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Literary Classic Review |
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In his preface to Run Me a River, Morris Grubbs writes, Giles loved and indeed embodied the Green River country of south central Kentucky. Her passion for the river and its people, as well as her acute awareness of the cultural changes wrought by the Civil War, propel this novel." While many readers may not have heard of Janice Holt Giles, the University of Kentucky Press has recently reissued her final, and some say best, novel. Giles, who was born in 1905 and died in 1979, lived and wrote near Knifley, Kentucky for thirty-four years. In an unusual move for the times, she made the run from Bowling Green to Evansville herself on a riverboat to research an earlier novel, Rambler’s Saga. Like Rambler’s Saga, Run Me a River turns the river and landscape into characters who exist alongside her fictional characters. Set during the Civil War, Run Me a River, focuses on one man's sense of change. Bo Cartwright is in love with the river and its culture. He's also in love with Phoebe. They believe the war will change their way of life in ways they don't find acceptable. Part historical fiction and part romance, Run Me a River is light and pleasant reading.
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