Heather’s Bookshelf: 1871: Rivers on Fire
Author: Paul Buchheit
Released: 10/6/2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
“Robert opened the window and breathed in the prairie air. Not like him, I thought, to lose confidence in the advance of social justice. I turned to say something, but changed my mind. The train turned slightly to the north, causing the late afternoon sun to flicker on his face and then disappear, and I allowed the peacefulness of the moment to lull me back to a daydream I would not remember.”
On the surface, “Rivers on Fire” is a fictional depiction of deadly fires that ripped through the U.S., near and through Chicago, in 1871. In actuality, the story is much more layered, filled with romance, tons of historical references during a complex time in U.S. history, and a lot of theory in neuroscience.
“Rivers on Fire” begins by introducing Liz, a doctoral student at Chicago University, studying neurolinguistics. Liz is worried about her husband, Robert, who has had to take a job in a lumberjack camp hundreds of miles away in order to support the young couple. In his latest letter to his wife, he describes the beginnings of several small fires that are threatening the area near his work. The story then falls back, two years in time, to when the couple met while in grad school in London and follows their life together until the fires. It then continues through the horrors of the fires and concludes with life afterwards.
Fair Warning: Scenes of brutality and racism including war-time violence
Overall, I found the book to be an interesting read. The author does a really nice job in incorporating so many of the events and social trends of the timeframe of the novel in a way that seems seamless with the overall story. However, the amount of time spent on the theory of neuroscience and development of theory was quite extensive. My day job is a physical therapist specializing in neurological deficit. So, in some ways I enjoyed reading about the history of now well-known elements of neuroscience. However, I also like to escape from that world when I read fiction and can also see how those without a science background could feel it to be a little heavy handed. I thought that the character development of both Liz and Robert to be well done. I could feel their love for each other through the writing and liked that their romance wasn’t a stereotypical star-crossed lovers scenario. It made their relationship a lot more real for me. The last third of the book is really intense and quite sad and while I was not a fan of the ending, I understand the direction. The author clearly did an immense amount of research into this story, making it a truly believable journey.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An intense historical fiction filled with plenty of anecdotes based on truth as well as a sweet romance. Unfortunately, it’s a little dragged down by a focus on academia.
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