DescriptionSet in the Hudson River Valley during the re-election of hapless, but “environmentally-friendly” Governor O’Sullivan, River Swell is a surreal, literary novel following Stella as she pieces together the exploitative hold O’Sullivan’s rogue campaign manager has not only over her father’s poultry business, but who may be a sinister force behind the sudden death of her childhood friend, Ty. As Stella grows in daringness, moving in with Ty’s band, the ghosts of a historic flood visit to warn her of an all too likely recurrence. Like Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, River Swell is energized by questions of animal suffering, ecological destruction, and the complications of familial dissent while asking, with awe for everyday magic of Tyler’s Searching for Caleb, how we accept what’s fated, what’s tragic, and where we may find our power as we face tremendous loss.