River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

This incredible debut novel grabbed hold of my mind and heart, never letting go until the final paragraph. I shed tears at several points in Rachel’s journey and she’s a character I won’t forget. We meet her working on a plantation in Barbados at that strange point after slavery, when plantations were instructed to free slaves. Yet that sense of freedom was short-lived as masters were able to keep slaves for a further six years as apprentices. So, despite being freed the day afterwards started just the same, at the crack of dawn and walking to the cane fields for a day of back breaking work. Rachel is thinking of her children, several lost before they had a chance to live, but others scattered to the four winds. Her boys Micah and Thomas Augustus, then her girls Cherry Jane, Mary Grace and Mercy all taken from her in different ways. Only Cherry Jane spends a few years nearby as a house slave, but in her superior position she doesn’t acknowledge Rachel who is merely a field hand. One day she decides that she must find her children, she must know where they are and what happened to them, even if the news is that devastating final loss. Rachel says that as a slave she plants cane, but nothing of her own. So, however her children came about, Rachel feels they are what anchor her in this world and she can’t rest until she finds them. So she runs and with our hearts pounding we follow her.

As Rachel took her journey I kept thinking about my own mum. She always feels at her happiest when we’re all under her roof, all four generations. She told me that she feels like we’re all safe and there’s a feeling of completeness. I am not a mother, so until recently I hadn’t experienced anything like this, but now I am a step-mum I do get a sense of relief when both my stepdaughters are here under my roof. There’s a sense of drawing the curtains and we’re all safe. I couldn’t imagine how it must feel to have those children stripped from you as commodities to be sold. As I finished reading the book on Holocaust Memorial Day, my mind was taken to an account by a survivor on TikTok where she described her family being split apart into separate queues as they reached Auschwitz. That she was placed in one queue bound for a factory sewing uniforms, but her mother and sister were deemed unsuitable for work and in that chaos was the final moment she saw them. It’s a similar atrocity, so huge that it’s hard to imagine or compute, where a whole race of people are deemed as expendable and discarded with no more regard than swatting a fly. In amongst some powerful and distressing scenes in the book, one thing that hit me really hard was Rachel’s realisation that her emotions didn’t matter. As a younger woman she had held herself proudly and resolutely, determined that the actions of the overseer wouldn’t make her cry. As an older woman she realises that she could have owned her grief, it wouldn’t have satisfied or pleased the overseer to see her distress because she simply didn’t matter to him.

Rachel’s journey is a long one across Barbados, then over to Trinidad, and we experience every moment with her. The author provides vivid descriptions of each place Rachel experiences down to the way the earth feels under her feet. Cities give her a certain anonymity, but it’s in nature that I really felt Rachel’s freedom. The author layers sounds of birds, running water and wind through the trees with the feel of leaves or water against the skin. The water is welcoming and helps her journey: kayaking up the Demerara to look for runaway communities in the forest and Thomas Augustus; rushing down river holding an uprooted tree to avoid capture; feeling cocooned and supported by the water in a bathing pool. The runaway community are made up of escaped slaves and indigenous tribesmen who have survived the colonisation of their island and the forest both hides them and supports them. There is a sense of abundance in the food, the company and the mix of cultures that comes out in musical form. The ancient songs of Rachel’s African heritage come alive for her when mixed with slave songs and the music of the tribes represented there. It seems fitting that it is in the forest that a marriage takes place and a baby is born - these are the building blocks of the future and that future is truly free.

I found some of the characters Rachel comes across on her travels fascinating and they add something to the tale by bringing their own experience and their own adjustment and acceptance of their situation. Nobody has adopted the very part of his identity forged by the slave experience, the sense that he is no one and belongs nowhere. Despite the negative connotations of the name, being nobody allows him to take his power back, to be anonymous, to escape unseen and leave a mark nowhere. He has been transitory ever since he started running he’s been living a transitory life on the ships that travel between the islands, perhaps feeling more at home in the water than on the land he was enslaved by. I wondered whether Rachel’s quest would make a mark on him and if he would find a true home, whether that be a place or a person. I was also intrigued by Hope, whose very name embodies looking forward and has found her place in Bridgetown by entertaining paying gentlemen. She is beautiful, impeccably dressed and seems to have found a independent way of living she’s at peace with. While some people don’t want to be seen with her, Rachel is not so judgmental. After all, Rachel tells us, men have been inside her, but there she was the one who paid the price. The threat of sexual violence is alluded to but never explicit. Rachel won’t discuss or ask another woman how her children have come into being, because she knows the pain of a pregnancy where the woman prays that the child she carries has no resemblance to it’s father. Equally she knows what it’s like to dread the birth of a child in case they bear a resemblance to a man greatly loved and lost forever. We don’t know about the conception of any of Rachel’s children. Her ‘pickney’, as she calls them, are hers and hers alone and it is this that makes it imperative that she finds them. She needs to know about them, in order to feel whole.

The whole journey is littered with joys and terrible grief, but Rachel knows she must keep going. She meets others who have started to build a new life, placing the past firmly behind them and never pining for it. They live firmly in the here and now with questions left unanswered and people left behind. For Rachel that isn’t enough. Her children are like the scattered pieces of a broken vase. While she doesn’t expect it to be perfect and knows that there will be cracks and missing pieces, Rachel is putting the vase back together and she will pour a substance into the cracks, bringing the pieces together until her past is whole. The substance used in Japanese Kintsugi pottery is usually gold, the cracks making the piece more beautiful. In Rachel’s case that substance is love. Love for those here, those found but far away and those gone forever. An all encompassing love symbolised by the birth of a baby in the forest. There was a ‘feeling of complete, absorbing, unqualified love. The baby was a stranger, without speech, unknowable. It would be years before he could say what was on his mind. And yet, love did not wait. Love was there in the beginning – even before the beginning. Love needed no words, no introduction. Existence was enough.’

I was very grateful to get the chance to read this own voices book ahead of publication, and I definitely think it is one that I will return to and reread in the future.

Going into this book, I knew next to nothing about slavery in the British colonies and its “abolition” - in quotation marks because, as you’ll find out just like I did when reading the book, although slavery was officially abolished on paper by the government, the black plantation workers were forced to remain in a 6 year apprenticeship under much the same working conditions as before.

Throughout reading the book, I felt like the author really put a lot of effort into doing her research, both in terms of history but mostly in regard to what these “free” slaves were going through on a psychological level. The result of this is a very educating read that was emotional and gripping and raw and beautiful. Rachel’s story was both extremely personal but also seemed representative of the broader shared experience of the Caribbean people who were oppressed under British rule.

The reason why I am not quite giving this book a full 5 stars is because at times, I found it to be rather rushed. I know the author had to cover a lot of ground in a rather short time with this story, but some parts I do wish to have been elaborated on more. In particular, I would have liked to get an even better understanding of what freedom meant to the different characters, and how each of their pasts influenced that stance.

I really liked the design choice of the book cover with the river and the birds. There are two instances in the book where a river plays an important role for the plot, first in finding Rachel‘s second son and then in saving her family. The main river on the cover has five arms, representing the five children Rachel is trying to find, and I feel like the seven birds additionally represent the two new family members she gains during her search. And, of course, it also just looks very pretty.

4.5/5 stars.

Eleanor Shearer’s debut novel, River Sing Me Home, is a quite remarkable book which clearly depicts the length and breadth of a mother’s love.

In it, we meet Rachel a slave in Barbados, whose hopes of freedom are dashed when she discovers that, even while slavery has been ‘ended’ by Great Britain, in the Caribbean former slaves will still be forced to work as apprentices, meaning Rachel’s careful plans to go out and find the children that have been sold away from her turn into a night-time flight.

A chance encounter with a unique community sets her on a path that leads around the region, always searching for her children, and coming to terms with what freedom means for her.

It was so fascinating to read in the author notes that this story is based on the true stories of women in the Caribbean as they searched for their children and the power of this book is that it focuses on that and not on the period before. Of course, there are some harrowing moments for all the characters in recalling their past lives, and for Rachel as she constantly looks over her shoulder, waiting to be taken back to the plantation, but Eleanor Shearer concentrates on the hopefulness of Rachel’s search and, ultimately, how she begins to look to the future and not back into the painful past.

The most powerful part of the book for me was not Rachel’s actual journey, but the journey she takes in trying to embrace her freedom and decide what that means to her. By the end of the novel the green shoots are there, but we can only imagine how Rachel and her family with continue to grow after we leave them.

An incredible book and a definite ‘keeper’!

That’s to the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

What a gut wrenching/ heartbreaking a story, “a mothers love is a mothers love” I always say and this applies to this story so much!.

Everyone please read this you will not regret it, you’ll be reading page after page rooting for them all so much.

Wow this is a truly brilliant book. A sweeping and beautiful work of historical fiction set initially in Barbados, then across the Caribbean, this astonishingly well written debut deals with the brutal life of slaves in the 1800s, and in particular one woman's determination to find her stolen children. One of the most moving and incredible books I have ever read, this books deserves huge success and recognition. Highly recommended.
With grateful thanks to NetGalley, Headline and Eleanor Shearer for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the real-life women who went looking for their stolen children at the end of slavery. This novel begins on a plantation in Barbados just as the Emancipation act is coming into effect. The slaves however learn they are not to be freed but are to stay on as apprentices.

Rachel decides that now is the time to find her 5 children who were taken and sold. Rachel's search goes from Barbados to Guiana and Trinidad meeting a whole host of characters on the way some I loved and others I hated.

This is one of the most moving stories I have ever read.

It’s 1834 and according to the law, on the Caribbean island of Barbados slavey has been abolished.
However, for Rachel, true freedom will only come when she has learnt what has happened to the five children who had been taken from her and sold.

This story was inspired by the women who, in the aftermath of slavery, went in search of their lost children and is such a powerful and compelling read

It really is a beautiful story both inside and out, and can definitely see this debut being a huge success in 2023

This moving, beautifully-written début brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. A rare gem in twenty-first century fiction releases to date.

Telling her story almost entirely from Rachel's point of view, Eleanor Shearer's writing is intelligent and sensitive. Her descriptive powers and language are commendable, but the plot-driven narrative makes her characters feel more like puppets on a stage than living, breathing people with emotions leading difficult, traumatic lives. I do, however, see potential for more 'rounded' characterisation which, I hope, Shearer will build and improve upon in future novels. This author is certainly one I can imagine going from strength to strength and I shall follow her progress keenly.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.

Any Cop?:

Set in Barbados in the 19th Century, Rachel is a runaway slave - whilst slaves have been told they are free as the King ends slavery, the plantation owner demands they must stay on to work as his "apprentices" which in reality is little different to slavery.

Rachel choosesto escape, not just for her own freedom but to find her 5 children who were taken from her over the years.

Given the subject matter, of course this is at times a difficult read, but it's ultimately about freedom, strength and perseverance. Beautifullywritten and poignant.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

What an incredible debut of the exploration of Rachel’s life after slavery. It was so empowering to see how brave and determined Rachel was in order to find her children and there were no limits to how far she would go to find out what had become of her five children.

There were so many beautiful moments as well as heart wrenching moments within this book that left me sobbing. I have not felt this absorbed into a book for a long time. I truly did not want it to end. However, I am so glad that it ended the way that it did - it made me so happy and I couldn’t stop crying.

The pacing of this book was incredible - everything was revealed just at the right time and left such an impression. It was uncovered slowly but it all came together beautifully.

I absolutely loved Eleanor’s writing style, as well as how each chapter was short but contained so much information and how each paragraph was short so I felt like I was immersed in the story and could retain the information. This book felt so personal throughout and I think that was due to the author’s background with her family living in St Lucia and Barbados.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Review for giving me an ARC of this book. This book will be available on 19th January 2023 as a e-book for £7.99 or hardback for £18.99.

This review has been posted to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. This review will be posted next week on my TikTok and Instagram accounts.

⚠️ content warnings: slavery, human trafficking, murder, guns, gun use, plantations, whipping, facial disfigurement, vomiting, miscarriage, child death, grief, physical assault, prostitution, shooting, mentions drowning, pregnancy, cheating and rape, derogatory language, racism, alcohol use, blood, fertility issues, death, threatening behaviour and colonialism ⚠️

I literally couldn't stop thinking about this book after reading it. It was such a captivating, heart wrenching and powerful read. I loved it!
The story starts in 1834. Rachel is a slave on a plantation in Barbados. The Emancipation Act has been passed but unfortunately this has not led to freedom so Rachel is forced to try and run away. What follows is her story as she tries to find each of her children who were forcibly taken from her at a young age and sent to different plantations/slave owners and unknown destinations whilst she was held captive.
I loved the characters in this story and was desperate for Rachel to be reunited with her children. The places she travelled through on the Carribean islands and people she met were fascinating.

The book is so well written and heart breaking in places. Rachel's resilience through all the horrific situations she had to face is remarkable. I could barely bring myself to read the final few chapters as the situation becomes so desperate and so awful!
This is an amazing story which captures the brutality and horror of this time as well as portraying the hope, love and absolute unstoppable determination a mother has to find her children. A moving and unforgettable read.

This historical novel tells a story from an important part of Caribbean history. We follow Rachel whose fight for freedom begins when the Emancipation Act comes into effect. Yet, it appears that slavery continues and Rachel's life is to continue much as it was before. However, Rachel can endure it no longer. Her escape and subsequent fight for liberty are motivated by one thing - her desire to be reunited with her lost children, separated from her by the cruelty of the slave trade.

The prose in this novel was often beautiful and this part of Caribbean history was clearly close to Shearer's heart and were movingly crafted around the themes of love and motherhood.

However, for me the plot was too linear. There were few twists and turns and the storyline lacked depth. Each moment felt a little rushed and was tackled in too superficial a way. There needed more scene setting, build up and creativity surrounding the storytelling.

Having said this the characters and subject matter did move me and I am glad to have read something clearly well researched from this period in Caribbean history.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

This book is amazing. It is not an easy read but at the heart there is Rachel, a mother who cannot rest until she finds the children wrenched from her. The characters leap from the page and bring the book to life. At times the book made me achingly sad, furious and elated. I will vividly remember this story forever.

I was intrigued by #RiverSingMeHome by Eleanor Shearer from the premise and was over the moon reading this with my book bestie Sissi🥰 It was an emotional and powerful story set in the Caribbean about a mother determined to find her children in the immediate aftermath of slavery. I liked how the book was split up into following each child’s journey. I learned so much reading this book and the writing was beautiful and heartbreaking. I didn’t really feel a connection with any of the characters but it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book. The power of love and hope is at the heart of this book and I highly recommend for historical fiction fans. What a debut

A tender and heartbreaking story of freedom, loss and reconnection.

I love that the author explores all these themes from different perspectives. Rachel is an incredible protagonist and we're taken along on a literal and spiritual journey as Rachel used her new found freedom to search for her serviving children. This brings up complex emotions such as elation in some instances, greif in others and also the knowledge that both she and her children, have been changed by captivity and adjustment to freedom.

One son touches on this sutsinctly when he says some people want to relive and talk about the past whilst others want to ignore it.

Also it's very apparent that each individual has a different idea and experience of what freedom means.

Absolutely breathtaking and insightful.

A moving and haunting story of a mother's enduring love for her children and the resilience of people.

While heartbreaking, this is a story of hope and love, based on real life events and history.

A powerful and heartbreaking story of a mother’s love and her search for the children stolen from her by slavery. Beautifully written and an important history lesson.

This is such an incredibly moving read. The courage and conviction of the protagonist is compelling and I learned so much. Work like this just reinforces my wish that I had been taught about colonialisation and its legacy at school - it's such an important topic. I eagerly anticipate Shearer's next novel!

A very powerful yet very accessible story of Rachel, a slave in Barbados, who manages to escape to try and find the children that she bore that were taken from her as young children. She doesn’t know what happened to them, some sold on as slaves themselves, some may not have survived. This is a story of motherhood that never leaves you and the desperate longing that never leaves.
Just horrifying and staggering that this is all based on the lives of real women, and a reminder of the total and unthinkable brutality that was so real for so many. This might be a work of fiction but very much based on real life.

This is a heartbreaking and powerful story dealing with one of the most devastating and unthinkable aspects of slavery- that the children of slaves were often taken away from their families and sold on, with no further contact or even knowledge of what happened to each other. When slavery ends, Rachel determines to find her five missing children, now adults and taken individually by different owners. Her search will take her from Barbados, across land and seas to other Caribbean islands, and not all the news she discovers will be happy. She is also in danger, considered a runaway, as the “freedom” the slaves are granted involves them having to continue to work as employees for their old masters for a number of years, and a slave-catcher is in pursuit. Rachel will find help and friendship from others along the way, but we are left in no doubt about the terrible cost of this inhumane system and the suffering will not easily be forgotten. Lyrically written and filled with both sorrow and hope, this is an emotional and enlightening book. I did feel at times that the “quest” nature of the narrative meant that it sometimes dragged, as the stories of Rachel’s sons and daughters are told in the past tense so can seem rather static, but it is impossible not to be moved and to be willing Rachel to find her lost loved ones.