Review: Down the River Unto the Sea

Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many of Mosley’s books seem a little off kilter to me. I’m not positive why, but I’d say what drives that thought is that the main characters are quite manic in their internal thoughts, and the story lives in those thoughts. At times I wish there was more description of the environment, but that would change the feeling of the book, and given Mosley’s expertise in writing these kinds of novels, it would probably be detrimental. I guess I’ll leave the moody descriptions to James Lee Burke. Here, we live in Joe Oliver’s mind, a former cop who was framed and served time in prison, facing life changing violence and life changing reflection. And he continues that reflection here, always wondering if he’s become a violent person himself, always testing. That is the feel of this book. Like many of Mosley’s books, there’s a violently crazy sidekick that serves to keep our hero a step removed from the evil that pervades others within the book. And, also to formula, there is a daughter to protect, and a convoluted plot that doesn’t fully pull together. On reflection, this was about what I’d expect from Mosley, although perhaps somewhat darker. I enjoyed it in its familiarity.

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