by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): This is a tough book. It’s a good story, albeit incredibly sad, and at times it’s actually gripping, but the trouble is simple: The protagonist is not particularly likeable—at least for me. And not liking the main character means it’s hard to become fully invested in the novel.
Written by Wally Lamb, this is the story of a middle-class American family living in Connecticut. The mom, Emily, is a third grade teacher. The dad, Corby, is a commercial artist. They have two-year-old twins, Niko and Maisie. About a year ago, Corby was laid off from his job, something that sent him into a downward spiral of alcohol and drugs and eventually addiction. Unable to find work of any kind, he is the stay-at-home dad, caring for Niko and Maisie. One morning he is taking the twins to his mother-in-law’s home so she can babysit. Ostensibly, he is going on a job interview, but in reality, he plans to get wasted. He’s already halfway there, having doctored his morning coffee with rum and taken two Ativan as well. And then something horribly, dreadfully tragic happens…and life for this family forever changes. Because of Corby’s grave mistake, he is sentenced to three years in prison.
The bulk of the novel is about his time in prison, a brutal and unforgiving place for which he is totally unprepared. And while the routines and terrors of daily prison life haunt Corby, he is also plagued with the tremendous guilt he feels for what he did and his never ending self-pity and deep-seated anger.
The title of the book refers to a river that runs near the prison—close enough to be heard but distant enough so it is not visible within the prison walls. The symbolism of the river, of course, is freedom and new life, something that eludes Corby now but hopefully will await him on his release. He is just as terrified of that future as he is about the day-to-day horrors of prison life.
Throughout the book, there are running themes of redemption, forgiveness, and hope…the stuff of life for everyone, but things that are so vital to happiness and a future for those who are behind bars. Corby needs to first forgive himself in order to find redemption and hope, but he is tormented by wondering if Emily will ever forgive him. In addition, the book is packed—to the point of being almost too much—with other themes: addiction, mental health, good vs. evil, abuse of power, and grief.
The ending holds a bit of a surprise…almost a shocker that is tragically and tenderly written.
Still…it’s a long book made all the longer because so much of it feels interminable. Most of all, the book isn’t as good as it could be because Corby is so unlikeable.
