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Death of a River Guide cover art

Death of a River Guide

Written by: Richard Flanagan
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Publisher's Summary

Widely regarded as a classic in Australian literature, Richard Flanagan's debut novel takes us on a swirling journey into Tasmania's past and our river guide's own violent ancestral secrets.

Beneath a waterfall on the Franklin, Aljaz Cosini, river guide, lies drowning. Beset by visions at once horrible and fabulous, he relives not just his own life but that of his family and forebears.

In the rainforest waters that rush over him he sees those lives stripped of their surface realities, and finds a world where dreaming reasserts its power over thinking. As the river rises, his visions grow more turbulent, and in the flood of his past Aljaz discovers the soul history of his country.

Richard Flanagan's 1994 debut about a mythical Tasmania dazzled audiences around the world, and is now recognised as one of the most powerful and original Australian novels of recent decades.

©1994 Richard Flanagan (P)2017 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Literary Fiction
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What the critics say

"Haunting and ambitious." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"A torrent of a book - take the plunge." ( The Independent)

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Profile Image for Henry Slofstra

A masterpiece of prose.

Since I first happened upon narrator, Humphrey Bower, I have read a number of books that he tackled, and intend to read every one with one notable exception. Bryce Courtney writes the kind of historical fiction that has no charm for me; you may well think different. But other than that, I'll read every one. Bower is an exceptionally adept narrator, skillfully voicing various characters, rendering accents with accuracy, very clear diction and all without over-acting. So that's a good start.
Which brings us to this novel, an absolute masterpiece. The book deals with many themes: colonialism, indigenous people, Tasmania, Australia, poverty, life, and river rafting. The story arc interweaves several distinct narratives: the life of the dying protagonist, Aljaz Cosini, the progress of his tourist charges on a river journey, the lives of Aljaz's parents, and a more general narrative on Tasmanian history. There are more general reviews on the book so I'll leave it there ... I enjoyed this immensely.

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