River, Sing Out

River, Sing Out is set in fictional Neches County, Texas, in the East Texas bottomland. It's a hardscrabble existence for many folks, and Jonah Hargrove is no exception. His father works on an oil rig, so the days he's gone on the job are days Jonah doesn't have to duck his blows. In spite of his seemingly bleak existence, though, Jonah has a good heart. So when River, a teenage girl, stumbles into his sphere, injured and running scared after stealing a backpack full of meth from local drug lord John Curtis, Jonah feels like he should help her.

This book is a fascinating contrast. On the one hand, you've got the violent life of the drug trade and the grinding poverty in which Jonah lives. On the other, you've got the author's lyrical turns of phrase like, “That night he dreamt the earth was water alone and he floated atop it and from the center of the endless sea rose enormous a single oak and upon its bark and branches clung thousands of gray and green tree frogs and none moving or trilling yet all somehow calling to him and the boy spoke in a voice they understood.” As an editor and proofreader, that really, really long sentence makes me a little crazy. But what amazing imagery. Can't you just see that lone oak in your mind's eye? The book is full of vivid, musical word pictures that make you feel almost like you're right there with Jonah and River.

As the title would suggest, the river is an important part of the story. It offers Jonah and River shelter and a means of escape at times. It rises and falls, and sometimes floods, bringing destruction as the waters crest and then recede. The river may not be alive in the sense of a sentient existence, but it has its mysteries and changes and moods, much like a person would.

Ultimately, I thought the book was about the resilience of the human spirit and the struggle to maintain faith, even in the face of indifferent nature and the sometimes brutal realities of life. And here, it felt like indifferent nature maybe cared just a little, that nature thought it time to wash a few old wounds clean, and perhaps make room for, if not complete healing, then at least growth. Given the difficult subject matter, it wasn't always an easy read, but it's a story I'm glad I read.

River, Sing Out is the latest novel from award-winning author James Wade, a gripping book of crime and suspense about a girl and a boy on the run from evil drug dealers. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “Attempting to escape his abusive father and generations of cyclical poverty, young Jonah Hargrove joins the mysterious River—a teenage girl carrying thousands of dollars in stolen meth—and embarks on a southern gothic odyssey through the East Texas river bottoms. They are pursued by local drug kingpin John Curtis and his murderous enforcer, Dakota Cade, with whom River was romantically involved. But Cade and Curtis have their own enemies, as their relationship with the cartel controlling their meth supply begins to sour. Keeping tabs on everyone is the Thin Man, a silent assassin who values consequence over mercy.”

Wade is a master storyteller with an ability to create a vivid world within his inventive narrative language. The cadence of the narration as well as the choice wordplay are unique to Wade. Although it takes time to assimilate to the language, once done, it is an invitation into a perfectly self-contained world. The relationships between young Jonah and River, as well as Jonah's friendship with old man Carson, are the beating heart and soul of the story. These two narrative threads were a marvel to behold. Although the soliloquies from Cade, Curtis, and the Thin Man are effective in establishing their dominance over the region as well as their unabashed evil intentions, these speeches often bogged down the narrative. Nonetheless, the reader can't help but cheer for Jonah, River, and Carson as their world undoubtedly spins out of control towards disaster, and our hope for their future grows more worrisome. The pacing of the storytelling is splendid and the description of the wildlife and countryside is poetic. Here's an example:

“The morning sun didn't hold, and soon the rain fell and gathered on the ground and in the trees, and the leaves weighed down and dripping, and the branches and plants sloped over like some great melting of the world. The squirrels looked out from their hiding holes, and the birds shook their wet feathers, and the deer moved silent toward higher ground. They moved in groups of threes and fours, like untrusting survivors of the apocalypse, stopping to lift their heads skyward and blow, trying their best to discern the true measure of their own safety in the storm.”

Well done, James Wade!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I highly recommend it. I would give this novel 5 stars.