“Urgent, real, and often very funny.”—James Frey, New York Times bestselling author of Bright Shiny Morning and A Million Little Pieces
Neil Kazenzakis is barely holding his life together: ever since an accident left his wife profoundly disabled, he’s been doing his best as a single dad and popular high school teacher. He’s also been dealing with Lauren Downey, his sort-of girlfriend of the past two years who’s pushing for a commitment—and for Neil to finally tell his son Christopher about their secret relationship.
Neil’s carefully balanced world begins to fall apart when some questionable footage of him is anonymously posted to YouTube…just as Chris learns about Lauren in the worst possible way. Doubting his own recollection of the events in the online video and threatened with the loss of his job and the ability to care for his wife, Neil must find a way to prove the truth to his family, his community, and himself as he struggles to regain the splintered trust of his son.
Heartbreaking, poignant, and written with devastating humor and warmth, The Banks of Certain Rivers is a shattering story of memory, loss, and just how far a man will go to show the people closest to him the meaning of love.
“Jon Harrison’s debut The Banks of Certain Rivers is a jewel-box of a novel. Tracing the limits of one man’s love (and self-knowledge) with humor and drama, Harrison breathes life into Neil Kazenzakis and his struggles with such grace that the reader feels like she knows him. Elegant, poignant, and page-turning.”—Katherine Howe, New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
My Thoughts
Thank you to Catherine McKenzie (yes, that’s the popular Canadian author, Catherine McKenzie!) for providing me a copy of this book for review!
The Banks of Certain Rivers was not a book on my radar. With the hundreds of books that are published weekly, there definitely are many beautiful books out there that I will never hear of. Luckily, some people make sure to notify me of some of the good ones out there. Like Catherine McKenzie, who had contacted me in regards to this book, written by Jon Harrison.
This was a book that grabbed me right at page one. When a book starts out with a major trauma, it’s hard not to get completely sucked into it, wanting to know more. I have to admit that the book moved a little slowly in this regard, starting with a bang, and then completing a slow climb to more excitement. We learn about Neil as a teacher, who lives with his son, Chris — both of whom are dealing with the tragedy that was introduced in the first pages.
Taking the synopsis of the book into account, the book really doesn’t take off until about halfway through. I did love learning about Neil and Chris’s life, seeing their father and son relationship with one another. It was an interesting dynamic to learn about Neil’s relationship with Lauren, as well as seeing how he is loved and respected at the school where he teaches. Though, for most of the beginning of the book I found myself wondering when the real dilemma, when the real action would take place.
In this regard, I wasn’t disappointed. Thankfully, the book is beautifully written and the characters are nicely formed, so the climb to the part where I didn’t want to put the book down was still very enjoyable. I enjoyed the first person narrative by Neil, as well as seeing how a seemingly-perfect life can be derailed by something that others see as innocent.
I’m thankful to Catherine for introducing me to this book. I’ve always loved stories about family dynamics, as well as stories about social media and how lightly some people take it. My only complaint about the story is that it is slow to get to the punch and things might wrap up just a little too neatly for some readers. Still, Jon Harrison is definitely an author to watch and one who I will be sure to check out in the future.
More about the author: WEB | GOODREADS
