On a rainy April night in 1917, a passing vagrant sees a young woman fall (or is it jump?) into New York City's Hudson River. He tries to save her, but fails. The police tentatively identify the woman as Lily Canning, twenty-five years old, from Minuit, a town in the Hudson Valley. But is it Lily? The question torments her mother, Henrietta, as she awaits confirmation. And when it comes, even more anguishing questions arise, for neither accident nor suicide makes sense. Lily could swim like a fish, and with her looks, and wealth, and talent, with an exhibition of her paintings about to open at a prestigious New York gallery, she had everything to live for. In the days following her drowning, her heartbroken mother, her estranged husband, Edmund, her family, her friends, even the servant girl, Nuala, try to unravel Lily's secrets and to come to terms with the devastating consequences of her loss on their own lives. Set in New York City and the Hudson River Valley, when the country was poised on the brink of the First World War, "The River, By Moonlight" is a vivid evocation of time and place, and a poignant portrayal of what happens when individual actions and national events collide. Above all, it is a deeply moving study of grief and despair, of the resilience of human nature, and the triumph of determination and hope.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
The River, By Moonlight seems, at first glance, to be a murder mystery. It is not. When Lily dies, her family and friends find themselves entrenched in the mystery of why a vibrant, talented young woman would choose to end it all. We travel with them through their immense grief and confusion, their love and guilt flayed open like an unexpected and gruesome wound.
Camille Marchetta never flinches in this raw, but hopeful story of how people deal with a death they can't possibly understand. -- Mary Lewis, Virtual Wordsmith, February 11, 2008
A personal misfortune set against a backdrop of global crisis.
In 1917, the United States was on the brink of entering World War I, and art was moving away from Impressionism toward a more modern view. Meanwhile, Lily Canning, the daughter of a well-to-do family and an artist on the verge of fame, seems to have everything going for her--good looks, a loving family, wealth and talent. Despite appearances, however, Lily is supremely unhappy, a fact not unnoticed by her friends and family. Nevertheless, when her widowed mother receives a call revealing that Lily has jumped into the Hudson River and died, everyone is shocked. She had seemed happier since she left her husband and was anticipating her first art opening at a New York gallery. Suicide seems unfathomable. As her loved ones speculate about Lily's last hours, Marchetta slowly reveals the heroine in layers through the narration of those closest to her, such as her best friend, her cousins and her estranged husband. Each character's memories of Lily are interrupted by daily minutia and woven together with feelings about their own lives, as well as fears about the impending war and the morality of Lily's last act, mirroring the same realistic style in which Lily painted. Eventually, Lily herself reveals the truth behind her death. There is nothing particularly surprising about the ending and no fancy plot devices. Marchetta's prose is elegant in its simplicity, its rhythm gently carrying the reader forward like the Hudson River that figures so prominently throughout the story.
An uncomplicated but intriguing read portraying the interconnectedness of people, the effects of grief and depression and the power of hope. -- Kirkus Discoveries
One phone call and a widow is left distraught. One visit to the hospital and a young woman loses her best friend. One letter and a selfish cousin sees new opportunities. One obituary and a reporter goes straight to New York. One woman dies and the stage is set for "The River, By Moonlight," an extensive and emotional novel by Camille Marchetta.
The story takes place over a few days in 1917, focusing on the drowning of Lily Canning, a young artist and prominent member of the small Hudson River town of Minuit. Her death - possibly an accident, possibly suicide - sets a wave of grief among the town's residents, all wondering how this talented girl could have come to such a tragic end.
Emotionally, the novel connects fiercely with readers as it takes us through Lily's friends and family. Each chapter is set from the mindset of different characters, ranging from Lily's emotionally battered mother Etta to her empathetic best friend Rosaline and estranged ex-husband Edmund. Though written in third-person, there is a definite change of voice between each chapter - in addition to grief we see callousness, artistic distraction and unrequited love.
"The River" works not only as a story of loss, but as historical fiction. Beyond frequent mention of America's entrance into World War I - and the debate of several male characters on enlisting - Marchetta details the era's newspapers, river industry and the advent of Pablo Picasso's modern art. The writing also has a vintage feel to it, with character voices matching their station: old-fashioned precision for the wealthy, calm and conversational for servant and rougher everyday for Edmund's newspaperman background.
Though Lily's chapter takes away some of the momentum, it is quickly restored by the last chapter taking place five years later. Characters have died or moved on with their lives, and Lily becomes an image that they turn to on occasion to simply ask "why?" With this feeling of loss and recovery the book closes, ending on the themes which make "The River, By Moonlight" such a forceful read. -- BookReview.com (Madison, WI)
About the Author
Camille Marchetta was formerly a London literary agent, a writer of such hit television series as Dallas, and a writer/producer of Dynasty and Falcon Crest. In addition to The River, By Moonlight, she is the author of two previous novels, Lovers and Friends and The Wives of Frankie Ferraro.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hauntingly Unforgettable,
By
This review is from: The River, By Moonlight (Paperback)
This was a great book. It's set in 1917 - New York. A vagrant sees the talented and lovely Miss Lily Canning jump off of a bridge into the Hudson River. Her family and friends are baffled by her decision and are left to grasp at straws, searching for answers. The looming war in Europe adds texture to the psychological tension built throughout the story.
The story is brilliantly told via different persons in Lily's sphere. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, who more or less picks up the narrative where the last character left off. In some hands, such a device might be distracting or annoying, but Marchetta managed to pull it off seamlessly. And, while I'm thinking about it, Marchetta's writing is seamless, too. It was realistic, and details about the period were sown in and communicated effortlessly. I was truly enthralled by this story as it unfolded page by page.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mystery for the Literary Crowd,
This review is from: The River, By Moonlight (Paperback)
THE RIVER, BY MOONLIGHT by Camille Marchetta is a literary jewel set in 1917 New York with characters so clear you could pick them out of a crowd.
This story begins a little after six in the morning when Henrietta Canning gets a disturbing call from NYPD Detective Malone. A lady has drowned in the Hudson River and the police believe it's her twenty-five year old daughter, Lily. Once the identity is confirmed, the next concern for her family is whether this was an accident or suicide. As the people she left behind come to terms with this loss, we get to know Lily and what it must have been like to walk in her shoes. It won't be until the last few pages that we understand completely what happened that fatal night at the Yacht Club. Marchetta's book would make the perfect book club read!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A luscious novel,
This review is from: The River, By Moonlight (Paperback)
It's April, 1917, America is on the verge of entering the war, women are clamoring for the vote, Picasso and others are revolutionizing art, the nation is full of hope and despair. Against this evocative backdrop, Camille Marchetta sets the story of Lily, who longs for independence and success as an artist yet cannot quite manage either. Told from the points of view of the key figures in Lily's short life, "The River, By Moonlight" will enchant its readers and keep you going to the last page.
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