winter solstice an injured man arrives at The Swan, an ancient inn on the banks of the Thames, with a dead girl in his arms. A little later she is alive but unable to speak and no one knows for sure who she is. This was beautifully written with a bit of magical realism.

My #doublespin for April @TheAromaofBooks

Starting this one today. Two nice cover variations here but I think I prefer the one on the left.

The Swan at Radcot, local watering hole and ancient inn, where strong ale is poured and stories are told. Wonderful book.

#Pub #SavvySettings
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This was a tough #bracket. Both books were excellent, but I can imagine myself recommending Once Upon A River to a wider group of people.

This is one of those once in a blue moon books where you are really sad to finish it and also envious of anyone yet to discover it. It has absolutely incredible, poetic writing, not just in the characterisations, scenery and weather but overall a complete sense of inclusion with that time period. You actually feel like part of the crowd, or I did. It is one of my all time favourite reads.

Finished the tagged book and thus completed February‘s double spin. ENGROSSING. I brought my Kindle but also bought Grim Reader yesterday, so in a fit of vacation reading I will tackle some cozy mysteries. #bookspin

Feb Finished:
Missing of Clairdelune — so good!
Once Upon a River — EXTRA GOOD!
King‘s Mountain — decent
Trials of Phillis Wheatley — eh, decent

DNF So Many Beginnings — sad 😔

TBR: Grim Reader, Fatal Fried Rice

2.5⭐️ I didn‘t like nor did I understand what the book was about; found it confusing as to what the storyline was. I thought the book was too long. May need a reread in the future. #fiction #2021 #historicalfiction #magicalrealism #bookreview #bookstagram #fantasy

Was my #bookspin book for October

There was once an inn that sat peacefully on the bank of the Thames at Radcot, a long day‘s walk from the source.

#firstlinefridays

My goals are to work on my #bookspin (the tagged book) and #doublespin selections for #bookspinbingo

#outstandingoctober

This was a fun book. The writing is humorous in parts and reflective in the others. The banter between characters was really enjoyable.

The author kept up the mystery well and although it's not a life changing book, it's good enough to entertain you.

The last one hour of the book felt a little drawn out. But it doesn't hamper the reading experience.

Julia Stevenson's narration brought the characters to life. Makes for a good one time listen.

An injured man walks into a pub close to the river. He is carrying a girl who looks to be dead. Later in the day, the girl wakes up.

Setterfield has a way of telling a story that just pulls you in. Can‘t wait to read her next book.

Three Claims:
“The Leach, the Churn and the Coln all have their separate journeys before they join the Thames to swell its waters, and in similar fashion the Vaughans and the Armstrongs and Lily White had their own stories in the years and days before they became a part of this one. But join it they did, and now we come to the meeting of the waterways. “

Walking Fort Hill in my hometown on Cape Cod while listening to my book.

Listening and puzzling. Laugh all you want. The only puzzles I am patient enough to do are tiny puzzles. On the plus side I finished a puzzle so I feel successful!🤪😜
How‘s your thousand piece puzzle coming along?🤣😂😅

Picked this up a while ago as a 99p deal and then never got round to reading it. I'm so very glad I finally did, I loved getting caught up in the mystery of the girl, who is she, where has she come from and is it really magic? The tantalising hints of stories kept me guessing and I thought I had it figured out until another twist had me rethinking! There are a lot of characters, but their distinct characteristics helps to keep them straight.

I went against the age old advice and chose this book because I fell in love with the design of its cover. Fortunately, the content was not too disappointing. The language is ornamented with metaphors, poetry and symbolism. The book is much like the river it draws so much from. It has its ups and downs, wild and gentle movements and touches different banks like mystery, mysticism, science and so on. It is a good casual read

I‘m glad I waited to read this one in winter, as it begins on a midwinter‘s night and, more importantly, has a winter‘s night‘s pace. Warm and slow, satisfying and pleasing, like a belly full of stew and feet before a fire and snow falling around. The narration is fantastic, but slow—I varied between 1x and 2x speed at times.

It took some time to get into but about a fourth of the way through it picked up a bit more. It was an unexpected who done it. Very enjoyable read after a stressful holiday weekend.

Thank you to @AmyG for this birthday happy! Thanks for thinking of me on my special day! I can‘t wait to read another Setterfield novel! ❤️❤️❤️ #litsylove

It had a great lead —-could not stop reading it. Then I was half through and for me it dragged. I put a bookmark 🔖 in it.....maybe I‘ll pick it up again. Not sure.