River King [Paperback]

Alice Hoffman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: QUALITY PAPERBACKS DIRECT (1990)
• ASIN: B000SHM9ZY
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Alice Hoffman was born in New York City on March 16, 1952 and grew up on Long Island. After graduating from high school in 1969, she attended Adelphi University, from which she received a BA, and then received a Mirrellees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which she attended in 1973 and 74, receiving an MA in creative writing. She currently lives in Boston and New York.

Hoffman's first novel, Property Of, was written at the age of twenty-one, while she was studying at Stanford, and published shortly thereafter by Farrar Straus and Giroux. She credits her mentor, professor and writer Albert J. Guerard, and his wife, the writer Maclin Bocock Guerard, for helping her to publish her first short story in the magazine Fiction. Editor Ted Solotaroff then contacted her to ask if she had a novel, at which point she quickly began to write what was to become Property Of, a section of which was published in Mr. Solotaroff's magazine, American Review.

Since that remarkable beginning, Alice Hoffman has become one of our most distinguished novelists. She has published a total of eighteen novels, two books of short fiction, and eight books for children and young adults. Her novel, Here on Earth, an Oprah Book Club choice, was a modern reworking of some of the themes of Emily Bronte's masterpiece Wuthering Heights. Practical Magic was made into a Warner film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Her novel, At Risk, which concerns a family dealing with AIDS, can be found on the reading lists of many universities, colleges and secondary schools. Her advance from Local Girls, a collection of inter-related fictions about love and loss on Long Island, was donated to help create the Hoffman (Women's Cancer) Center at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. Blackbird House is a book of stories centering around an old farm on Cape Cod. Hoffman's recent books include Aquamarine and Indigo, novels for pre-teens, and The New York Times bestsellers The River King, Blue Diary, The Probable Future, and The Ice Queen. Green Angel, a post-apocalyptic fairy tale about loss and love, was published by Scholastic and The Foretelling, a book about an Amazon girl in the Bronze Age, was published by Little Brown. In 2007 Little Brown published the teen novel Incantation, a story about hidden Jews during the Spanish Inquisition, which Publishers Weekly has chosen as one of the best books of the year. In January 2007, Skylight Confessions, a novel about one family's secret history, was released on the 30th anniversary of the publication of Her first novel. Her most recent novel is The Story Sisters (2009), published by Shaye Areheart Books.

Hoffman's work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her novels have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay "Independence Day" a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest. Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, Self, and other magazines. Her teen novel Aquamarine was recently made into a film starring Emma Roberts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Hoffman, July 13, 2000

By 

R. Witte (Croton-on-Hudson, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The River King (Hardcover)

In all her novels, Alice Hoffman has the ability to make us laugh and cry with her beautifully poetic prose, and her uncanny way of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. THE RIVER KING takes place in the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts, a place divided into two sides...those who were born and raised in the village, and the privileged few who attend the prestigious Haddan School. When a sudden and inexplicable death occurs, the town's history and secerts are revealed and the intertwined lives of Carlin Leander, Gus Pierce, Betsy Chase and Abel Grey are unraveled on that fateful night. While this may not be Ms. Hoffman's strongest work, the story is truly alluring and beautifully written. I can only compare her writing to oil on canvas...so clear and lush, it is almost as if the words form pictures on each page. If you are a fan of Ms. Hoffman, read THE RIVER KING.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible and Moving, August 5, 2000

By 

Haley Parnham (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The River King (Hardcover)

Maybe it's my age and maybe it's Alice Hoffman, but I continue to be deeply moved by her stories as they stay with me long after I've read the last page, closed the book, logged its title into my book list and found a proper place for it on one of my shelves. When I read a book by Alice Hoffman I am transported into the world of which she writes. THE RIVER KING was no exception. I could smell the roses that grew on the grounds of the Haddan School, feel the pain of Gus and Carlin, of Betsy and Abel, of Helen Davis and her false love. When you read an Alice Hoffman novel you are never left behind. Her words invite you into the story and as you settle comfortably into place you are amazed and dismayed when you realize there are only a few pages left to read. THE RIVER KING is magical in a way only Alice Hoffman can create magic. Her ability to spin a tale of love and mystery and sadness and joy is unmatched.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As always, Hoffman delivers magic!, August 27, 2000

By 

Terry Mathews (a small town in east Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The River King (Hardcover)

To truly experience Alice Hoffman's work, you need the ability to suspend all rational thought for a bit. Hoffman's tales are conjured with both a writer's voice and a magician's wand. She is never boring.

In THE RIVER KING, Ms. Hoffman tells the story of a small town in Massachusetts...she divides the town into the haves and the have nots. An elite private school adds to the class distinctions.

When one of Haddan School's students is found drowned in the troubled Haddan River, city and students alike are effected.

Haddan School's own troubled past becomes part of Hoffman's tapestry. The fragrance of roses appears in the middle of winter. Fish appear out of nowhere. The dead boy's image shows up in photographs. Bees swarm in October. Mysterious illness strikes students. No one rests until the mystery is solved.

THE RIVER KING is one of Hoffman's best efforts. It is not light, easy, summertime reading. It is to be savored and will linger with you long after you've finished. Like Hoffman's past work, some mysteries are solved. Some will never be.

That's what it's like to read a good Alice Hoffman story.

Enjoy!