The River

“You can’t fully experience The River from the banks . . .. You have to get in . . . all the way in.”
It’s not hard to get “all the way in” to Michael Neale’s “The River.” The fictional story is set in the beauty of the Colorado wild. It deals with death, grief, fear, young love and old hurts. “The River” follows Gabriel Clarke through the tragic death of his heroic father to a surprise encounter with the man his father died saving. The River backdrops the entire story of his life.
I couldn’t help but see the River as an allegory of life in general and faith in God in particular. Contemporary Christianity compares the work of the Spirit of God to “a river.” A veteran guide on the river instructs novice guides by saying, “I want to challenge you: don’t just be around the River, but really study it. Get to know it. The more you get to know, the more your knowledge will ignite your passion…”
That perspective’s true of “the River” and God. The more you know about God the more you want to know God. Neale’s phrase, “You were made for the river…” is an echo of Augustine’s “…man is restless until he finds his peace in God.”
At times, the book reads more like a self-help book than a fictional adventure. “If you stay connected to only that which is small enough for you to understand and control, then you have nothing – no adventure, no destiny, and no purpose.”
Step into the River and step up to an interesting read.
Booksneeze provided a copy of the book for review purposes.