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A River Out of Eden : A Novel
 
 
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A River Out of Eden : A Novel [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

John Hockenberry (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)


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Hardcover, Bargain Price, April 17, 2001 --  
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Book Description

April 17, 2001
Straight from today's headlines, a gripping thriller set amid the cultural and environmental wars rocking the Pacific Northwest by Dateline correspondent and bestselling author John Hockenberry.

Francine Smoholla occupies a precarious position. As a U.S. government marine biologist, she is fighting to save salmon threatened by the dams that supply Washington's hydroelectric power. But as a Chinook Indian, she finds herself torn between the colliding forces of technology and environmentalism. She has seen the catastrophic effects the dams have on her tribe's ancestral lands, livelihood, and traditional ways of life. When power company workers and forest service employees start turning up dead with elaborate native harpoons in their backs, suspicion quickly falls on the Chinook. Wondering just how far her tribe will go to protect their community, Francine quietly begins her own investigation.

As the death count rises, a right-wing extremist rides the wave of resulting violence to further his own twisted agenda. His son Duke is caught up in his plans but harbors a secret admiration for the Chinook and their traditions, an admiration that blossoms into something much deeper when he meets Francine. As heavy rains threaten the strength of the dams and old hatreds reignite, a long foretold Indian prophecy of apocalypse looms ever closer.
--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like the Y2K apocalypse that never happened, this doomsday thriller goes bust. Hockenberry, Dateline NBC correspondent and author of Moving Violations (nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award), tries to cram too many reportorial themes into his bulging narrative: the displacement of Pacific Northwest Chinook tribes, the questionable merits of salmon hatcheries and federal dams, the dangers of nuclear power and the threat posed by white supremacist fringe groups. There's a plot buried under the mountain of issues, but it's actually more of a highly convoluted premise. A Chinook warrior named Charley Shen-oh-way, long assumed dead, has begun slaughtering employees of a federal salmon hatchery to avenge the government's appropriation of sacred Indian ground. His half-Chinook daughter Francine, director of the hatchery, intuits Charley's involvement in the savage murders and withholds incriminating evidence, aided by her wildly improbable love interest, Duke McCurdy, a white supremacist radio provocateur with a secret heart of gold. Meanwhile, Jack Charnock, an unstable weapons researcher who's at last perfected a portable implosion device, has just been terminated from nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and isn't happy. These and other unsympathetic, one-dimensional characters link up implausibly to announce the novel's themes, even at the most intimate moments ("They have always betrayed me, my mother's eyes," she whispered. "Hate betrays me," Duke whispered back. "Who can escape his tribe?") Even Francine's semicomatose white mother stays on point, robotically intoning the Icelandic word for "big flood." Hockenberry, a one-time radio reporter in the Pacific Northwest, has enthusiastically researched the region, but this silly, pretentious novel doesn't show off either writer or culture to best advantage. Agent, Gloria Loomis. (May 17) Forecast: Hockenberry's first book, Moving Violations, was a national bestseller, but as a memoir, its sales bounced high off his fame as an NPR commentator and TV reporter who's also a paraplegic. Some attention will accrue to his first novel because of his continued media presence, and blurbs from Bill McKibben and William Dietrich will draw in browsers, but when all is said and done, he's not much of a thriller writer and, ultimately, sales will reflect this.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In the center of this timely and topical work of ecofiction are the nusuh, Chinook for "salmon." As the salmon are endangered by the multiple dams of the Columbia River, so are the Native people and their traditions. Francine Smohalla is a marine biologist in charge of the salmon hatchery at the Bonneville Dam complex. Half-white and half-Chinook, she experiences the stress of living in two worlds. Complementing and escalating her emotional difficulties are four men who want to "free the river": her father, Charley Shen-oh-way, who has returned after being thought dead for 30 years and who is now killing people; Jack Charnock, a superannuated but brilliant weapons designer from the notorious Hanford Nuclear Reservation; Roy McCurdy, a virulent Aryan Nation type; and Roy's son Duke, who was raised to share his father's beliefs but falls in love with Francine. The plot is complex, the action violent and bizarre, the psychology believable, and the climax frightening and surreal. This is a strong first novel by a well-known journalist whose autobiographical Moving Violations was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Recommended for all public libraries. Jack Hafer, Chesterfield Cty. P.L., VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (April 17, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385494254
  • ASIN: B0001Q5U4Y
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,966,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
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4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is great for any mystery/thriller lover. Superior, April 20, 2001
By A Customer
"A River Out Of Eden" sounds like it might be a very pastoral and peaceful novel about a beautiful river. Yes, the river is beautiful, and the country it flows through is likewise pastoral -- and the river is very real. It is the mighty Columbia. Hockenberry has done a great deal of research of the region. Many issues make up this fascinating novel about the Chinook native peoples, the dams on the river, white supremacists, a plutonium researche at Hanford, excessively heavy rain that treatens the strength of the dams. When people begin to show up dead by a strange but familiar harpoon, Francine Smoholla, a marine biologist who happens to be part Chinook Indian decides to do some investigating. This is a real page turner, well worth your time.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A complex yet brilliant work, April 21, 2001
Perhaps her plight is that of most Americans as her heritage (as a half- Chinook Indian) battles with her professional life working as a Corps of Engineer marine biologist on the Columbia River. Francine Smohalla cares about both of her worlds even if the divergence leaves her with inner turmoil. She knows the dams built by the Corps have destroyed the life of her people and she realizes that her people want to destroy the dams.

However, Francine was not expecting a serial killer to emerge who goes one step further by eliminating those individuals working for the Corps and associated organizations. The evidence accompanying the first corpse discovered by Francine points towards a Chinook Indian as the culprit. As other events add to the heated dispute and the death count grows, Francine worries that her beloved Chinook father is the killer and she begins to investigate.

A RIVER OUT OF EDEN is an exciting amateur sleuth thriller that showcases the Pacific Northwest dispute between environment and heritage vs. technology. The story line is fast-paced, enjoyable, and filled with critical details that brings the area and the dispute to life. Although John Hockeberry has too many sub-plots filled with the range of issues diverting the reader at times from his central theme, the author writes a strong tale. Sub-genre readers will find this novel provides insight into a very complex debate inside an entertaining mystery.

Harriet Klausner

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing (SPOILER ALERT!)..., January 28, 2002
By 
sheldon r white (seattle, wa United States) - See all my reviews
I really expected to like this book. I like John Hockenberry's work on NPR, and the subject matter is near and dear to my heart. But the novel just doesn't work very well. I think the author tries to weave 3 or 4 ideas too many into the plot, and the story and characters suffer as a result. The characters end of being cartoony, their motivations end up being very sketchy and unconvincing, and by the end I just didn't really care what happened. And as another reviewer points out, Mr Hockenberry glosses over an aftermath of immense contamination and suffering.
The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is that his writing style and descriptions of scenery are good. Alas, that's not enough.
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