Go as a River cover art

Go as a River

The powerful Sunday Times bestselling Richard and Judy pick

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Go as a River

By: Shelley Read
Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $18.79

Buy Now for $18.79

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The powerful Sunday Times bestselling Richard and Judy Pick

A MESMERIZING READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, GREAT CIRCLE AND THE PAPER PALACE

I've come to understand how the exceptional lurks beneath the ordinary like the deep and mysterious world beneath the sea.


On a cool autumn morning, Torie Nash heads into her village pulling a rickety wagon filled with late-season peaches. As she nears an intersection, a mysterious drifter with grimy thumbs and smudged cheeks and eyes as dark as a raven's wing stops to ask her the way.

She could turn left or cross over. But she does not. 'Go as a river,' he whispers.

So begins a mezmerising story that unfolds over a tumultuous lifetime as Torie begins to absorb and follow his words.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary life, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life for ever.
__________

'Completely spellbinding, vivid, and luminous' JANE GREEN

'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 and the miracle of a mother's love. Suffused with wisdom and compassion, this shattering testimony to life is to be savored, treasured, shared' MEG WAITE CLAYTON, author of The Postmistress of Paris

'Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature. Tragic, uplifting and completely unforgettable' BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

©2023 Shelley Read (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Small Town & Rural Women's Fiction Native American Heartfelt
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic Reviews

A lush tale of female resilience. Evokes the awe-inspiring beauty of the Colorado landscape with affection
Spellbinding novel of finding home where you least expect it
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
A key title for 2023. This soaring, compassionate tale of female resilience is set against the breath-taking beauty of the natural world - its trees and mountains and light
Beautiful, lyrical and vivid ... Shelley Read's beautifully drawn characters are brought to life against the backdrop of the Colorado mountains. Full of wisdom and strength ... this is a powerful love story with an unforgettable heroine at its heart
A beautiful, compassion-filled debut - a hymn to the cycles of the natural world and testament to the resilience of the human spirit
A compelling tale of love and a heroine fighting back. She had me racing to bed so I could read another chapter
To be so immersed in a setting is a privilege. A mesmerising coming-of-age story. Simply stunning
A lush, beautiful, strong book. It took me on a transformative life journey. I could not put it down
Completely spell-binding, vivid and luminous
All stars
Most relevant
A beautiful story of heartbreak & resilience of one girl. I was looking for another story to fill the gap after Crawdads and it definitely did that! This will have a long lasting impression.
Lovely narration too.

Beautiful, heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Thoroughly engaged from the beginning. Some passages like prose! The description of the countryside put me in the story.

Could not put it down!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved this book. It transported me in time and place. It’s definitely movie material although a series could be better because we could see what happens next over the years.

Movie Ready

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Didn’t like the ending though, thought it ended too abruptly. Gutsy main character highlights the struggles women endured at this time

Enjoyed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Lapped this book up in days! It was full of beautiful descriptive language and a heartbreaking story or loss and love. Do yourself a favour and read this one!

So beautifully written!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.