The “river” is the river Ouse in south east England. It is the river that Virginia Woolf chose to end her life in (in which to end her life.) The author Olivia Laing decided to walk the Ouse from its source to the sea after separating from a life partner. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it is very well written and skilfully balances a mixture of literature, history, and heartbreak. It is also very deep and perhaps somewhat sluggish, a bit like the river itself. I think I have to start reading better literature to rise above the current offerings, so I can finish books like this.