Official Review: What the River Wants by Arthur Byrd

toribyers13 · Post by **toribyers13** » 05 May 2018, 20:45

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "What the River Wants" by Arthur Byrd.]

2 out of 4 stars

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What the River Wants is a deeply emotional Southern novel that explores themes of family, friendships, loyalty, and the power that relationships have in life. Arthur Byrd employs an incredibly descriptive and somewhat poetic writing style to paint pictures of scenes and events; allowing readers to be fully immersed in the story. This is Byrd’s debut novel and, apart from a few grammar errors and sometimes over-describing small details, he proves himself to be an extremely talented up-and-coming writer.

At the beginning of the story, we meet a teenage boy named Lee on a bus headed into rural Mississippi. Lee is on his way to try to gather some information about his family for a school project. He decided to visit his grandfather, Tom, to seek deeper parts of his family history that he couldn’t learn from his Mom. However, Lee is anxious about his visit because he hasn’t seen his grandfather in three years. Tom is estranged from his family, after losing his wife to cancer he found it difficult to be around anyone; preferring to deal with his grief alone. He found he couldn’t live in his house without his wife, so he retreated to a cabin in the woods far away from his family, friends, and modern comforts. The family doesn’t understand why Tom completely cut himself off from society, but Lee plans to take this opportunity to figure it out. He quickly discovers his family history has interesting and rather dark secrets, secrets Lee is determined to uncover. He sets out on a journey to find out as much as possible about his family and to attempt to understand his grandfather’s perplexing nature. Lee doesn’t realize that by taking on this challenge, he may end up changing his family forever.

To be honest, I found it difficult to get through the beginning of this book. The story starts off slowly with Byrd spending a good bit of time developing the characters. Let me first say, I do appreciate the rich development that Byrd accomplishes with all of his characters, it’s one of my favorite aspects of the novel. However, I am bothered with the considerable portion of the book dedicated to this development. The reason I’m bothered by this is that the plot development is largely ignored for almost the entire first half of the book. In my opinion, the first part of this book reads more like a description of a family than a novel with a storyline.

With that being said, I am immensely glad that I forced myself to keep reading. Once Byrd starts to focus on plot development, he constructs a story that you cannot put down. There is an almost constant sense of unease that kept me on the edge of my seat eager to find out what would happen next. Appropriately, a foreboding tone is captured in the unique writing style Byrd uses. What sets this book apart, without a doubt, is the obvious talent of the writer. I don’t think I would have finished reading this book if it weren't for the unique writing form Byrd uses.

I give What the River Wants a 2 out of 4 stars. There were a few grammatical errors I noticed, but nothing that distracted from the story. Some descriptions struck me as unnecessary, and this did distract me from the story a bit. For the most part, this was a good novel, and I enjoyed reading it. Anyone who enjoys family dramas, Southern stories, or novels about coming-of-age is sure to appreciate this book. I am looking forward to how Arthur Byrd develops as an author, his raw talent stood out in a way I rarely encounter. I recommend this book to those who really enjoy the genre, but if stories like this aren’t your typical choice I would recommend passing on this one. That being said, everyone should keep an eye out for Arthur Byrd in the future. I know I will!

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What the River Wants
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AmySmiles · Post by **AmySmiles** » 09 May 2018, 07:05

I love these types of books, but when only the last half is the actual story it is a deterrent. Thanks for the hones review!

Brenn · Post by **Brenn** » 09 May 2018, 19:23

I would also be put off by the beginning as you described, but it sounds like a book to read after all

Jackie Holycross · Post by **Jackie Holycross** » 09 May 2018, 21:39

This is not my type of book, but thanks for the great review.

Kristy Khem · Post by **Kristy Khem** » 14 May 2018, 14:49

This book sounds more descriptive, rather than having an attractive storyline. Thanks for your review.

toribyers13 · Post by **toribyers13** » 15 May 2018, 14:04

AmySmiles wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 07:05 I love these types of books, but when only the last half is the actual story it is a deterrent. Thanks for the hones review!

Thank you! I agree, it can definitely deter a reader. Such a shame from what seems to be a talented author!

toribyers13 · Post by **toribyers13** » 15 May 2018, 14:06

Brenn wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 19:23 I would also be put off by the beginning as you described, but it sounds like a book to read after all

I think it is! I believe it's worth the read if you can get past that first part! I hope future books of his will be more like the latter half of this one!

toribyers13 · Post by **toribyers13** » 15 May 2018, 14:06

teacherjh wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 21:39 This is not my type of book, but thanks for the great review.

Thank you!

toribyers13 · Post by **toribyers13** » 15 May 2018, 14:09

KristyKhem wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 14:49 This book sounds more descriptive, rather than having an attractive storyline. Thanks for your review.

Unfortunately I agree. The latter half is well written, but it's so difficult to get past the beginning. I hope this author writes another book that has an attractive storyline because he seems so talented!