The River
Gabriel Clarke’s life is wholly devoted to “the River,” a stretch of rapids in the Colorado Rockies. He can’t bear to be away from it; its power is undeniable. Neale’s novel is a powerful allegory about faith in something more powerful and mysterious than oneself. Gabriel loved the River as a child, but when it took his father and he was sent to live with his mother in Kansas, he developed a fear of the water. A trip to the River as a teenager reminds him of his connection to this wild place. As he trusts the River to lead him forward, Gabriel’s life flourishes into more than he dreamed it could be while in Kansas. Neale evokes a relationship between his protagonist and nature as real as any Gabriel has with the people around him as he learns that by trusting the River to guide him, he will end up where he is meant to be. The River is not without its rough patches, enabling Neale to illustrate how it is in the toughest situations that we find our way. --Carolyn Richard