Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Vintage (2001), Edition: New Ed, 336 pages
Description
From the master storyteller, a suspenseful, lyrical account of one man's search for the truth behind an inexplicable death. For more than a century, the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts, has been divided, as if by a line drawn down the center of Main Street, separating those born and bred in the village from those who attend the prestigious Haddan School. But one October night the two worlds are thrust together due to an inexplicable death, and the town's divided history is revealed in all its complexity. The lives of everyone involved are unraveled: from Carlin Leander, the fifteen-year-old girl who is as loyal as she is proud, to Betsy Chase, a woman running from her own destiny; from August Pierce, a boy who unexpectedly finds courage in his darkest hour, to Abel Grey, the police officer who refuses to let unspeakable actions--both past and present--slide by without notice.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member mmignano11
Not suprised to say that I enjoyed another Alice Hoffman book. This novel kept me turning the pages. The character's development moved the story along where lack of action could have slowed the pace. Each character had their own burden to carry and contribute to the motivations that led to the
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misfortunes suffered by each. In a real way, as in life, each character wrote their own part, told their own story, and learned from each other's suffering, that we are all connected and cannot just go about our own life without taking into account our effect on others. Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
This book is hard to categorize. It has elements of ghost story, psychological mystery, coming-of-age story, character study and murder investigation, but it isn't strictly any of those things. It's mostly an exploration of the consequences of keeping secrets and living with guilt. The small New
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England town of Haddan is divided East and West into the denizens of the Haddan boarding school--students, administration and staff-- at one end, and the townspeople, merchants and farmers who cannot afford to send their children there at the other. The town occasionally benefits from large contributions made by parents and alumni who want what happens at the school to STAY at the school, without interference from locals. Too much interest, even from law enforcement, even in suspicious deaths, is promptly discouraged by funding of a new park, or police station, or other impossible-to-refuse generosity. Still, incursions are made in both directions over the years, often with tragic long-term results. This was an engaging read, although many of the reveals that ought to have been bombshells failed to burst. I'm still thinking about it a couple days after finishing it, and that means it warrants an extra half-star. I'll read more of Alice Hoffman's work; I suspect she doesn't repeat herself. Show Less
LibraryThing member cerievans1
Carlin is a pale, too-beautiful, cynical Floridian 14 year old who has won a Scholarship to a boarding school in a small town in Massachussetts. It is made clear that Carlin is bright though she has won her scholarship on the back of her swimming prowess. Carlin is on her way to the small town of
Gus carries an air of sorrow around with him, obvious to everyone who meets him. Gus is also on his way to Haddan school having been suspended from another school. Gus smokes, he has questionable personal hygiene, he is scruffy, funny and immediately clicks with Carlin. Carlin's first observation is that Gus stinks. Gus knows he is the person who always steps into a puddle.
Although both Carlin and Gus are outsiders when they arrive at the tumbledown, damp, riverside Haddan School, they deal with school life in different ways. Carlin in her distant, indifferent way attracts the attention of the senior handsome villain of the novel, Harry McKenna, who, perhaps tired of having every girl in the school throw themselves at his feet, sees getting Carlin as a challenge. Harry briefly woos Carlin, they have a brief fling which causes a rift between Carlin and Gus.
As one of the new boarders of the all boys Chalk House, Gus is hounded by his seniors including Harry McKenna. Gus knows he has courage and thinks he is immune to their cruelty.
One day, Gus is found dead in the river and local policeman, Abe takes it upon himself to find out the truth of his death, not believing that Gus committed suicide.
This is a haunting story about just how cruel people can be. I enjoyed the descriptions of small town life in Hadden, the mysteriousness and magic of the river, and the side stories of relationships between Abe and photographer Betsy, the black cat, and between Carlin and the cranky old maths teacher, Helen Davies, and the deteriorating friendship between Abe and Joey.
The book is full of beautiful lines mostly describing the seasons and the river. For example,
"In the pearly skies of March, there were countless sorrows in New England. The world had closed down for so long it seemed the ice would never melt. The very lack of colour could leave a person despondent. After a while the black bark of trees in a rainstorm brought on waves of melancholy. A flock of geese soaring across the pale sky could cause a person to weep...."
Most of all I liked the character of Carlin, deciding to come back to Haddan to pursue her education despite all that happened over the first school term.
Four stars.
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Haddan by train when she meets and gets to know Gus Pierce. Gus carries an air of sorrow around with him, obvious to everyone who meets him. Gus is also on his way to Haddan school having been suspended from another school. Gus smokes, he has questionable personal hygiene, he is scruffy, funny and immediately clicks with Carlin. Carlin's first observation is that Gus stinks. Gus knows he is the person who always steps into a puddle.
Although both Carlin and Gus are outsiders when they arrive at the tumbledown, damp, riverside Haddan School, they deal with school life in different ways. Carlin in her distant, indifferent way attracts the attention of the senior handsome villain of the novel, Harry McKenna, who, perhaps tired of having every girl in the school throw themselves at his feet, sees getting Carlin as a challenge. Harry briefly woos Carlin, they have a brief fling which causes a rift between Carlin and Gus.
As one of the new boarders of the all boys Chalk House, Gus is hounded by his seniors including Harry McKenna. Gus knows he has courage and thinks he is immune to their cruelty.
One day, Gus is found dead in the river and local policeman, Abe takes it upon himself to find out the truth of his death, not believing that Gus committed suicide.
This is a haunting story about just how cruel people can be. I enjoyed the descriptions of small town life in Hadden, the mysteriousness and magic of the river, and the side stories of relationships between Abe and photographer Betsy, the black cat, and between Carlin and the cranky old maths teacher, Helen Davies, and the deteriorating friendship between Abe and Joey.
The book is full of beautiful lines mostly describing the seasons and the river. For example,
"In the pearly skies of March, there were countless sorrows in New England. The world had closed down for so long it seemed the ice would never melt. The very lack of colour could leave a person despondent. After a while the black bark of trees in a rainstorm brought on waves of melancholy. A flock of geese soaring across the pale sky could cause a person to weep...."
Most of all I liked the character of Carlin, deciding to come back to Haddan to pursue her education despite all that happened over the first school term.
Four stars.
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LibraryThing member cindyloumn
Her books are usually dark and strange, with ghosts or magic. This had all that. Sort of predictable. Could have been much better
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
I loved Hoffman's "Ice Queen," and looked forward to reading this book. I was so disappointed that I did something I almost never do -- I stopped reading it about halfway through.
LibraryThing member bastet
A beautiful, and ultimately sad, book that traces the horrors that can happen with hazing a private schools. Not like Hoffman's usual books, and extremely moving.
LibraryThing member kbig
Absolutely lovely book about teenage love. Nice magical realism touches.
LibraryThing member madamejeanie
Class structure and separation were very clear concepts to the people of Haddan, Massachusetts. The people on the West side of town were there to serve and cater to the people on the East side, and even they weren't "fine" enough to have their children attend the exclusive prep school whose campus
Like all of Hoffman's books, this one is filled with lyrical magic and several divergent plotlines, but the story unfolds layer by layer, and the wisps of the tale, past intermingling with present, reality blending with magic, come together in a way only possible by a master storyteller. A terrific story lyrically told.
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was on the far edge of town by the river. The faculty and students at the Haddan School didn't belong in town and the townsfolk certainly didn't belong on campus. But one year, two students arrived at Haddan School who probably didn't really belong anyplace. Carlin Leander was a daughter of a convenience store cashier from Florida, there on a swimming scholarship, and Augustus Smith was an awkward boy with long, greasy hair and a bad attitude from New York who was there as the last best hope of his exasperated parents. Yet, even as the two misfits drew close to each other, more people began stepping around barriers that had held Haddan together for decades, causing class collisions that sent quiet little shockwaves through the populace. And when the body of a student at Haddan School is found floating face down in the river, a local policeman with a troubled past walks into that enclosed world of academia and upsets it completely.Like all of Hoffman's books, this one is filled with lyrical magic and several divergent plotlines, but the story unfolds layer by layer, and the wisps of the tale, past intermingling with present, reality blending with magic, come together in a way only possible by a master storyteller. A terrific story lyrically told.
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LibraryThing member hammockqueen
elite school holds cocky boys and a couple of mis-fits. What happens to Gus who can't fit in and wears a long black coat.
Why does Carin now wear his coat and find stones and tiny living fish in the pockets. Why is it always wet around her;. Do the detective Gus and photog. Betsy get together?
Why does Carin now wear his coat and find stones and tiny living fish in the pockets. Why is it always wet around her;. Do the detective Gus and photog. Betsy get together?
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Creative characters and suspense to the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member rebeccaslibrary
I loved the way nature and people in the school community and small town interacted. The animals, weather, and plants responded to human emotions, and in return, those aspects of nature influenced human thought and feeling as well. Nice interplay.
The language was beautiful, rich, and flowing. The
Great book! May 20, 2010
The language was beautiful, rich, and flowing. The
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characters were complicated and unpredictable in believable ways. The New England small town and private school setting was a perfect microcosm of human experience. Great book! May 20, 2010
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LibraryThing member williamsLA
A mystery involving town and gown conflicts with a private high school and small town. Imaginative use of symbols (roses, swans, water, loosing one's way). Magic overtones.
LibraryThing member cataylor
At a small New England boarding school, the intertwining of two students lives, shadows of the past unhappiness of the headmaster's wife, and the terrifying events of the present make for a gripping read. You won't be able to put it down.
LibraryThing member TheCrowdedLeaf
In a nutshell, I loved The River King. It is the third Hoffman novel I’ve read (previous ones are The Third Angel and The Ice Queen) and I think it’s my favorite so far. Her narratives are so enigmatic and brooding they encompass the reader with a deep, internal sense of unease, and The River
In Massachusetts, in the town of Hadden, there is a private high-school for the intelligent and the wealthy. Students and townspeople don’t mix, don’t mingle, and each side minds their own business. But when a young boy from the school is found drowned in the river, barriers are crossed and the lines dividing Hadden start to blur.
Among the characters are Abel Grey, burdened by his brother’s suicide when he was young; and Betsy Chase, chained to an impending marriage she no longer desires. There is Carlin Leander, smart and beautiful, but an outsider; and Gus Pierce, head over heels in love with Carlin and an outsider himself. A host of supporting characters lend weight to the plot, drawing everyone together. A deep, decades old suicide of one of the school’s first residents also plays a background, as does the magical history of roses and water that Hoffman skillfully blends into the storyline. Her hints of the mysterious are gentle and persuasive; so realistic you almost wonder if they’re magic at all.
Much of the novel is told in asides, mentioning one character’s story in reference to another. It takes a supreme talent to be able to start the reader headed in one direction, bend them toward another, but have them end up at the correct final destination. It’s just one reason Hoffman’s novels are so successful.
The River King is dark and mysterious, it chills the reader page-by-page. If you’re interested in reading Alice Hoffman’s novels, I would definitely recommend The River King if you’re in the mood for a mystery. If you’re in the mood for one of her more contemporary novels, I point you toward The Third Angel.
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King is no exception.In Massachusetts, in the town of Hadden, there is a private high-school for the intelligent and the wealthy. Students and townspeople don’t mix, don’t mingle, and each side minds their own business. But when a young boy from the school is found drowned in the river, barriers are crossed and the lines dividing Hadden start to blur.
Among the characters are Abel Grey, burdened by his brother’s suicide when he was young; and Betsy Chase, chained to an impending marriage she no longer desires. There is Carlin Leander, smart and beautiful, but an outsider; and Gus Pierce, head over heels in love with Carlin and an outsider himself. A host of supporting characters lend weight to the plot, drawing everyone together. A deep, decades old suicide of one of the school’s first residents also plays a background, as does the magical history of roses and water that Hoffman skillfully blends into the storyline. Her hints of the mysterious are gentle and persuasive; so realistic you almost wonder if they’re magic at all.
Much of the novel is told in asides, mentioning one character’s story in reference to another. It takes a supreme talent to be able to start the reader headed in one direction, bend them toward another, but have them end up at the correct final destination. It’s just one reason Hoffman’s novels are so successful.
The River King is dark and mysterious, it chills the reader page-by-page. If you’re interested in reading Alice Hoffman’s novels, I would definitely recommend The River King if you’re in the mood for a mystery. If you’re in the mood for one of her more contemporary novels, I point you toward The Third Angel.
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LibraryThing member neddludd
Hoffman's prose is poetic, and she is clearly gifted in creating a sense of place. Her descriptions of the natural world are conveyed with a wealth of detail. Her characters as well are vivid and fully dimensional. But her narrative is somewhat Gothic--as is the boarding school and the small town
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in Massachusetts where the tale takes place; she portrays both quite beautifully. There is a fecundity to this novel, a saturation of emotion mixed with river water and fearsome storms. She matter of factly describes the triumphs and agonies of life, and in doing so diminishes the bravery of her characters and minimizes the climactic resolution. The ending just fades to black. Both the reader and her characters deserve more. Show Less
LibraryThing member akmargie
I picked this simply on the cover but it is a haunting book, even though I can never remember the name. For obvious reasons I remember it as the Swan King. A slow-paced story that knocks you around at the most unexpected moments.
LibraryThing member astrologerjenny
I liked this novel very much & recommend it. It’s set in Massachusetts, and has a feel of magic realism. The town of Haddan moves as one, influenced by the river and the weather and the old stories that circulate. One of them involves a beautiful woman who tries to turn white roses into red ones.
I left this book in Gainesville with Kate, and I'm sure she'd lend it to anyone who wants to read it.
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Another is about a girl who wears a dead boy’s coat, and finds messages from him in its pockets. I left this book in Gainesville with Kate, and I'm sure she'd lend it to anyone who wants to read it.
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LibraryThing member jphamilton
Alice Hoffman always writes special books—and she's done it again. She has placed a magical and tragic story into a small New England town. Hoffman writes like a dream, and sometimes that dreamlike quality lifts the reader through some very surreal passages that make her books stand out
Central to this book is the Haddan School, which is viewed by many of the townspeople with a resentful and envious eye. The school's troubled students are all from somewhere else and have very privileged lives when compared to the general blue-collar tone of the area. Abel Grey is a lifelong resident of the area, as well as a simple town cop who is trying to get to the bottom of the drowning death of one of the students. Where the rather odd boy and late student fits into (or didn't fit into) the social sphere of the school seems all-important to the investigation. Teenage themes of acceptance, love and tenderness, extreme school hazing, growth, and trust are all involved when Abel searches for the answers. But, then again, most of these things are central to our cop's life as well. If you were to sum up this special novel, it might fall into the "coming of age" mode. But the question upon reading it would be—who is it of all the characters, young and old, alive and dead, who most comes of age? Who grows the most? This finely written book has made me a Hoffman fan once again.
(5/01)
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brilliantly against what seems many times like the drab backdrop of much of contemporary fiction. Central to this book is the Haddan School, which is viewed by many of the townspeople with a resentful and envious eye. The school's troubled students are all from somewhere else and have very privileged lives when compared to the general blue-collar tone of the area. Abel Grey is a lifelong resident of the area, as well as a simple town cop who is trying to get to the bottom of the drowning death of one of the students. Where the rather odd boy and late student fits into (or didn't fit into) the social sphere of the school seems all-important to the investigation. Teenage themes of acceptance, love and tenderness, extreme school hazing, growth, and trust are all involved when Abel searches for the answers. But, then again, most of these things are central to our cop's life as well. If you were to sum up this special novel, it might fall into the "coming of age" mode. But the question upon reading it would be—who is it of all the characters, young and old, alive and dead, who most comes of age? Who grows the most? This finely written book has made me a Hoffman fan once again.
(5/01)
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LibraryThing member juniperSun
A disappointing book as I enjoyed 2 other books by this author.The first half of the book is overblown writing, with characters defined more as stereotype than as fleshed out personas. Hoffman strains to create an aura of mysterious influences, but it falls flat. There is a disconnect between local
One opening scene gives hope of some kind of plot, where Carlin & Gus, 2 incoming students who feel alienated from their peers, meet on a train. Carlin's theme is stated "Try as she might, there would always be those it was possible to rescue and those whose destiny it was to sink like a stone. (p.148)" But it isn't until the latter half of the book that we start to get some meaningful character growth & interaction. I actually ended up liking Betsey, Abe, & Helen Davis.
The closing revelation about Abe's parents was pretty irrelevant. The swans probably have some deep meaning, but they didn't resonate with me. This is the 2nd book of Hoffman's where I've noticed her playing loose with her botany. She does like to inlcude lists of plants in her books, and altho she was pretty accurate with her water plant list in this one (wild celery, pickerelweed), there is a glaring error on p. 13 where she describes "a huge meadow, all blue with everlasting and tansy"--flowers which are white and deep yellow-- and then emphasizes "each and every one the exact color of the sky (p.14)." Better choices would have been Chicory (tho that tends to stay on road edges, not covering fields), Lupine, Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium), or Dayflower. Even the field of Asters she mentions later (p.23) tend more toward purple/violet that sky blue.
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residents and school staff, and between local residents on opposite sides "of the tracks". There is the local resident who is only identified by her flower garden. There is the dorm mother who is old and uncaring. There is the tradition of unchecked hazing of new students. There is the wife of a lecherous headmaster who becomes obsessed with planting roses, eventually hangs herself, and leaves the scent of roses haunting the school. There is the sodden miasma of the river's presence. One opening scene gives hope of some kind of plot, where Carlin & Gus, 2 incoming students who feel alienated from their peers, meet on a train. Carlin's theme is stated "Try as she might, there would always be those it was possible to rescue and those whose destiny it was to sink like a stone. (p.148)" But it isn't until the latter half of the book that we start to get some meaningful character growth & interaction. I actually ended up liking Betsey, Abe, & Helen Davis.
The closing revelation about Abe's parents was pretty irrelevant. The swans probably have some deep meaning, but they didn't resonate with me. This is the 2nd book of Hoffman's where I've noticed her playing loose with her botany. She does like to inlcude lists of plants in her books, and altho she was pretty accurate with her water plant list in this one (wild celery, pickerelweed), there is a glaring error on p. 13 where she describes "a huge meadow, all blue with everlasting and tansy"--flowers which are white and deep yellow-- and then emphasizes "each and every one the exact color of the sky (p.14)." Better choices would have been Chicory (tho that tends to stay on road edges, not covering fields), Lupine, Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium), or Dayflower. Even the field of Asters she mentions later (p.23) tend more toward purple/violet that sky blue.
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LibraryThing member EvaW
Mainly Gus and Carlin's story at boarding school ... but Abe, Beverley, Harry and Helen's as well ... several twists and turns right to the end.
LibraryThing member suesbooks
Another book where I liked the writing more than the contact. I did not care for the magic realism, nor the macabre descriptions. I did care about the characters, but was upset by the plethora of abominable behavior.
LibraryThing member EvenInk
A very well written and thoroughly depressing book.
LibraryThing member samsheep
A beautiful book about a mysterious death at a private school in a small town. Very satisfying read with some beautiful passages. Definitely going to try some more Alice Hoffman after reading this.
Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2002)
Massachusetts Book Award (Honor Book — Fiction — 2001)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
336 p.; 5.08 inches
ISBN
0099286521 / 9780099286523