One thing I did not guess–and in fact was startled by–was that Vaughan had been delivered his own dead child and had given her a quiet river burial without telling Helena. So tragic! It’s the one story that keeps the novel from getting a full-fledged “uplifting” label.
Also, if we’re toying with various permutations and combinations of magical realism, the girl that Armstrong saw in Quietly’s boat could have been Amelia. Perhaps she was not able to be rowed to the Other Side until her true fate was revealed and her bones given up by the river. That said, what a drag to have to share the punt with Victor and Robin. However, since she was their victim, maybe that’s appropriate, too – what they’ve done is right before them as they are rowed to their ultimate destiny.
Lol, this book makes it easy for my imagination to run away with me! Maybe I can do this magical realism thing after all.
Yes, the idea of Vaughan being given his dead child and then returning her to the river without telling her grieving mother just seemed so wrong. The poor mother couldn’t get any closure and move on with her life without KNOWING what befell Amelia.
A good therapist might help a lot of the characters in the book.
I believe the river girl went home with Quietly as well.
That seems to have been Mrs. Constantine’s role. She wasn’t a psychic, she was a psychologist – or a prototype of one. Vaughan has a couple of “sessions” with her by himself, and then with Helena:
I tend to think of most people as good, so Margot, Joe, the little Margots, Jonathan, and so on seemed true to life. The characters that border on Dickensian villains less so. However, Robin falls into the more true-to-life category for me: immature, entitled (in his opinion), with a gambling addiction. He also had the looks and background (thanks to Armstrong) to become a fairly good con artist. Yup, his ilk still exists.
Yet when you think about it, Lily’s sister wasn’t lost; Victor lied. She died shortly afterwards but I don’t think that was an uncommon occurrence at that time. Anyway, it happened years before and in a different location.
Amelia was two when kidnapped but Alice was four when thrown onto the barge and it was a different time and place from Amelia.
The girl rescued from the river just tugged the grieving families together.
I have to admit that I just finished reading The Weight of Ink and was totally blown away. Also I wish I was smarter so I could appreciate it more. I think it will stick in my mind for a long time as opposed to this book, which is already fading away.
I have to do some rereading, because I’ve forgotten a lot. Too many characters! Too many little girls! There are even too many pigs! But that was of course part of the charm. It was like some complicated macrame weaving where all the strands twist around each other and you can’t really follow them, but somehow they make a very handsome whole.
To question 1 - I did love the way the Swan became the center of the storytelling and the attempt to get at the truth with the magic lantern show at the end.
Farmer Armstrong was like a Dr Doolittle in his own way, knowing each of his pigs well. Lilly White certainly survived a rather rough life.
I rad the book about 6 weeks ago so a lot of my initial impressions have faded some. I did enjoy reading it.
It was sad that Robin and Victor were such nasty and evil people. I’m glad Vaughan was spared having to fight Victor who seemed so cruel. There was no explanation as to why he was so mean.
I agree! I found the good guys to be more interesting and complex than the bad guys.
One of the things I liked about the book was its cast of varied characters, but in a way that was a drawback, too, because it wasn’t possible to do justice to all of them. If you could choose a single character to develop more fully, in lieu of the ensemble cast, who would it be? For me, Rita would be one. We get a glimpse of her childhood in the convent and her struggle with her faith; I wanted more. Another would be Helena. I loved the passages with her as a free-spirited young woman: “What a fearless girl Helena Greville had been. A pirate, her father had called her, and a pirate she was” (p. 75).
The story Aunt Eliza tells to young Helena foreshadows her future. She tells Helena about a goblin that lives in the river and rises up one day to steal a little girl and take her to his realm:
Setterfield surprised me more than once by sidestepping predictable outcomes. I was sure that when naive, impulsive Helena consented to marry a stranger in exchange for a new boat, it would be a disaster. But it turned into a love match after all. (She seemed tamed by marriage, though – or maybe by tragedy. Either way, it was sad to see life take the spark out of her.)
Tamed, not so much by marriage, but by becoming a mother; diminished after the kidnapping. (Or in keeping with Once Upon a River sucked dry.) Regardless, Vaughn mourned the loss of daughter - and wife.
The owners and patrons of The Swan were their own sort of family. I like Setterfield’s description of the various inns in the area and how the locals found the one most suited for them. The Swan pulled in those who enjoyed storytelling. (I guess similar to how the CC Book Club pulls in those of us who enjoy reading and discussing a good story. We’re the The Swan of College Confidential.)
^ well said @ignatius about the Vaughan’s, and the CC book discussion our modern version of the Swan.
As others have mentioned, I have forgotten so much of this complicated novel I’m rereading parts this am, especially the fake magic act at the Swan with Ruby’s help.
Quick response to @ignatius comment about the Dickensonian characters seeming less authentic. I agree, like a plot device by Setterfield, especially the Ben/ Alice tale stuck at the end.
But, irnonic that the true horror of those orphanages, and hard life of children was depicted less real, when historically it was all “too” real.
@himom comments about Mr. Armstrong as a “ Dr Doolittle”.
I found this element over the top, and weakened the novel for me. Maybe Setterfield owns a pet pig, maybe she is big fan of the movie, Babe, in any case, I found it bizarre.
The “over-the-top” element of Armstrong’s relationship with animals made me ponder the Tall Tale aspect of this book. Could it be that the narrator herself is the equivalent of one of the storytellers at The Swan? As @Marilyn mentioned above, we are clearly being led by the nose by the narrator, who has control of the story and knows exactly where it’s going. It would be natural for her (or him) to embellish, as storytellers do, in order to pull in the audience and keep us “listening.”
Armstrong’s relationship with animals has the element of truth, which is essential to a tall tale. One of us might know a person who has a gift with horses, another might know someone who keeps a pet pig. For my part, I have a friend with a cat that greets him at the door by racing across the room, leaping to the back of a chair and then from there to his shoulder. The thing about Armstrong is that he has “all the things,” not just one. That’s the joy of a certain type of storytelling. In Once Upon a River, I don’t see it as a flaw. Given the setting–the opening and closing at The Swan–I think these details are supposed to be over-the-top.
@mathmom, I agree with you about Lily. I’d be more apt to describe her as the reverse – constantly flinching, with a limited grasp of reality. Being terribly abused her entire life has pretty much broken her. One of the discussion questions asks, “Is Lily White responsible for her actions?” I’d say no – at least not in the sense of being prosecuted as Victor’s accomplice. But I did wish she would have escaped from his clutches earlier. She had both opportunity and outside support. However, I guess that’s characteristic of an abusive relationship. So much fear, so little confidence.
I agree Lily has all the classic signs of an abused woman. But even though she had outside support, none of those people knew how bad it was. I don’t see her as responsible at all.
More than just abuse. Victor searched for Lily when she managed to get away the first time, murdered her Mr. White, and severely beat her. However, she was carefully saving her money or rather having the paster do so for her. Maybe she planned to run again once she had enough.
After rereading the chapter “Father’s and sons” a page turner the first time I read it.
the River ( of life and death ) is rising, flooding, as Armstrong confronts Robin and Victor. It’s a harrowing chapter, Victor and Robin are swept away. ( yeah )
But, it’s the next chapter, “Lilly and the River” when Setterfield does something interesting. As the flood waters rise, and we should be fearful of what is to come, she writes a soothing, spiritual, cosmic calming chapter. As the waters rose potentially drowning Lily, Setterfield takes us into another realm.
Setterfield masterfully contrasted the “Father’s and sons” chapter of reckoning and heart pounding, with this lovely description of the flooding,
Of course, the next moment a pink limb floated by,and Setterfield managed to shock me with that drama at the Swans Inn doorstep with Lily and a …piglet !
of discussion.