What the River Keeps
A scientist’s homecoming and river restoration work inspire her to face her childhood fears in Cheryl Grey Bostrom’s eloquent Christian novel What the River Keeps.
As dams on the Olympic Peninsula begin to close, Hildy, a solitary biologist whose specialty is fish, is called to the Elwha River to help with its rewilding. She’s wary about returning to live at her family’s resort, though. And her mother, who has dementia, faces long-term care. Hildy is also haunted by her father’s long-ago disappearance and by her own memory loss, prompting her to keep meticulous diaries to anchor herself.
Intricate vistas and lush natural details backdrop Hildy’s story. Her apprehension is mirrored in dark treelines and visions of shadows; her passion for the wilderness calms her anxiety, too. She catalogs birds’ nests and collects rocks, finding touchstones to comfort herself.
The mystery surrounding Hildy’s reclusiveness unfurls in time with practical challenges, including the resort’s closure. She’s helped by a compassionate staff whose members exhibit folksy wisdom. When a woman rents the cabin next to Hildy’s for a pottery studio, she brings her widowed carpenter brother, Luke, along to help, and he’s struck by Hildy’s shy beauty. They build a slow camaraderie as he encourages her to embrace pastimes she’s forsaken; he is patient as she reveals her mental health concerns. Ideas about faith and renewal underpin their romantic bond.
In the hopeful Christian novel What the River Keeps, a woman heals from her traumatic past in a beloved environment, unearthing stunning and macabre family secrets that allow fresh mercies to take hold.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
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