Slow River

I first read Nicola Griffith in an anthology of short science fiction short stories, Before They Were Giants, and was so taken with her style that I had to read more of her work.

Slow River is an erotically charged story, written in an almost cyberpunk style, of a young girl from an extremely wealthy family that frees herself from kidnappers only to have to learn what it is like to live your life under a false identity. Ironically, many aspects of her new life are not too dissimilar from her past life: in both she was living a lie.

While sex is integral to the story, Griffith is to be commended in knowing the difference between erotic writing and pornography and being able to convey essentials without going completely out of bounds. The show more sex stays secondary to the actual plot, the meaning of personal identity and coming to grips with the forces that shape us, and makes for a slightly different kind of Sci-Fi than the usual fare.

If you are a fan of William Gibson and Richard Perez, give this one a try. Not overly graphic, but not for the easily shocked either. A solid four stars. show less

This is the 2nd Griffith book I have read and she continues to impress. Love, kidnapping, murder, stolen identities, drug use, nano-tech, sewage treatment, and kinky sex all play parts in this exquisitely detailed story. Griffith imbues her protagonist with a strong voice and crafts a near-future world that is not all that far removed from ours. The reader gains perspective of current and past events via shifts between first-person and third-person narrative; a tough thing to pull off but Griffith handles it with such adroitness that, instead of confusing, it enhances the reading experience. Even though these shifts often come between one paragraph and the next, within a few words it is crystal clear exactly where & when we are in the show more narrative. This is quite a feat that really added to my enjoyment of the book.

Slow River is aptly named as the pace is definitely not fast. On the other hand, the characters and settings spring to life and the pages turn quickly - all due to the wonderful writing style. The fact that Griffith won the Nebula in 1996 for this work, beating out two of my favorite authors, (Neal Stephenson and Tim Powers), comes as no surprise -- Slow River is a very good book. show less

What kept me engaged at the beginning of Slow River was all the detail about waste-water treatment methods! Yes, I am a huge nerd. It was only more towards the end that Lore's three selves---childhood, her time with Spanner, and the time after Spanner---really started to come together so that I wasn't frustrated to be left hanging at the end of each (short) section, and started to fall for Lore herself. The way everything comes together at the end---"like the confluence of three rivers"---is just wonderful.

Tense switching usually irritates me, but in Slow River I almost didn't notice and it actually succeeded in helping the mental transition between sections of the story. If you're a writer, this is the book to study.

Please note that show more this book is pretty much all about abuse. There is hinted (and eventually, dealt with head-on) child sexual abuse, rape/"date" rape/all kinds of messed up consent, an abusive partner, forced sex work, suicide and attempted suicide, etc.... I'm sure I'm forgetting things. Not a very happy book. But it has an optimistic ending, which is important to me.

This was interesting to read right after I finished Trouble and Her Friends, another queer sci fi novel. In Trouble, the criminals are lovable scamps; in Slow River, living outside the law has serious consequences even when no one gets caught. Spanner's image of herself as a quirky, essentially good Robin Hood who lives by her wits has many cracks and flaws.

The other similarity between the two books, of course, is that Lore is a lesbian, and so are many of the major and minor characters, and that's NOT one of the traumas---there is no homophobia at all. (There also isn't any visible racism, though there is an intense ableist scene.) On the other hand, in Trouble and Her Friends, homophobia and racism and sexism haven't truly changed, they've just adapted to new contexts with new twists. I thought a lot about the contrasts between these two visions of institutional discrimination, and while Trouble's is probably more realistic, Slow River's is still an interesting change of pace. It certainly makes you think. show less

‘Slow River’ is an unusual sci-fi novel that reminded me of [b:China Mountain Zhang|836964|China Mountain Zhang|Maureen F. McHugh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg|1607617]. Both focus on the lived experience of a queer main character in a future world, without any grand plot arcs in which civilisation collapses or the universe is in peril. When skilfully done, such quiet tales can be an excellent way to examine the consequences of speculative social and technological changes. While ‘Slow River’ didn’t have the same depth of world-building as [b:China Mountain Zhang|836964|China Mountain Zhang|Maureen F. show more McHugh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg|1607617], it was just as involving. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, letting the reader slowly piece together the traumatic events that have led the main character to her present situation. It’s a story of recovery and rebuilding, in which futuristic technology plays only a subtle part. Griffith manages the incredible feat of making grunt work at a sewage treatment plant genuinely fascinating and superior to the superficial glamour of petty crime. Lore is an appealing character and her story raises interesting issues of class and privilege. Again much like [b:China Mountain Zhang|836964|China Mountain Zhang|Maureen F. McHugh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg|1607617], ‘Slow River’ is a cautiously, ambiguously hopeful novel. Lore goes through some shattering experiences and gradually puts together a new life for herself. There is no dystopia or utopia here, just a woman trying to move past her troubled childhood and earn enough to pay the rent. A good read, although it bothered me not to know the name or location of the city it was set in. show less

Excellent, neatly told story, but more psychological than sci-fi. Apart from the standard distopian future, where the technology has advanced but the climate is on life-support, 'Slow River' is about one girl, Lore, coming to terms with her own life, instead of fighting the outside world.

Nicola Griffiths, I think, was right to add a disclaimer, because the abuse described in her novel is so subtly and painfully described, when Lore is even able to admit the truth to herself, that the fictional torment of the character must either be based on personal experience or intimate research. There is a tendency in fiction to use abuse in whatever guise as a crass plot device or instant character depth, but Griffiths approaches the subject show more sensitively and respectfully, using some wonderful language - Lore's reaction to watching a kidnapping on the news is startling and very effective.

The plot is also deftly woven, building up to two revelations concerning Lore's past and her family, but it is the voice of her inner demons that drives the story.

Also, another SF author from Yorkshire - I'm impressed and inspired! show less

An emotionally harrowing but deeply moving story about Lore, heiress to a bioremediation company, who is kidnapped and escapes without her ransom being paid and builds a new life for herself. The throughline is about abusive relationships, both with Lore's family and with her rescuer, Spanner. Despite being published in the 90s, the near-future of this book is still near-future, a cyberpunk-ish tangle of environmental degradation and corporate monopoly. Griffith's greatest strength is internal character arcs, and Lore is a terrific example. This book will linger.

As I read this novel written by Nicola Griffith I was impressed with the structure--the way the author slowly unfolded the story of Lore and her two lives. It took some patience, but that patience was rewarded as the story came together with an exciting climax that was effective and true to the details that had gone before. The basic story is that of Lore van de Oest, the daughter of one of the most powerful families in the world, who awakens naked in an alley with a foot-long gash in her back. Her identity implant is gone and is without money after an unsuccessful kidnapping scam. A woman named Spanner happens by and takes Lore home. Spanner, who is an expert in identity theft, is in perfect position to help Lore out as long as Lore show more agrees to pay her back. Lore lucks out with a fake identity that matches her knowledge enough that she gets a job working on the same equipment that her family sells, the van de Oest sewer processing system. Lore, now under the ID of Bird, finds herself in the middle of a sabotage and corporate intrigue with her real ID at risk and an unhealthy debt to Spanner. The author effectively creates a future world that is on the verge of being overwhelmed with ecological disaster, setting the heroine in the center of the battle. The result is an excellent novel (winner of both the Nebula and Lambda Literary Awards) of speculative fiction that reminded me of the writing of Doris Lessing in this genre. show less