The River is Home
A charming excursion into a lost world.
New York Times Book ReviewI unreservedly recommend this novel. It is simply and powerfully written, with plenty of local color. The River is Home stands out in the reader’s mind as a work of art.
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The River Is Home ($14.95) – 
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The River is Home is also available in Kindle and Audible versions.
Here is a video that draws on Smith’s colorful description of the Corey family.
In 1950, Patrick Smith was a 23-year-old who had grown up in a small Mississippi town during the Depression. Having been an avid reader from his early days and a writer whose local paper published his poems and sports columns, he finished writing a novel, but shelved it for two years, possibly apprehensive about its rejection and unsure of just how to get a book published. He finally showed it to one of his English professors at the University of Mississippi and received enough encouragement that – with some confidence – he sent it to Little, Brown and Company in Boston without an agent and without any fanfare. Probably to his amazement, they published it. Such is the printing history of Smith’s popular novel, The River is Home. He wrote this novel in 10 days.
The story of The River is Home revolves around a Mississippi family’s struggle to cope with changes in their rural environment. It is the story of Skeeter, a young boy growing up in a family poor in material goods but rich in spiritual values, a family that lived in harmony with their surroundings.
Those surroundings consisted of swamps, woodlands, and the ever-present river that connected them to civilization, provided them with an abundant food supply, and challenged them with periodic floods. How each member of the boy’s family did or did not adapt to the demands of the river is a study in contrasts.
The setting of the swamp, full of mosquitoes and gators would turn up again in Smith’s later Florida books, especially Forever Island and Allapattah.
The River Is Home Paperback ($14.95) –
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A true picture of life of river life in 1800’s Louisiana. Thank you Patrick Smith for another book that I’m sure I will read many more times.
~Maureen Fry
Patrick Smith was 25 years old when he wrote this story about growing up on the Pearl River in Mississippi. It’s a story of survival in the wilderness and living from the land and the water, the daily tasks of fishermen, of family cooperation and love, of risks and triumphs, of poverty and abundance, a story beautifully woven with descriptions of the swamp and its bounty.
His first novel, he wasn’t sure how to go about getting it published, so he checked the book he was reading at the time and found the name of the most distinguished publisher in the country. He sent his manuscript to their address with an attached note, “Please publish this immediately.” His answer by mail followed very soon. “We will.”
~Ellen Ulken
The story was happy. Despite obstacles, the characters had the will to make it in the swamps of the Pearl River. The description of the people, their habitat and their way of life was fascinating. I couldn’t wait to see what was for dinner! Reading the dialect got a little old but it was quite an accomplishment for the author. Good read for anyone but especially for people from that part of the world…like me.
~Lilla Gayle Martin
A story of people who lived a life of hardship, but were not greedy and respected all creatures and our earth, beautifully written be Patrick Smith.
~missmanners
A great read, hated to see it end so soon. It is always nice to be able to buy a book as a gift for friends and this book makes a great gift.
~Alan Jones
I absolutely loved this book and want to read more from Patrick Smith, can’t think why I have just found out about this amazing story.
~Anna M. Linney
After I mastered interpreting the language, thoroughly enjoyed the story. Warm story, and well written. More people need to discover what life was like in those early days.
~Stan Tippen
Patrick Smith is a great writer. I love reading novels about the Great South.
~Eli Bruner
Wonderful, touching story about people who lived the river life years ago.
~Gail Cragg
This book is a marvelous picture of life on the Pearl River. It is really a slice of life with vivid details and wonderful characters, which takes the reader to a time and place not often heard about. A short book, it’s a very fast read. You want to know what’s coming next with every page.
I definitely recommend The River Is Home.
~Olivia Kersh
Easy and enjoyable read. Love looking back at simpler times and the birth of our country.
I also grew on on the Pearl River in MS and enjoyed reading this book.
~Samuel Fowler