The River King

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Summary: The best book I've ever read
Review: The River King was the best book that I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. I think that Alice Hoffman is the best author ever and really knows how to write a great book. I can't wait until she writes another book!

Rating:
Summary: The River King
Review: This is an excellent book that grips the reader from the start. It's Alice Hoffman at her best. The charectors seem real and the story is gripping. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: River King by Alice Hoffman
Review: If you have not read any of Alice Hoffman's books yet, I urge you to do so. This novel about the mystery surrounding a boarding school in Massachusetts is an excellent place to begin. When the Haddon School's headmaster marries a local girl, thus begins a history of sorrow that invades the school & carries on for many years, touching everyone in some way or another. As in her other books, life is never ordinary, and magic is everywhere. As usual, Ms. Hoffman writes with extraordinary talent and a touch of magic in her pen. This is the reason Alice Hoffman is my absolute favorite author. Please, do yourself a favor and buy this book.

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Summary: Vintage Hoffman
Review: In all her novels, Alice Hoffman has the ability to make us laugh and cry with her beautifully poetic prose, and her uncanny way of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. THE RIVER KING takes place in the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts, a place divided into two sides...those who were born and raised in the village, and the privileged few who attend the prestigious Haddan School. When a sudden and inexplicable death occurs, the town's history and secerts are revealed and the intertwined lives of Carlin Leander, Gus Pierce, Betsy Chase and Abel Grey are unraveled on that fateful night. While this may not be Ms. Hoffman's strongest work, the story is truly alluring and beautifully written. I can only compare her writing to oil on canvas...so clear and lush, it is almost as if the words form pictures on each page. If you are a fan of Ms. Hoffman, read THE RIVER KING.

Rating:
Summary: On par with Practical Magic
Review: The other reviews of this novel do not give "The River King" justice. It is truly an excellent piece of work. Hoffman's descriptive writing, as usual, is wonderfully melodic, and the characters in this book are some of the most endearing I have encountered. Gus, one of the main characters, is the type of person you just want to hold and protect, and Carlin is equally captivating, though infuriatingly human. Betsy and Abe, the two adults with a romance, are just as captivating. I highly reccommend this book. I have read quite a few of Hoffman's works, and I would say this (along with Practical Magic) is one of her best.
I just finished reading it 2 days ago, and no matter how hard I try I can't stop thinking about it. The characters are so wonderful that I just can't leave them behind me. Be forwarned, it's a terribly sad book, but it is definitely worth the read! In fact, I hope everyone reads it! I think it's a fantastic book, despite what the other reviewers say.Another reviewer has said that it does not leave you feeling like a piece of yourself has been released-this is true. But I think that the reason you don't feel like you have released a piece of yourself is because it becomes such a part of you that you cannot let it go. It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Another good book written by Alice Hoffman.
Review: "The River King" takes place in Massachusetts. Carlin Leander and Gus Pierce are both students at the Haddan School, which is a boarding school. Carlin attends on a swimming scholarship, while Gus, a troubled kid, is sent there by his father. The two meet and become good friends. In the meantime, Carlin starts dating Harry McKenna, a senior with a lot of influence on the other students. Other characters are introduced throughout the story, such as Betsy Chase, a woman who is engaged to a man who also works for the school, and Abel Grey, a police officer who becomes interested in Betsy.

One morning, a student's drowned body is found in a river by the school. The school wants to keep the situation quiet, and labels the death an accidental drowning; however, when an autopsy is conducted, the results suggest foul play. Abel ignores the warnings from the school and the police department, and further investigates the situation. He knows that there is a murderer, or murderers, out there, and he wants justice.

"The River King" was well written. The reader will be kept interested throughout the whole book, even though I found that the story picked up speed in the middle. Fans will not be disappointed.

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Summary: A Pleasurable Read
Review: The River King, by Alice Hoffman is a well-rounded book. There is the right amount of sentiment, tragedy, and suspense to balance the plot and the overall experience of the book. While this particular work does not excel in any of these categories, it is a nice combination.
It is set around the late 1990's at a private high school in the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts. The main story follows the lives of an incoming freshman, a new photography teacher, and a local police officer. Everything plays out in a continuous cycle of events that intertwine and include the past and the present.
While The River King may not be the intellectual thriller of Conrad, or have the wildly imaginative characters like in Faulkner, it is good writing for our day and age. The themes are modern and the story is life-like. I would recommend it as a good book to read for pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book missed the mark for me. I did read it, but I did not find it necessarily engaging. I think that this may have been targeted for a younger audience. It was dark in an odd way - not like Practical Magic, however. I felt a little cheated when I finished the book - I did not have that 'good' feeling that comes after having read a 'good' book.

I do appreciate Alice Hoffman's talent, but I did not feel this book showcased it as well as others have. I much preferred A Probable Future.

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Summary: Maybe she's a great writer, but...
Review: I'm unfamiliar with Alice Hoffman's other work, but if this book is indicative of her talent, I'm inclined to remain that way. I have a tendency to continue reading books I dislike, just because I don't like to quit things halfway through, so I kept on reading well past the point I had begun to wonder "why am I reading this?". The plot is as worn as an old shoe and the reader must continually endure schmaltzy references to the "mysterious wafting scent of roses" indicating - what? A ghostly indication of the character's victimhood? As if we didn't recognize this on our own? The characters seem to have been ripped straight out of a melodrama, complete with fainting spells and evil sneers. And the ending is just halfhearted. There's sure to be a movie, where at least the only wafting odor will be that of popcorn.

Rating:
Summary: Best Yet!
Review: So far I have read Practical Magic, Illumination Night, Seventh Heaven, Blue Diary, Here on Earth, Drowning Season, and The River King. I found that the River King was the best yet. It had true emotions expressed throughout the book that touches you in an unexplainable way. This book was not only moving, but it had a little mystery to it as well. If you read any of her books. Read this one.