Push Not the River

Rating:
Summary: An Exceptional Novel, Not Soon to be Forgotten
Review: (co-authored with Diane Mechlinski)

Push Not the River (2003), by James Conroyd Martin, is a captivating, yet tragic, story based on the diary of Anna Maria Berezowska. The book takes place in the late 1790s, an unstable time in Polish history, when the nobility of Europe were loosing their power. The power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was gone, and their neighbors (Russia, Austria, and Prussia), were slowly but surely dividing Poland amongst themselves and scheming to wipe it off the map.

Wealth and humility; two words that seldom stand side-by-side. Yet such contrasts surrounded the life of Anna Maria Berezowska, who at 17, lost both parents and found herself alone, facing an increasingly troubled life and world. Living under the roof and rules of her aunt, uncle and cousin, Anna soon discovered her extravagant cousin's constant plots to jeopardize her life as but the beginning of her distress. Lies and deceipt ran parallel to Anna's innocence and loyalty. A shocking rape, an arranged marriage, an unattainable lover and a native country she couldn't bear to lose, soon turned Anna Maria into a strong, spirited and fiercely independent young woman, resilient to emotional and physical defeat.

As great or tragic as the story is, it is one shared by all people of Polish descent, because their ancestors all went through such a turbulent time under the sword and guns of the invading armies. The grisly details of war, the invading army, are so vivid that one gets a sense of the times and their troubles. This story is just the recounting of one group of lives that lived in this time, and thinking these events are what one's ancestors experienced, makes this book very special to Polish people, regardless if their ancestors were peasants or nobility.

The author has expertly portrayed this equally romantic and stimulating novel in a way which allows the reader (whether of Polish extraction or not) to feel as one with the time period, the historical conflict and the personal emotions and experiences of each character. Push Not the River is an exceptional novel, not soon to be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: LOVED it!
Review: I could not put this book down! While at times it read a little like a soap opera, the fact that it was based on a real Countess' diary kept it real and lent the story credibility. Anna's passion for love, life and her country was inspirational and touching. I also liked the fact that while I was being entertained by an intriguing story, I was being given a wonderful history lesson as well (being from a Polish background, I am embarrassed to say all of this was new information for me). It is a novel filled with intrigue, suspense, mystery, revenge, passion, love, faith, glitter, jealousy, greed, war, death, solidarity....the list goes on and on.
Best of all, I hear that the author is in the process of writing a sequel as I speak. Can't wait!

Rating:
Summary: Push Not the River
Review: I found this book Wonderful, the char.'s come to life, the plot is thrilling and hopeful at the same time. ! I love Saga's and this is one of the top five, I have ever read, especially on a very long plane flight this book kept me sane.
Great Love story of times gone by.

Rating:
Summary: Push Not the River
Review: I found this book Wonderful, the char.'s come to life, the plot is thrilling and hopeful at the same time. ! I love Saga's and this is one of the top five, I have ever read, especially on a very long plane flight this book kept me sane.
Great Love story of times gone by.

Rating:
Summary: The Library Journal Review
Review: I have heard Push Not the River will be made into a movie. Don't wait until then, read a wonderful, historical novel with plenty of intrigue, great characters and surprises.

Rating:
Summary: The best historical novel I've read in years!
Review: I've just finished reading "Push Not the River" by James Conroyd Martin. I couldn't put it down. Mr. Martin's characters were fully fleshed out members of their era, but they spoke with a universality that rings true today, 200 years later. Mr. Martin has a command of the English language that is rarely seen in contemporary novel writing. He has meticulously built his novel and researched his subject matter so well that he made me feel I was a Polish patriot fighting for my life and the very existence of my country against the ruthless invading armies of Poland's neighboring empires. "Push Not the River" is an engaging and exciting book. I was a child of the 60's, a decade when ubiquitous Polish jokes were taken for granted as humorous, harmless and accurate depictions of Poles, their abilities and their place in history. Mr. Martin educates us by obliterating those stereotypes and misconceptions. After reading "Push Not the River" and learning of the nobility of these progressive, proud and oppressed people I'm ashamed for every Polish joke I ever told or laughed at.

Rating:
Summary: The BookSense Review
Review: It is the 1790s and we are in Poland as the country tries to defend itself against Catherine the Great, the Prussians, and the Austrians while internal strife is weakening the military and the power of the king. James Conroyd Martin is a skillful writer, a tremendous researcher, and in young Anna Maria Berezowska he has created a character we learn to love and cheer for as she matures in this turbulent time.
--Joci Tilsen, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN
BookSense, a consortium of 1200 independent booksellers, has voted PUSH NOT THE RIVER an October 2004 Recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: A Noble Book
Review: More than a great book this was a noble book. But that is saying much already these days. To me it was a joy to read, and I found it entertaining and hard to put down once the main plot was on its way. It is a book based on the unpublished diary of Countess Anna Maria Berezowska, an orphan of noble parents and a real person in Eighteenth Century Poland and her quest to understand and love both the Poland of her time and the man she loves. Like all good romances, there is a villain in the likes of her cousin Zofia, who also happens to "want" (not love) the same man. Like great human drama, there are redeemable qualities even in the "villains".

The story is well written and flows well enough. If you enjoy historical novels you will enjoy this book. Like all love stories it has tragedy and tragic failings, heroism and human strength and an ending that ultimately redeems human nature, in spite of its failings. The story preserves the order of good values. It does not try to impose an impossibly revisionist modern view on a past age, like many authors do. On the contrary, the author respects the Poland of the time and its mores. For that, I commend the author and I rate the book as a good, noble book worth having in one's bookshelf. I hope Professor Martin continues to write.

One caveat: The book is not for everyone. It is not, for example, for pre-college teens. Unlike a Sienkiewicz novel, or a Sigrid Undset saga, all equally charged with passion, Martin makes much of the role of femenine sexual manipulations as a conduit to tell the tragedy in a story. Almost as if he was vying for a film script to be made out of the book, and that, I thought detracted somewhat from the novel. In fact therein lies my sole complaint: this was meant to be a historical novel, not a film. This book would, in fact, make a great film but it would do so because cinematography would supply the visual details not described in full in the book. While the characters are nobly developed, they failed to become "my friends", for I did not know them well enough. I wished to know Stelnicki more, for example. And Poland, about to be swallowed entirely by Russia after many partitions fails to really come to life outside the world of the main characters.

In the end one senses the author had to choose between the telling of a compelling story about the noble fight of a woman for her love of a man and country at a crucial time in history and the writing of a saga of more epic proportions. Perhaps because love of country is so central to the story and is what ultimately redeems and endears the characters (and makes the story great), I felt that Professor Martin could have achieved much more if he had dared to go for the longer option. He did, nonetheless, write a very good book worth reading.

Final note: The author may not remember, but he e-mailed me two years back when he read my review of Sienkiewicz' The Teutonic Knights or his trilogy suggesting I try his book. For that I am thankful and I hope to read more of his books.



Rating:
Summary: Long Live Poland!
Review: Mr. Martin has spun a wondrously crafted tale based on the dangerous 18th-century times of Poland's invasion by Catherine the Great, czarina of Russia. Based on the real-life figure of Countess Anna Maria Berezowska, the novel chronicles her life from her parents' deaths through her tragedy at the pond; her cousin, Zofia Gronska, plays at the role of courtesan while proving to be manipulative and duplicitous with Anna Maria and Jan Stelnicki, Anna's love interst whom Zofia wants for herself.

Draped against the background of Poland's fight for independence from bordering empires and featuring such historical figures as Thaddeus Kosciusko and King Stanislaw Augustus of Poland, the family drama unfolds with intriguing plot twists and surprise circumstances. One cannot help but cheer Anna Maria on as she faces and overcomes one dismaying obstacle after the next. Mr. Martin is a talented writer of historical fiction and I anxiously await "Push Not the River"'s sequel!

Rating:
Summary: Superb! Never so perfect a plot.
Review: This book is a true epic! I could not believe how many things happened not only to our portagonist Anna Maria, but the thick plot of what was happening to young Poland and its people. To enjoy this book, you don't need to have read the classics like Gone With The Wind or War and Peace. But have a love for reading and you CANNOT be disappointed with this read by a new author, James C. Martin.
I eargerly anticipate the sequal to this epic and hope future readers will, too!
Put this at the top of your book-shopping list and enjoy!!