River of Destiny by Barbara ErskineMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Oh my Goodness! This book took me a long time to read, I thought it would never end!
River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine is set across three periods in time and jumps back and forth between each period. The first period is set during the Anglo-Saxon times, based around sword maker Eric and his wife Edith. The second period is based during Victorian times. Lady Emily is married to the lord of the house but having relations with the blacksmith Dan. And the last period is based in present day around Zoe and Ken who live in one of three converted barns. All of these three interweaving stories are set by the river, where a ghost Viking ship is seen on a regular basis.
My Mum, was absolutely in love with this book and couldn't wait for me to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't love it as much as she did. The concept of this novel is a great idea, the different periods of times and the mystery but for me the main thing that let it down was the characters. I didn't like Lady Emily, but you're really not supposed to, so that wasn't a problem. The problem was everybody else.
I feel like Zoe is the main character throughout the whole novel and you're supposed to sympathise with her, but I didn't feel that connection. Her relationship with her husband is debatable at best and the way their marriage comes to an end seems to me inconsequential. There is no bang, just a dull fizzle. Dan the blacksmith is originally seen in a positive light, claiming how much he loves his wife, but Lady Emily only has to click her fingers and he succumbs. I didn't enjoy the Anglo-Saxon sections at all, felt no sympathy towards the characters. Nobody is very likeable and I really struggle to enjoy books where I don't like the characters.
The dialogue was also quite unrealistic and shoddy at times, and the culmination of the book was odd and seemed out of the place with the rest of the novel. I think it's fair to say I will give Barbara Erskine a miss for a bit.
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