The River: A novel by Peter Heller (English) Paperback Book

Description: The River by Peter Heller NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of The Guide and The Dog Stars comes the story of two college students on a wilderness canoe trip—a gripping tale of a friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence."A fiery tour de force … I could not put this book down. It truly was terrifying and unutterably beautiful."—The Denver PostWynn and Jack have been best friends since college orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. One night, with the fire advancing, they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank; the next day, a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the same man they heard? And if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography PETER HELLER is the national bestselling author of Celine, The Painter, and The Dog Stars. The Painter was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and won the prestigious Reading the West Book Award, shared in the past by Western writers such as Cormac McCarthy and Terry Tempest Williams, and The Dog Stars, which was published to critical acclaim and lauded as a breakout bestseller, has been published in twenty-two languages to date. Heller is also the author of four nonfiction books, including Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave, which was awarded the National Outdoor Book Award for Literature. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop in poetry and fiction and lives in Denver, Colorado. Review Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee"Vivid and engaging. . . . A suspenseful tale told with glorious drama and lyrical flair." —The New York Times Book Review"A fiery tour de force. . . . Terrifying and unutterably beautiful." —The Denver Post"[A] poetic and unnerving wilderness thriller. . . . Full of rushing life and profound consequences."—USA Today "Packed with action. . . . Engaging. . .satisfying." —Outside Magazine"[A] modern-day survival tale. . . . Takes on the urgency of a thriller." —The New York Times "[Heller] has created indelible characters. . . . The River is a beauty-of-nature/cruelty-of-humanity hybrid, but this time he leans into the thriller aspect of the tale, with gripping results."—Minneapolis Star Tribune"The prose is glorious, Hellers evocation of the natural surroundings stunning, the tension razor-sharp."—The Observer (London) "Stunning, beautiful, life-affirming, and heartbreaking. . . . Heller writes with deep respect and empathy for not only nature and its inhabitants but also of human frailty, friendship, loyalty, and love. [An] exquisite book." —Criminal Element "[A] superbly crafted adventure-action-mystery story. . . . Reminiscent of James Dickeys classic Deliverance." —New York Journal of Books "As much an allegory about mans impact on the Earth as it is an adventure story. . . . Hellers melodious renderings are drawn from a lifetime of not just witnessing nature, but of actively paying attention to how it is woven together." —5280 Magazine "Using an artists eye to describe Jack and Wynns wilderness world, Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist Heller has transformed his own outdoor experiences into a heart-pounding adventure thats hard to put down."—Library Journal (starred review) "Peter Heller has struck gold again with The River. . . . Masterly paced and artfully told, The River is a page-turner." —BookPage (starred review) "Fresh and affecting. . . . [Hellers] pacing is masterful. . . . An exhilarating tale delivered with the pace of a thriller and the wisdom of a grizzled nature guide." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Review Quote "Utter joy... A suspenseful tale told with glorious drama and lyrical flair." -Denise Mina, The New York Times Book Review "Urgent, visceral writing--I couldnt turn the pages fast enough. A beautiful, heartrending exploration of male friendship." -Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of Let Me Lie "[T]here is plenty of tension here, but where Heller really scores is the extraordinarily high quality of his writing about the natural world, which is lyrical and action-packed by turns." -Laura Wilson, The Guardian "A fiery tour de force... [ The River ] recalls his debut, The Dog Stars , with its poetic, staccato sentences and masterfully crafted prose... And what a story he tells... I could not put this book down. It truly was terrifying and unutterably beautiful." -Alison Borden, The Denver Post "[A] poetic and unnerving wilderness thriller... Full of rushing life and profound consequences. Every move Jack and Wynn make along the river has the chance to kill them or those theyre trying to save, and the result is a novel that sweeps you away, each page filled with wonder and awe for a natural world we can quantify with science but can rarely predict with emotion." -Tod Goldberg, USA Today "Heller puts his knowledge of canoeing and currents to fascinating use. He has created indelible characters in Wynn and Jack, pals who are almost exact opposites: the former a bearish galoot whos convinced that people are basically good, and the latter a pessimist whos convinced that their only hope for salvation is to paddle as fast as they can." -Ross Gray, Minneapolis Star Tribune "Another superbly crafted adventure-action-mystery story... Reminiscent of James Dickeys classic Deliverance ... The beat of Hellers novel builds to a furious pace." - John Newlin, New York Journal of Books "Engaging...satisfying... Terse and tight. Short, lyrical paragraphs are packed with action and keep the story moving along... Like a lot of backcountry missions, the most compelling parts of the story arent necessarily the rapids or the high-risk moves. Instead theyre the quiet moments where Wynn and Jack are coupling their rods together and wading slowly through vivid, tannic streams." - Heather Hansman, Outside Magazine "It is a rare literary feat when an author is able to marry plot and prose with the soaring majesty that Heller achieves in The River." -Drew Gallagher, Fredericksburg Free Lance Star Description for Reading Group Guide The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups conversation about The River , the searing new novel from Peter Heller, best-selling author of The Dog Stars. Discussion Question for Reading Group Guide 1. Explore the early days of Jack and Wynns friendship. What brought them together? What does each young man admire about the other? 2. Examine Jacks mothers death. How old was he when she died, and how does he understand his own role in her death? To what extent has he processed his grief? How does our knowledge of this part of Jacks history deepen our understanding of his character? 3. Discuss Jacks sole trip back to the Encampment. How many years had passed since his mother had died there? How did he spend his time on this visit? Why do you think he chose not to tell his father? 4. Consider Jack and Wynns decision to go back up the river to look for Maia. Whose initial idea is it, and why is the choice ultimately made in spite of what the two men know about the threat of the fire? 5. Compare and contrast Jack and Wynns responses to danger. As you answer this question, consider the fire, Pierre, Maias injuries, and JD and Brent. To what do you attribute their different response styles? Whose approach to these dangerous situations do you consider to be more appropriate? Why? 6. Explore Wynns relationship with his sister, Jess. How does observing Wynn interact with his sister help Jack understand his friends worldview? 7. What does the ordeal teach these two young men about one another, their friendship, and themselves? How does their friendship evolve over the course of their journey? 8. Examine the role that nature plays in the novel. What is it about nature that is so appealing to both Jack and Wynn? Does their understanding of their place in nature change as the novel progresses? 9. Discuss the theme of luck as it is depicted in the novel. Would you characterize Jack and Wynn as lucky? Why or why not? 10. How would you characterize Jacks sense of justice? What type of behavior, in Jacks eyes, is unforgivable? How does he respond to the unethical behavior of others? Do he and Wynn see eye to eye, ethically? 11. On page 231, Heller writes of Jack, "Everybody he loved most, he killed. One way or another. Hubris killed them--his own. Always." Why does Jack feel at fault in both his mothers and Wynns deaths? Do you feel that Jack is being fair to himself? Why or why not? 12. Explore the conclusion of the novel. Why do you think Jack decided to visit Wynns family? What role do you think his retelling of the story plays in his own grieving process? In that of Hansie and Jess? Do you think Jack will ever be able to move on from what happened? Excerpt from Book Prologue They had been smelling smoke for two days. At first they thought it was another campfire and that sur Details ISBN0525563539 Author Peter Heller Pages 272 Series Vintage Contemporaries Language English Year 2020 ISBN-10 0525563539 ISBN-13 9780525563532 Format Paperback Short Title The River Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2020-03-03 NZ Release Date 2020-03-03 US Release Date 2020-03-03 Place of Publication New York UK Release Date 1900-01-01 Publisher Random House USA Inc Publication Date 2020-03-03 Imprint Vintage Books Subtitle A novel DEWEY 813.6 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:126855020;

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