The River by Gary Paulsen (1991) — The Brian Saga, Book 2 of 5
We opted to try reading through a pile of Gary Paulsen books this year as a family, though after only 2 books, I’m not sure how long our adventure will last. We began by reading Hatchet, Paulsen’s instant classic and likely most popular book. The kids enjoyed it as an adventure and survival story much akin to the Alone series we like watching together, though certain scenes (most notably the pilot’s death and later bloated body) made for some nightmarish images that both my kids (ages 10 and 11) hated.
I had hoped that this second book in the Brian Saga would have fewer scenes of death or gore, but through the eyes of my 11yo son, that wasn’t the case. He actually told me in the middle of the book that, while he wanted us to finish the story together, he didn’t want us to keep reading this type of book, where the danger to the people involved was so real. He said that he loves other dangerous books like Harry Potter and The Hobbit in which bad things happen and people die, but because these books aren’t real. He couldn’t place the word, but what he meant was that these books are fanciful. Paulsen’s are not.
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In the Brian Saga, Brian Robeson is (as far as the story is concerned) a real boy like my son, living in what could very well also be Minnesota. In this book, he’s heading out into woods just like those behind our house, this time with an adult survival “expert” who wants to watch Brian in action, recreating in part the desperate scene of his abandonment in the wilderness. When Brian’s companion is struck by lightning and drops into a coma, my boy really didn’t want to hear it! It got to him. My 10yo daughter concurred, though with less comment.
Because of this reaction, we’re going to have to take a break from this series (again) until some later date. I don’t want to say “until they’re more callused to pain and misery and death,” but that’s kind of true.
I would read all of these books myself, because they’re right up my alley, but I’d much rather enjoy them as a family. I enjoy the discussions we’ve been having through them, discussions of danger, death, survival, first aid, being lost, finding hope, using one’s brain. These things are real and a part of life, though I don’t necessarily need to be shoving it towards them just yet, if they’re not ready to handle it.
We’ve known death in the family before, both violently unexpected and anticipated with age. We’re also facing an impending death in the extended family right now, so fiction certainly isn’t the only means of bringing these discussions to the fore. Our kids are maturing, it’s true, as they begin to grasp the gravity of things like cancer, heart attacks, car accidents, and death, but there’s no need to force it upon them when it gives them nightmares and there’s so much more to read.
This might not be the best book review, I’ll admit. The book was great and I enjoyed how Paulsen took his story to the next level. It’s got to be age appropriate, though, and for my kids it just wasn’t that. Yet. Still longing to read Brian’s Winter, but I think we’ll have to delay it once again.
©2023 E.T.
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Read More from Gary Paulsen:
- Dogsong (1985)
- Hatchet (1986) [view also my first review of this book]
- Woodsong (1990)
- The River (1991)
- Brian’s Winter (1996)
- Brian’s Return (1999)
- Brian’s Hunt (2003)
- Time Hackers (2005)
- Woods Runner (2009)