Push Not the River

By: James Conroyd Martin

Narrated by: Dawn Harvey

Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A panoramic and epic novel in the grand romantic style, Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known. With Empress Catherine's Russian armies streaming in to take their spoils, Anna is quickly thrust into a world of love and hate, loyalty and deceit, patriotism and treason, life and death. Even kind Aunt Stella, Anna's new guardian, who soon comes to personify Poland's courage and spirit, can't protect Anna from the uncertain future of the country. Anna, no longer a child, turns to love and comfort in the form of Jan, a brave patriot and architect of democracy, unaware that her beautiful and enigmatic cousin, Zofia, has already set her sights on the handsome, young fighter.

Thus, Anna walks unwittingly into Zofia's jealous wrath and darkly sinister intentions. Forced to survive several tragic events, many of them orchestrated by the crafty Zofia, a strengthened Anna begins to learn to place herself in the way of destiny - for love and for her country. Heeding the proud spirit of her late father, Anna becomes a major player in the fight against the countries who come to partition her beloved Poland.

Push Not the River is based on the true eighteenth century diary of Anna Maria Berezowska, a Polish countess who lived through the rise and fall of the historic Third of May Constitution. Vivid, romantic, and thrillingly paced, it paints the emotional and unforgettable story of the metamorphosis of a nation - and of a proud and resilient young woman.

©2003 James Conroyd Martin (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Polish Life before Napoleon

This book was interesting. History of Poland before and during Russian invasion.
Did not like the narrators voices at all.

Wonderfully written and Narrated!!!

I absolutely loved this book and it was a joy to listen to. I am going to download the sequel now.

Wow, what a life

When I read historical books, they never ceases to amaze me. What they endured, especially during I wanna poop inside any today very squeals and take read many things

Royalty and Rubble in 1790s Poland

I was completely captivated by this historical novel about the Countess Anna Maria Berezowska and her family during the Partition of Poland in the l790s. First of all, Polish history is something I knew very little about, but when looking a a map of that time frame, I found that Poland was a large land mass, beside Russia. This novel, based on a 200 year old diary of the countess, provides great insight into the battle for Poland's right to remain an aristocracy. Anna, living through the historic Third of May Constitution in 1791, which gave rights of land ownership to the peasants, paints a vivid picture of the rise and fall of the hopes and dreams of the Polish people, while suffering great losses of her own. Her colorful cousin, Zofia, her complete opposite, foils many of Anna's plans . . . while Zofia is wild and unconventional, her schemes sometimes backfire, even on her . . . I've already started the second book in the series . . . You can't go wrong with Push Not the River . . .

Push Not the River

Listening to this book makes me reflect on the horrors being experienced today by the Ukraine people at the hands of the Russians. The book was well narrated, intriguing, and thought provoking. I’m eager to listen to the sequel.

Great Book!-please get a different narrator!

I loved the book. It is a great story! It's a rare story about the partition of Poland in the 1700s. The narrator, however, had a VERY VERY poor pronunciation of Polish words; she slaughtered them! Her voice doing the different characters was poor as well. This book is a trilogy. I hope there is a new narrator for the third book.

Enjoyable and Relaxing Read

I was hooked right from the beginning. It takes place in Poland in the seventeen hundreds. The story line is about the nobility and their privileges, attitudes and downfalls, and spans over several years.

Being of Polish decent, the pronunciation of surnames and towns made me feel like I was part of the story. Kudos to the narrator for pronouncing them correctly.

The only complaint, is that the actions were predictable. There were no surprises, no aha moments or "who done it" (to me it was obvious). And some of the situations were hard to believe.

All in all, the book was worth it. Looking forward to listening to Book 2 and 3.

Narrator thinks Pols sound like children.

The book seems well written and the story promises great things.

Unfortunately, the narration has every adult Polish female speaking in a child's voice. Can't get past it.

If I see this at B&N, I'll pick it up. It's a shame no one caught this.

This is a chic book

I chose this book for its Polish background however it is no Downton Abbey that set in England.
The book is a love story and not a male reading book.

Great Story, Not Great Narration

It was a great story so I stuck with it in spite of poor narration.