Three Rivers by Tiffany Quay Tyson

Three Rivers by Tiffany Quay Tyson

Published: July 21, 2015

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Melody Mahaffey, trapped into touring for years with a third-rate Christian pop band she can hardly stand, is almost relieved to receive her mother’s distress call. But when she returns home to care for her dying father and brain-damaged brother at the sprawling, defunct Three Rivers Farm, Melody is shocked to discover that her mother has abandoned the family. Sure that her daughter will do the right thing, Geneva has left to seek spiritual guidance and break things off with her long-time lover.

Rain begins to fall and an epic flood threatens the Mississippi Delta. While Melody tries to get a handle on the chaos at home, a man and his little boy are squatting on her land, escaping their own nightmare. Obi is on the run from a horrific mistake, and he’s intent on keeping his son with him at any cost. When the storm arrives, though, they have no choice but to take shelter in Melody’s house. And the waters just keep rising.

A lifetime of lies, misunderstandings and dark secrets bubble to the surface as the flood destroys the land and threatens their lives. Set against the fertile but dangerous landscape of the rural south near the fictional town of White Forest, Mississippi, Three Rivers beautifully weaves together three parallel stories, told over three days, as each character is propelled headlong into the storm.

My Thoughts

I went into this not knowing anything about it and let me say I was really surprised and loved it at the end. I loved the story of Melody coming back home after her mother left her brother and dying father after being gone for a long time herself. This is a gripping story of a dysfunctional family and a second story of sorts of a man and his son on the run after a fatal mistake.

Melody comes back home after a call from her brother saying their mom is gone and their father is dying. She comes back and must pick up the pieces that her mother left like always. After being gone so long she is thrown back into trying to deal with all that her family is going through. She is mad and upset that her mother leaves especially now that her father is dying. She has no idea what’s wrong with her mother or where she goes when she is gone. She also has to deal with her brother who after an accident hasn’t been the same. Not to mention she notices some strangers on her property right before an epic flood and she wants to know who they are and why they are there.

Obi is on the run after an accident and is determined to protect him and his son and is sent by his mother to take refuge on Melody’s family farm. All he wants is to take care of his son but when the flood comes she must accept Melody’s help to save him and his son something that he doesn’t take to well. Further in the story we see how Melody and Obi are connected and how their stories intertwine.

I loved how the flood, at least to me was a symbol of sorts when it came to the relationships of everyone involved. We see the relationships between Melody and her mom and Obi and his wife and mother. We also get to see Melody’s mothers story and where she is and why she acts the way she does when it comes to her family. To me in the end I saw the aftermath of the flood as a cleansing to all these relationships and to everyone involved. After a horrible and tragic storm one must start over in a sense it’s all a fresh start and I thought the characters all needed that do over in their lives. This is one story that truly surprised me and I found that really refreshing because there’s not that many books that can do that for me nowadays. So please take the time to check this gem out.