Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman?įrom this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival. Two young men, Jack and Wynn, are college classmates and. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. The River (Knopf 25.95), the newest novel by Peter Heller, is just as beautiful and action-packed. Heller is a real talent and, this book a most enjoyable experience. He mixes his styles from descriptive to poetic to mystical and uses the callous iceberg on one occasion to great effect. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. In a way, the River is a character, an ever present powerful one in the same way that Egdon Heath is in Thomas Hardy's, the Return of The Native. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. The River by Peter Heller - Reading Guide: 9780525563532 - : Books NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars comes the story of two college students on a wilderness canoe tripa. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water.

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing.

Heller the river