On the storm-swollen Aisne in northeastern France, an alcoholic actor combats both his demons and nature's tempests. Along the Main and Rhine in Germany, a kind-hearted logger has but one wish: to travel with the lumber from his small Franconian hometown to the end of the river in the Netherlands, where it feeds into the majestic North Sea. In a bucolic vale in the French region of Brittany, two families, divided by religion and an unnamed stream, sustain a centuries-old feud, their resolve no match for the constantly shifting flow of water.
These three stories span countries and eras, but they are all connected by, and reliant on, the unpredictable power and languid beauty of rivers that give life as quickly as they take it away.
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['If you have to drink, then do it someplace where it won't bother anyone,' his wife had said - FLEUVE SAUVAGE]***
(AmazonCrossing, 5 June 2018, first published March 2016, 185 pages, ebook from @AmazonKindle via #PrimeReading
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I enjoyed each story in this short collection. I'd never heard of the author before but liked the title, the cover and the premise intrigued me so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did. The opening story, Fleuve Sauvage is the longest and certainly sets this collection off with a bang. It's stark and beautiful and strange and horrific at times. I loved it and really didn't know what to make of it. The action of the main character, the alcoholic actor took me by surprise. The second story, Voyage to The Moon is a little weaker but also a great read. The final story, Pierre and Adele is almost as good as the first story and I loved it. I definitely want to try more of the author's work.
