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.