A Version Of The American Dream.
- Book: River Queens: Saucy Boat, stout mates, spotted dog, America
- Location: United States (USA)
- Author: Alexander Watson
River Queens is a memoir. Alexander and Dale bought then reconditioned a 1955 wooden Chris-Craft Connie pleasure boat before taking it on an adventure. They began in Dallas, Texas; the boat trip took them from Oklahoma along the Arkansas, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers until they reached the outskirts of Cincinnati.
Alexander and Dale already had experience in restoration and engineering which greatly helped. The boat was from a bygone era which brought out the real boating enthusiasts who lent a hand with advice and repairs. The men discovered a boating community and a part of America which those travelling along the highways would never see.
I don’t know anything about boats, but I could follow much of the technical terminology. Once the duo were underway on their trip, the snippets of information about the rivers, the river-folk and the marinas brought the pages to life. The slower pace of river life made this a relaxing read. One point I did find a little hard to read was the inclusion of full colloquial dialogue of minor characters. As a reader from across the Atlantic, I would have preferred just a suggestion of the local dialect; I’d have understood the gist and read the dialogue with my best interpretation of the twang, but more importantly it would have made those sections flow better.
Overall an interesting book; I got out my map of the American States on numerous occasions so that I could follow their trip. It was one of those life time experiences that many seek. For Alexander it was his version of ‘The American Dream’.
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