Reviews

Ghost River by Tony Birch

jrmarr's review against another edition

3.0

Set in a familiar place in a time not that long ago, yet it feels like a different world, this is a story of friendship and exploring what home means.

fher1286's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

beancale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A beautiful book with some of the most engaging themes and likeable characters I’ve read so far.

riley_willcox's review

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

jolynne's review against another edition

3.0

Sonny and Ren's friendship is the tie that binds this story and it is what makes this a very endearing read. Both characters will be remembered.

what_will_jess_read_next's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoy Tony Birch’s writing a lot. If I had to summarise it, he writes real, rough, gritty Australian characters and landscapes.

And those are what I enjoyed in particular throughout “Ghost River”. When I say rough, I mean drinking, smoking, betting. Working night shifts, living pay check to pay check, murky money exchanging kind of stuff. People that swear. People that fight. People struggling with addiction.

Having already read two of his other novels, I was pretty keen to dive into “Ghost River”. I read “Blood” most recently and was blown away. It was incredible.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken with this book. I found the story quite slow. And then in the last few chapters BAM! And those last few chapters are what saved it for me.

With “Blood”, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to devour it, and it left me with much to think about afterwards. “Ghost river” had its beauty and I did care about Sonny, Ren and the river men. However, Della and her family added nothing to the story for me. I understand why they were written, I just didn’t think they were necessary.

If you haven’t read any Tony Birch, absolutely try out his novels. But maybe start with another.

strawberryyjam's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

rnmcfarlane's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

bookish_teacher_reads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

janehaggis's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ghost River is a haunting story of the friendship between two thirteen year old boys coming to maturity on the wrong side of the Yarra River in 1970s Melbourne. For Sonny and Rem the river, polluted and derelict, offers freedom, adventure and community with the homeless men who shelter on its banks and introduce them to its mysteries. Weaving together his knowledge of marginal lives and indigenous world views, Birch makes the river a palpable character in the novel: mercurial, wild and ultimately protective of those who respect it.  The climax of the book had me totally caught up in the drama as the river helps resolve the tangled webs of development, crime and corruption, love and loss and ultimately the maturing of the boys into young adults.  There is a quietude about Birch's prose which belies his skill in layering characters, their lives and connections. Except perhaps in the female characters.  The two women who figure are Rem's mum, Loretta, and young Della, whose family move into the house next to Sonny's. Loretta adds emotional warmth to the depictions of struggling families while Della hints at sexuality, power and desire.  Birch avoids stereotyping either of them as passive victims but Della's character especially is not quite realized. Ultimately this is a book about boys, men and masculinities on the margins of a gritty city. Male violence is ever present as threat and act but Birch insists there is a softer side to these hard men and boys, a resistance to the grinding brutality of daily life on the edge, and one the river knows and respects. Romantic? I don't think so. More a recognition that ways of being, however harsh, still carry love and care.