The River Gods
The River Gods by Brian Kiteley, published by University of Alabama Press in August 2009, is a first edition novel comprising 194 pages. This work presents a unique narrative structure, blending fact and fiction through a series of fragmented voices that span from the eleventh century to the 1990s in Northampton, Massachusetts. The inhabitants of this area share their experiences and reflections, creating a tapestry of life marked by a pervasive sense of melancholy and unfulfilled desires.
Readers will encounter a diverse array of characters, including historical figures such as Sojourner Truth and Richard Nixon, alongside fictional representations like Kiteley himself. Each voice contributes to a rich exploration of the community’s history, emphasizing the connection between the past and present. The novel delves into themes of health, love, and family, while also highlighting the enduring impact of history on everyday life. Through its fragmented narrative, The River Gods invites readers to reflect on the complexities of time and memory.
Official synopsis Publisher
The River Gods is a novel in fragments, a mix of fact and fiction, in which various inhabitants of the area around what is now Northampton, Massachusetts, from the eleventh century through the 1990s, speak of their lives and of the community, a place haunted by the pervasive melancholy of extinguished desire.
Each of the voices–including a character named Brian Kiteley and his family, the original Native American inhabitants, the actor Richard Burton, Sojourner Truth, Richard Nixon, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jonathan Edwards, and many nameless others–ruminate on a past that is startlingly present and tangible. The main character, though, is the world of Northampton, irrevocably woven into the fabric of Western history, yet still grounded by the everyday concerns of health, money, food, love, and family. It is a novel of voices, the living and the dead, that illuminate the passage of time.
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