Follow the River

I chose to read "Follow the River" by James Alexander Thom not so much to be entertained and inspired by the story of Mary Ingles’s escape in 1755 from Indian captivity and her torturous return from the Ohio River to her family’s frontier settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I had read about her ordeal, it being a true story, years ago. I wanted to see how Thom dealt with what I anticipated would be two major difficulties: description of her surroundings and portrayal of her thoughts and emotions. Being that Mary was isolated so much and that she was forced to trek through wild, diverse terrain, I recognized that surmounting these difficulties would be a substantial achievement.

Thom explains at the end of the book that he show more traveled Mary Ingles’s route home as part of his research. Not surprisingly, his description of her surroundings is genuine, readily believable. Included in much of his description is sharp sensory imagery, derived, I am certain, from close personal observation.

"Thunder grumbled, lightning flickered on the horizon, and as the clouds climbed, a blast of damp air shivered the surface of the river and turned the leaves of the forest white side up. Soon the thunderheads dominated the whole sky above the river; they came gliding across, their undersides lowering and dragging gray veils of rain under them. Birds and insects fell silent."

Equally impressive is Thom’s ability to describe Mary’s physical suffering, so necessary to evoke reader identification and empathy. In this passage near the end of the novel Mary is scaling a steep incline between two immense, vertical pillars of rock.

"She hung there for a moment, saw a leafless dogwood sapling two feet above her head. She got her numb left hand up to it and around it, forced the fingers to close, and pulled herself, panting and squinting, a little further up, her naked abdomen and thighs scraping over snow and rock and frozen soil, her cold-petrified toes trying awkwardly to gain traction."

Thom’s ability to narrate Mary’s thoughts and emotions is equally vital to the success of the novel. One aspect of her thought processes is her wavering allegiance to God. How could a benevolent, omnipresent Lord countenance the horrors she had witnessed and the miseries she daily endured? I appreciated especially these thoughts, which follow her successful ascent of the steep incline partially described above.

"She lay with her face against the frozen dirt and had her say with God.
Lord, I’ll thank’ee never to give me another day like this if I grow to be eighty.
No one deserves a day like this.
This is the most terrible day I’ve had in a hell of terrible days and I’m no’ grateful for it.
Now give me the strength to make my way across and down this devil’s scarp. Do that and then maybe I can make peace with’ee."

The detail of Mary’s ordeal makes the novel fascinating. Adding considerably to the tension of Mary’s situation is the presence of her companion, an unstable, middle-aged Dutch woman who becomes homicidal. Each chapter presents a specific conflict that is a component of Mary’s overall battle to survive and reach her destination. The story never loses momentum.

At appropriate places Thom’s narration touches the reader’s emotions. I was especially moved by Mary’s leaving-taking of her infant child, born during Mary’s early captivity.

"Her hot tears were dropping on the baby’s forehead and would awaken it; little frowns were disturbing its face and its little beak of an upper lip sucked in the soft red lower lip. Mary couldn’t stop herself. She kissed the little mouth and then, with anguish that would surely kill her, she rose to her feet and stumbled, tearblinded, to the edge of the camp, her lungs quaking for release, her throat clamped to hold down the awful wail of despair that was trying to erupt."

"Follow the River" deserves high praise. show less

I've often seen book jacket blurb-writers claim "This novel was so exciting I literally couldn't put it down," but I've only had that experience once myself -- with Follow the River.

This is not high literature, but a good "old-fashioned" novel that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Based on a true story of a young woman captured by Indians in Virginia in the 1700s, Follow the River vividly conjures up Mary Ingles's world. The Indians who kidnap her are neither ruthless savages, nor idealized people living in simple harmony with the natural world. And Mary's incredible 1000-mile journey home when she escapes is beyond harrowing. The perfect escapist read, pun intended.

This is a true adventure book, full of moment after moment of trials and tribulations, yet also of joy and tenderness. Somewhat amazingly, the story is based on real people and real personal history. Set in French and Indian War early America, the narrative does a good job of revealing frontier life and characters. The bulk of the book is about an almost super human struggle. I was most appreciative of the author's ability to avoid superficiality in accessing the complexities of specific situations, both physical and personal. This is no B-movie special-effects shoot-em-up. The detail is there, and in a natural way, not like a professor stopping periodically to explain some interesting nuance. I would have loved to have read this book show more as a teenager, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as an old geezer. I certainly see myself reading more of this author's books. show less

This is an enjoyable but often repetitive, and strangely homoerotic, frontier novel in the same genre as The Frontiersmen by Allan W. Eckert, which Thom intentionally mirrored. The scope is small, detailing a single historical incident involving one main character. Nevertheless, the nature writing is superb, I really felt like I was there. Thom lived in a historical log cabin, ate grubs and grass to know what it's like, went backcountry bushwacking through the same terrain as Mary. Still it gets repetitive, how often can one be on the verge of death, at the utter end of ones reserves, chapter after chapter, it strains credibility. He ran out of ways to describe the hardship. The relationship between Mary and her Dutch companion has show more homoerotic tensions - this is not my overactive imagination, I could quote many lines that are hilariously over the top - maybe this was intentional to contrast her desire for her husband - but it is not historical and cheapened the book. This is a minor classic and still widely read, I will remember it. show less

What a great read and so unexpected. Never heard of this author before.
First of all I did not know what this book was about so did not know it was based on a true story.

So to me this book could have had many different scenarios and outcomes and I think that was why it was such a great read for me.

Yes it is cruel but so were the days back then and by the way read some true crime and you know people are still as cruel probably more so now.

There were a lot of scenarios in my mind thanks to the great writing.
Like I thought she would fall in love with the Shawnee chief because there was some attraction between them. Then when she ran away I still thought he would catch her, yes it is a good thing to not know the real ending cause it was fun show more to think up all those ways her story could end.

This author is very good in making you feel you are there. Not that I was happy to feel like I was there with a crazy woman who wanted to eat me. ;)

It is hard to write about this and not spoiler. This is a book I want my friends to read and I want tot talk about.

It felt like a great ride and I read it pretty quickly.
Highly recommend this book for people who like historical fiction and/or enjoy true stories or survivor stories. show less

This is an extremely engrossing story, based upon the written experiences of 18th century pioneers in what is now West Virginia. Mary Ingles and most of her family are taken captive during a Shawnee raid. What she endures, and how she manages to survive is fascinating, especially when you realize that this is not Hollywood, but the 'real deal'.

The author has done a superb job of fleshing out the characters and information to relate the story of Mary Ingles' 6 week walk through the wilderness in an attempt to reunite with her husband and brother.

I had a hard time putting down this book, even to sleep!

A brilliant and breathtaking adventure, harrowing at times but a book that I will certainly remember many years from now.

Mary Ingles was 23, married and pregnant when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her and her sons captive. For months she lived with them unbroken, until she made her escape, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom.

You cant help but be captivated and amazed by the spirit of Mary Ingles and her arduous trek to freedom in 1750s frontier America.
I had a copy of this book on my bookshelf for years however I just couldn’t read it as it was a tiny hardback edition with Microscopic print that I just couldn’t bring myself to read. When I happened upon the show more Audio version and teamed up with Kindle well I just had to give it a go.

Certainly not for the faint hearted as there are some harrowing scenes throughout the story but its extremely well written and one couldn't help admire James Alexander Throm’s research and vivid imagination that went into writing this novel. While he had access to historical records for people and places and some of the story, he still manages to create a believable personality for his characters and I loved how he imagined Mary and her strong but witty personality. After all she has endured at the young age of 24 the will to survive really was quite remarkable. You spend the book, willing and urging Mary along her journey and its almost like your holding your breath until the very end. The description of the wilderness, the river and the land is beautifully detailed and written.
I however did find I got a little wary 3/4 ways through the story as it was quite repetitive and long but I just had to read it by the comfort of my fireside while Poor mary braved the elements.

There is a detailed and very informative author’s note at the end and this explains what is historically accurate, where his research was done and what happened to the characters afterwards. and I very much enjoyed and appreciated this note.

I really enjoyed listening and reading this book. I think readers who have enjoyed books such as [b:Deliverance|592657|Deliverance|James Dickey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334998332l/592657._SY75_.jpg|1257919] or [b:Lonesome Dove|256008|Lonesome Dove|Larry McMurtry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559668037l/256008._SY75_.jpg|3281465] may well love this one too. show less