The Boundless River: Stories from the Realm of the Rhine - Softcover

Deen, Mathijs

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1529424178 ISBN 13: 9781529424171

Publisher: MacLehose Press, 2025

Synopsis

"A joy to read" Times Literary Supplement

"[A] stirring and accessible history of the mighty Rhine" Irish Times

"It's easy to be swept away by Deen's delightful prose" New Statesman

"A beautiful book, by turns poetic, witty and full of learning " PATRICK McGUINNESS

The Boundless River takes the reader into a unique world ‒ the twilight zone between fact and fiction, science and imagination ‒ and on a journey which moves effortlessly from a time in prehistory, long before the existence of a European continent, to the present day. Along the way Deen encounters paleontologists, geologists, museum curators, taxidermists, fishermen and skippers who work the boats, who still see the Rhine as a living entity.

From the mighty hippos that swam in its waters millions of years ago, to the weary salmon that saw their habitat slowly change and the aurochs that grazed its shores; from the primordial Steinheim Woman to the Roman general Corbulo who commanded settlements along its delta, to a young Goethe: in all of their stories the Rhine is ever present, sometimes as the main character, sometimes as an extra, as a theatre of war, a border between nations, a bathing spot, a killer, a vital transport route.

Beautifully fluid, rich and captivating, The Boundless River shows how the Rhine connects and divides, terrifies, comforts, carries and swallows, and has done since the beginning of time.

Translated from the Dutch by Jane Hedley-Prôle and Jonathan Reeder

About this title

About the Author

MATHIJS DEEN (b. 1962) is a Dutch writer and radio producer. His short story collection Brutus is Hungry (nominated for the AKO Literature Prize) was followed by among others The Wadden Islands, Down Old Roads and the novel The Light Ship (nominated for the Libris Literature Prize). His work has been translated into German, Italian and Korean.

From the Back Cover

A beautifully imaginative work of non-fiction about the Rhine, from its birth to the present day, told through stories of those who lived along its shores.

Edition details

• Publisher: MacLehose Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1529424178
• ISBN 13: 9781529424171
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320