ECONOGAL

Mary Alice Monroe’s matriarchal novel Where the Rivers Merge is satisfying until the abrupt end. Apparently, there is a sequel in the works. Since the first is just recently released, I will impatiently await the end of the story. I can already picture this tale of Eliza Pinckney Rivers Chalmers DeLancey as a television miniseries with the lush lowlands of South Carolina as a backdrop for a life spanning the twentieth century.

Most of the novel reflects the life of 88 year old Eliza as she tells a granddaughter and a great-niece the history of the murals on the wall. Each chapter begins with facts about the nature of the South Carolina lowlands. This detailed description of the surrounding nature is deftly woven into the story. The author is not so subtly sounding a wake-up call to protect our environment. All through the eyes of a fictional character. Monroe is a maestro.

As Eliza shares her history with a younger generation, the reader becomes a part of the learning. The 20^th Century arrived on horseback and by 1988, the current time period of Where the Rivers Merge, rocket ships and women CEOs were present, if not the norm. A lifetime of change.

Monroe’s writing touches on technological, political, racial, and gender equality progress. Yet, she is not preachy. The story unravels naturally, allowing the reader to experience history. Eliza is the vehicle to convey past, present and perhaps the future.

Flashbacks in Where the Rivers Merge occur through the stories Eliza tells Savannah and Norah. Both women are eager to hear her story, as was this reader. The author masterfully employs this technique to bring the past to life while simultaneously creating resonating characters.

At the end of the novel, Eliza is only partway through her life story. Hence the abrupt ending. Mainstream literature has yet to develop devoted followers of lengthy novels such as those readers of fantasy or sci-fi. If Where the Rivers Merge belonged in either of those genres we would have but one book. However, Monroe is mainstream and so Book Two: The Rivers’ End cannot be published soon enough for this reader.