Push Not the River

I was immediately drawn into the story of the young Anna Maria and the dramatic events that shaped her life. Orphaned at 17, she's sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin Zofia who is her own age. These two young women are very different and there is conflict between them throughout the book. However, the author's skill in developing Zofia's character kept the story from falling into the trap of stereotyping and these two characters emerge as complex individuals.

The story is rich with romance, intrigue, passion and love. And it's all set against a backdrop of Polish history. There's a bridge in New York City named after the patriot Tadeusz Kosciuszko, but until now I had no idea who he was. Neither did I think about how the events of the French revolution directly affected the rest of Europe and Poland in particular. I learned about these things in this book as I followed Anna Maria's story, my eyes racing over the pages and holding my breath through her many ordeals. It's a fast and easy read, and, in spite of being 608 pages long I yearned for more when it ended. Hopefully the author will sit fit to write a sequel.


Eloquent story!   January 17, 2006
Busy Mom (Ohio)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

First off, on the front cover, an author compared this novel to "Gone with the Wind" and "Doctor Zhivago" ~~ while I've read "Gone with the Wind" ~~ this is not as same as that classic novel. This is an entirely different historical novel ~~ more focused on the events surrounding the main character than on the characters themselves.

It is perhaps one of the most beautifully written novels so far this year ~~ very engrossing and very much a page-turner. I was immersed with the story-line from the first sentence on.

This story focuses on a young girl, Anna Maria, who suddenly lost both of her parents in a matter of weeks. Sent to live with her aunt and uncle and cousin, Zofia, Anna finds love with the neighbor, who Zofia also has designs on. Swept up into betrayal, rape, pregnancy and other mayhem, Anna finds her voice in the growing turmoil of the civil unrest in Poland herself. Caught in the middle between Prussia, Austria and Russia, Poland was fighting for her new constitution that gave the peasants rights. On the international front, everyone was mesmerized by the events sweeping across France during her revolution.

Anna is portrayed as a sheltered young girl of the noble class and she grows up among the civil unrest. Zofia, her cousin, is not as well portrayed as Anna is and she walks among the nobles in opulent parties and masquerade balls and as the king's sometime mistress. The descriptions of the parties and lifestyles remind me of the rich and famous magazines that we see nowadays. It's opulent and sometimes just a little too much. Martin made Anna the character who thought so too.

It is a sweeping story ~~ very interesting and descriptive of the times. It is not an epic because if it was, we would read more of Anna and her family after the Praga massacre and how they survived in the new order where Poland only exists in name, not as a self-governing country.

I really enjoyed the novel and cannot wait to read more of his books. I never thought I'd enjoy reading a historical fiction on Poland ~~ but it surpassed any ideas that I had before. It is a colorful country with a rich past and it is definitely something I would like to read more of. This one is a definite addition to my favorites of historical fiction. And I hope he writes more soon!

1-17-06


HISTORY COMES ALIVE   July 11, 2001
Mary R. Mitchell (Elmwood Park, Illinois United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Every country has a history, but few countries suffered the repeated tragedies of Poland. Immersed in a feudal system that oppressed Poland's poor, the nobility became fatally divided. Within this country's class struggle, James Conroyd Martin puts a personal face on the events of the time by introducing the reader to the Berezowski family. In particular, two cousins, Anna and Zophia, battle each other and the country's system of nobility to an end which is both bitter and hopeful. Mr. Martin gleaned his story from the reading and translating of a true-life diary that is almost 200 years old. Written by a woman who lived through many of the trials of Poland during its multiple partitions, PUSH NOT THE RIVER fictionalizes her family's experiences around the tru historical occupations and partitions of the land. Along with the fictional characters, the reader is introduced to some of Poland's greatest heroes and most breath-taking landscapes. The River Vistula seems to work as a beautiful metaphor in illustrating all that divided the sides during that period of time in Poland. Open the first page of this book, and begin to know the Berezowska cousins and their country. It is well worh the effort.


LOVED it!   January 12, 2005
R. Boadway (Flagsaff, AZ)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

I could not put this book down! While at times it read a little like a soap opera, the fact that it was based on a real Countess' diary kept it real and lent the story credibility. Anna's passion for love, life and her country was inspirational and touching. I also liked the fact that while I was being entertained by an intriguing story, I was being given a wonderful history lesson as well (being from a Polish background, I am embarrassed to say all of this was new information for me). It is a novel filled with intrigue, suspense, mystery, revenge, passion, love, faith, glitter, jealousy, greed, war, death, solidarity....the list goes on and on.
Best of all, I hear that the author is in the process of writing a sequel as I speak. Can't wait!


Rave Review for Push Not The River   March 20, 2001
KATHLEEN HOWE (Shoreline, WA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

I went into this book a little blindly, not knowing quite what it was going to be about. What I found was a thoroughly impressive tail of romance, mystery, suspense and the incredible history of war-torn Poland during the 18th century. It is remarkable! When I finished, I found myself actually missing the characters, as I often do when I complete a book that has drawn me in so completely. All I can think of to say to the author is "thank you." I feel my life is just a little fuller, with the knowledge that Countess Anna existed, and what she and her people went through. I had no prior knowledge of Polish history, but now feel considerably better educated. Martin shows an impressive mastery of the written word, and an uncanny understanding of the female perspective. This book is a rare gem!