Product Description
With a strong, warm voice that brings the South to life, New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe writes richly textured stories that intimately portray the complex and emotional relationships we share with families, friends, and the natural world. "Every book that Mary Alice Monroe has written has felt like a homecoming to me," writes Pat Conroy, bestselling author of The Prince of Tides.

Time Is a River is an insightful novel that will sweep readers away to the seductive southern landscape, joining books by authors such as Anne Rivers Siddons and Sue Monk Kidd.

Recovering from breast cancer and reeling from her husband's infidelity, Mia Landan flees her Charleston home to heal in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. She seeks refuge in a neglected fishing cabin belonging to her fly-fishing instructor, Belle Carson.

Belle recently inherited the cabin, which once belonged to a grandmother she never knew -- the legendary fly fisher and journalist of the 1920s, Kate Watkins, whose life fell into ruins after she was accused of murdering her lover. Her fortune lost in the stock market crash and her reputation destroyed, Kate slipped into seclusion in the remote cabin. After her death the fishing cabin remained locked and abandoned for decades. Little does Belle know that by opening the cabin doors to Mia for a summer's sanctuary, she will open again the scandal that plagued Belle's family for generations.

From her first step inside the dusty cabin, Mia is fascinated by the traces of Kate's mysterious story left behind in the eccentric furnishings of the cabin. And though Belle, ashamed of the tabloid scandal that tortured her mother, warns Mia not to stir the mud, Mia is compelled to find out more about Kate...especially when she discovers Kate's journal.

The inspiring words of the remarkable woman echo across the years. Mia has been learning to fly-fish, and Kate's wise words comparing life to a river resonate deeply. She begins a quest to uncover the truth behind the lies. As she searches newspaper archives and listens to the colorful memories of the local small-town residents, the story of a proud, fiercely independent woman emerges. Mia feels a strange kinship with the woman who, like her, suffered fears, betrayal, the death of loved ones, and a fall from grace -- yet found strength, compassion and, ultimately, forgiveness in her isolation. A story timeless in its appeal emerges, with a power that reopens old wounds, but also brings a transforming healing for Mia, for Kate's descendants, and for all those in Mia's new community.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 98 reviews)

Slow paced, Metaphor driven, and Unengaging

Let me start by saying the book wasn't bad. Now that that's out of the way...I didn't like it.

Let me start with the most irritating part of reading this book, the story relied heavily on metaphors for all of life's little (and big) problems! So much so that you begin to resent the main character, Mia, for being so "lost" that she must look for meaning in everything.

Secondly,the pace of the book was so slow I found myself dreading picking it up again, knowing I wouldn't be rewarded in the 20 minute window I had to read. If you want a page turner, look elsewhere.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, Time is a River was just lacking that little something that great books have which makes you want to come back for more. I never felt attatched or really cared for any of the characters or what happened to them. I really had no interest in why/why not Kate did what she did and wasn't exicited to get to the resolution other than the fact that it meant the book would soon be over.

Now that I've bashed the poor novel let me say that I didn't hate it, I just was never able to get involved enough with the plot or characters for it to truly entertain me. It's a book meant for lonely nights alone, or sitting in a doctor's office but not one that can be devoured and relished with great passion.

December 03, 2008

great storytelling

Mia Landan, 38 years old, was tall, slim, and attractive, all pluses for her success in public relations in Charleston, South Carolina. Her husband Charles was a lawyer. They had no children.

Then came breast cancer, leaving a scar where her left breast had been. Surgery, chemo, and worry were physically and emotionally draining.

Mia's six years older sister, Maddie, had been by her side throughout the whole ordeal. Mia's husband had not. Ever since their mother had died of breast cancer when Mia was thirteen, Maddie had become more a mother than a sister. The sisterly mothering continued.

Maddie arranged for Mia to attend a three-day fly-fishing retreat for breast cancer survivors -- called Casting for Recovery -- in the foothills of North Carolina. The group of women are introduced to the elegant sport of fly-fishing, using a rod and reel to skillfully cast a thin line out over the water, letting an artificial fly hit lightly on the river's surface to attract a hungry trout.

The delicacy and thrill of the moves are close to ballet. And the arm and chest muscles for casting are just what breast cancer survivors need to work. And for any squeamish, the principle is "Catch and Release," the fish being returned unhurt to the water.

Mia was eager to share with her husband what Belle Carson, the retreat leader, had taught, so she drove back a day early to Charleston. She was surprised to see Charles's car in the drive. Something told her to be quiet as she made her way through the living room, up the stairs, to the bedroom. To be more discreet here, what she heard and saw of Charles and a woman in bed made her hurry back north on the road, back to Belle at the retreat.

She had to have time alone, time to figure out what to do, time to heal. Belle listened to her need and offered the use of a cabin in the woods, near the river. The cabin had originally belonged to Belle's grandmother, Kate Watkins, a well-known fly fisher, in the days when men kept women out of the sport. Belle had inherited the cabin from her mother, Kate's daughter. No one had been in the cabin for years. Everyone in the nearby town stayed away from the area because they were spooked, believing that Belle's grandmother Kate had murdered her married lover somewhere around there.

Mia is to occupy the cabin for the summer, while Belle is taking a trip to Scotland. In lieu of rent, Mia will clean the place up until Belle returns, with the expectation to put it on the market. Mia does a lot of scrubbing and cleaning, and becomes friendly with shopkeepers and others in the town, who are surprised that she would dare stay out there alone in the cabin. Meanwhile Mia's husband Charles wants a divorce.

In the cabin Mia finds Belle's grandmother's diaries, including her illustrated fishing diary. In the town Mia learns how famous Kate was, including having written years ago a series of well-received newspaper articles cleverly called "On the Fly."

Mia continues practicing her fly-fishing on the river, and some weeks later is annoyed to find a stranger fishing at her favorite spot. He is Stuart MacDougal, skilled in the sport, who it turns out is opening in the town a large new fly-fishing store, part of a chain. He offers her some pointers. He is helpful and patient, and takes her around the area to different fishing spots. Mia's disfigurement leaves her fearful and tentative toward any more serious relationship with Stuart.

Mia continues to be intrigued by Kate Watkins and wonders how such a talented fly-fisher, writer, and illustrator could have been a murderer. Help appears in the person of Nada Turner, the editor of the local newspaper, who retrieves Kate's old articles from the archives. Mia also wants to interview anyone in the town who had known Kate. Stuart helps.

What really happened to Kate's lover so many years ago? Did Kate murder him? Mia digs into the mystery.

Author Mary Alice Monroe, a past master of romance, knows how to craft a suspenseful and excellent story. A great read (369 pages).

November 29, 2008

Two love stories in one book

Mia Landon is a former PR exec from Charleston who loses her job and much of her confidence and identity when she is stricken with breast cancer. After a year of the horror of dealing with the cancer and its treatment, Mia attends a fly fishing camp for breast cancer survivors and is so stoked by the experience that she leaves early to run back home to share the experience with her husband of 10 years. He meanwhile is enjoying his own retreat --in their bed with another woman, which Mia discovers as she catches the couple herself.

Mia returns to the fly-fishing camp as she flees the shocking and debilitating reality of Charles and his mistress. There, she is rescued by fly fishing teacher, Belle, who offers her shelter in an abandoned mountain cabin. The remote mountain setting is beautiful if a bit primtive and Monroe even has me wanting to learn more about (and maybe even try) fly fishing now.

(Casting for Recovery is a real non-profit organization helping women with breast cancer with its programs, which includes teaching fly fishing.)

Mia experiences a bit of a broken heart and even more of an identity crisis in the first few days of living in the little cabin in the woods, but soon she has a story more compelling than her own to occupy her time and her mind.

This second story concerns the mystery surrounding the cabin's prior owner, Kate, an early feminist and fly-fishing champion who blazed the trail for women to enter the male-dominated sport. Kate leaves not just rumors but written diaries and a few old friends so Mia can learn her story. I actually thought Kate's story was the more interesting of the two.

For me, the stories (both of them) were a bit too much like fairy tales. Several plot developments are just unrealistic and convenient, starting at the beginning. If you can overlook things that are a bit too Cinderella-like, then you will enjoy this book. Fans of romance novels will adore it. I liked it; I just wish I could have loved it.
November 28, 2008

very satisfying read

I truly enjoyed reading this. The characters are phenominally vivid. This book weaves several topic--breast cancer, murder, fly fishing--in a seamless narrative. I never thought someone could show the beauty of a trout, but Monroe has.

The writing is fresh without being flashy. Very straight-forward narrative. The ending is sweet and satisfying without being a cheesy romance or Hollywood ending. I felt like I was in the boat with Mia (the main character) and enjoying the ride.
November 22, 2008

A softly Southern story

Southern novels by Southern authors are one of my weaknesses. I'll say up front that my taste runs more to Faulkner and Southern Gothic, but when this book came with Pat Conroy's own recommendation, my head was turned immediately. After all, Pat Conroy is one of my all-time favorite authors for his eloquent prose that can move the reader to laughter and tears in the same sentence. I couldn't resist. And the praise was fairly well deserved, although Monroe is no Conroy - nor does she pretend to be.

Time is a River belongs to the category of "soft writing" - subtle, without a noticeably strong voice. But it tells a good story, as its protagonist Mia learns how to live with a recovery that bears the threat of death in itself. Having lived closely with people who are victims of cancer, I was drawn to Mia's story for that specific reason. Perhaps the most engaging aspect of the tale is the connection to the past as Mia learns about life from the remaining traces of those who lived in the mountain cabin before she did. The symbolism of the river (typical water associations) is evident to the reader.

This novel will not go down in history as a "must read," but it is a "good read," and I don't fault the author for telling her story as she chose to do. If you like a soft, relaxing reading experience, especially with a female protagonist, this is probably a good choice for you.
November 20, 2008

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