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emmap2023's review against another edition
1.0
Sadly I dnf'd this book as I could not invest in the character of Ia despite the lyrical writing.
elcb's review against another edition
4.0
Didn’t think I’d enjoy this to begin with, needed time to gel with the writing style. Ended up adoring it. Would be keen to read more from the author.
silverliningsandpages's review against another edition
5.0
This was raw, brutal and stunning.
Ia scrapes by a savage, lonely existence in a caravan along the Cornish coast. Since being orphaned at the age of twelve, she has lived with her violent cousin who is also now her common law husband. She desperately longs for a baby, and when a little girl washes up half-dead on the shore, Ia risks everything by rescuing her. Nurturing the waif emboldens Ia and reignites buried, yet important memories. She finds the courage to escape and travels downriver in search of her sister, through flood-devastated valleys, and facing constant danger in a world of civil unrest, social collapse and internal warfare.
I absolutely LOVED this book and found the protagonist so relatable. She is fierce and resourceful, but her fragility and integrity seep through her tough outer skin. Despite lifelong adversity, she still manages to see the beauty in nature, collecting found objects and never gives up on finding “a better version of herself”. It’s a very mysterious dystopian setting, and much of what has preceded the story remains unexplained, but this adds to the haunting quality of the very poetic writing. An intense and breathtaking book that didn’t shy away from vitally important issues such as abusive relationships, mental illness, infertility and miscarriage, but that also has an optimistic message of transformation and redemption. The ending blew me away - to my children’s utter bemusement, this book made me properly, properly emotional 😭 (still haven’t recovered days later, TBH!). The only slight quibbles are that the style/looser punctuation took some getting used to (but worked), and one part of the story was a teeny bit contrived. But I don’t care - this is still getting all the stars, a 5/5🌟 from me!
Thank you @anabooks and @quercusbooks for this gifted review copy - my favourite of 2019 so far.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
On the coast of Cornwall lives, Ia Pendilly. She is eking out an existence in a caravan in a Britain that is under military rule after being ravaged by floods and cut off from Europe. She is cohabiting with a bloke called Bran, who is some sort of cousin. He is involved in some fairly dodgy stuff as well as his regular job and treats her like dirt when he appears back at irregular intervals.
Whilst walking the beaches finds a child washed up who is just clinging onto life. Nursing this girl back to health opens once again that deep longing that she has had for a family, but she has never been able to carry any of the children she has had with Bran past a few weeks. A chance encounter with someone else shows that people can care for her and as the girl regains her strength it opens a memory and a longing for a past that she remembers. It will take courage though, and a journey downriver, with the hope of a better life.
This dystopian future set in Cornwall in the UK that that has been devastated by climate change and a collapse in society is quite a shocking read. As Ia and Jenna head south across this landscape, Carthew has captured this broken countryside well it is full of passionate and lyrical prose, which is understandable given her background as a poet who spends as much of her time outdoors as she can. It reminded me of The Devil's Highway by Gregory Nominton where his third and final story in that book is of a landscape that has been irreversibly changed from what we have today. Definitely, an author to read more of.
Whilst walking the beaches finds a child washed up who is just clinging onto life. Nursing this girl back to health opens once again that deep longing that she has had for a family, but she has never been able to carry any of the children she has had with Bran past a few weeks. A chance encounter with someone else shows that people can care for her and as the girl regains her strength it opens a memory and a longing for a past that she remembers. It will take courage though, and a journey downriver, with the hope of a better life.
This dystopian future set in Cornwall in the UK that that has been devastated by climate change and a collapse in society is quite a shocking read. As Ia and Jenna head south across this landscape, Carthew has captured this broken countryside well it is full of passionate and lyrical prose, which is understandable given her background as a poet who spends as much of her time outdoors as she can. It reminded me of The Devil's Highway by Gregory Nominton where his third and final story in that book is of a landscape that has been irreversibly changed from what we have today. Definitely, an author to read more of.
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
On the coast of Cornwall lives, Ia Pendilly. She is eking out an existence in a caravan in a Britain that is under military rule after being ravaged by floods and cut off from Europe. She is cohabiting with a bloke called Bran, who is some sort of cousin. He is involved in some fairly dodgy stuff as well as his regular job and treats her like dirt when he appears back at irregular intervals.
Whilst walking the beaches finds a child washed up who is just clinging onto life. Nursing this girl back to health opens once again that deep longing that she has had for a family, but she has never been able to carry any of the children she has had with Bran past a few weeks. A chance encounter with someone else shows that people can care for her and as the girl regains her strength it opens a memory and a longing for a past that she remembers. It will take courage though, and a journey downriver, with the hope of a better life.
This dystopian future set in Cornwall in the UK that that has been devastated by climate change and a collapse in society is quite a shocking read. As Ia and Jenna head south across this landscape, Carthew has captured this broken countryside well it is full of passionate and lyrical prose, which is understandable given her background as a poet who spends as much of her time outdoors as she can. It reminded me of The Devil's Highway by Gregory Nominton where his third and final story in that book is of a landscape that has been irreversibly changed from what we have today. Definitely, an author to read more of.
Whilst walking the beaches finds a child washed up who is just clinging onto life. Nursing this girl back to health opens once again that deep longing that she has had for a family, but she has never been able to carry any of the children she has had with Bran past a few weeks. A chance encounter with someone else shows that people can care for her and as the girl regains her strength it opens a memory and a longing for a past that she remembers. It will take courage though, and a journey downriver, with the hope of a better life.
This dystopian future set in Cornwall in the UK that that has been devastated by climate change and a collapse in society is quite a shocking read. As Ia and Jenna head south across this landscape, Carthew has captured this broken countryside well it is full of passionate and lyrical prose, which is understandable given her background as a poet who spends as much of her time outdoors as she can. It reminded me of The Devil's Highway by Gregory Nominton where his third and final story in that book is of a landscape that has been irreversibly changed from what we have today. Definitely, an author to read more of.
definebookish's review
4.0
In a near-future Cornwall ravaged by floods and ruled by gangs, Ia Pendilly lives in a caravan winched into a ruined house in an isolated cove on the North Coast. Her only real link with the outside world is her abusive partner and distant cousin, gang member Bran. Then a young girl washes up onto the beach, near drowned. Determined to protect her and her own unborn child, Ia must leave her cove and embark on a perilous journey.
While this is a story of existence in a worryingly possible near-future dystopian society - water levels have risen, and even lone strangers are desperate and therefore a potential threat - All Rivers Run Free is first and foremost the story of one woman's personal survival.
This is a tale of marginalisation, trauma, grief and motherhood. Though these themes could be addressed in a contemporary setting, there's a sense that in this case, character and dystopia have sprouted from the same seed, the two components inextricable from each other and from the distinctive narrative style.
Author Natasha Carthew is also a poet, and this is evident in her lyrical, urgent prose. The flow of her run-on sentences is disorientating at first, but soon enough I fell into their rhythm, the third person narrative feeling somehow more like first, close and intense and raw. It's an uncompromising style, requiring reader to meet text halfway but yielding rich rewards for those who do.
As with poetry, there were sections I had to reread before I felt I'd got enough of a sense of their meaning to move on. Now I know the ending, I'm contemplating rereading for the imagery and allusion, and certainly the writing is beautiful enough to make retreading Ia Pendilly's footsteps a tempting prospect.
Wild and mesmerising, All Rivers Run Free is brave, bold writing. Come for the dystopia alone, and you may be disappointed. However, if you seek an immersive reading experience from a truly unique voice, I can think of no better place to start.
While this is a story of existence in a worryingly possible near-future dystopian society - water levels have risen, and even lone strangers are desperate and therefore a potential threat - All Rivers Run Free is first and foremost the story of one woman's personal survival.
This is a tale of marginalisation, trauma, grief and motherhood. Though these themes could be addressed in a contemporary setting, there's a sense that in this case, character and dystopia have sprouted from the same seed, the two components inextricable from each other and from the distinctive narrative style.
Author Natasha Carthew is also a poet, and this is evident in her lyrical, urgent prose. The flow of her run-on sentences is disorientating at first, but soon enough I fell into their rhythm, the third person narrative feeling somehow more like first, close and intense and raw. It's an uncompromising style, requiring reader to meet text halfway but yielding rich rewards for those who do.
As with poetry, there were sections I had to reread before I felt I'd got enough of a sense of their meaning to move on. Now I know the ending, I'm contemplating rereading for the imagery and allusion, and certainly the writing is beautiful enough to make retreading Ia Pendilly's footsteps a tempting prospect.
Wild and mesmerising, All Rivers Run Free is brave, bold writing. Come for the dystopia alone, and you may be disappointed. However, if you seek an immersive reading experience from a truly unique voice, I can think of no better place to start.
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