Book description
Over sixty years after Virginia Woolf drowned in the River Ouse, Olivia Laing set out one midsummer morning to walk its banks, from source to sea. Along the way, she explores the roles that rivers play in human lives, tracing their intricate flow through literature, mythology and folklore.
Lyrical and…
Why read it?
1 author picked To the River as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
When I was young, I wanted to be Virginia Woolf. I read volumes of her letters, so many that the rhythms of her sentences seemed to infect my own mind.
Decades later, I decided I would rather have been her father, Leslie Stephen, author of The Playground of Europe— but only in his mountaineering days, before he succumbed to his now legendary fits of selfishness and pique.
Strangely enough, Olivia Laing manages to channel both father and daughter in her intensely ruminative ramble along the River Ouse, where Virginia drowned herself in 1941.
If you love To the River...
The High House
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Want books like To the River?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 72 books like To the River.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,210
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like To the River, you might also like...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Living On Purpose
Many people from all walks of life, even after many accomplishments and experiences, are often plagued by dissatisfaction, pervasive longing, and deep questioning. These feelings may make them wonder if they are living the life they were meant to lead.
Living on Purpose is the guidebook these people have been…
