More Than Any River - by Victoria Tatum (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For those tied to the western landscape who wonder whether we might find redemption in the story of its water during a time of increasing climate extremes, a based-on-true-events tale of family farmers fighting to save the land they steward.

Inspired by true events, this Chinatown-meets-The Grapes of Wrath novel tells the story of California's Sacramento Delta farmers facing off against agribusiness owners over the massive water tunnel(s) the state plans to build under hundreds of thousands of acres of prime Delta farmland.

Winter 2022-'23 inundated California with as much as three times the average rain and snowfall and pulled the state out of one of its biggest droughts in recorded history. But the truth is that the American West, from the Oregon border down to Mexico, is prone to drought--and in California, the biggest battle for water takes place in the Great Central Valley, where south-of-Delta agribusiness controls every stream feeding into the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The protagonists of More Than Any River are the family farmers fighting for the Delta, and the antagonist is the big agribusiness controlling its water--but ultimately, the Great Central Valley itself emerges as the central character in this gripping tale of divisive land politics and high stakes.

Review Quotes

"A tale set in the Delta, Tatum's novel is also about the delta--the change, the difference--she movingly and tragically tracks in the lives and dreams of people she brings so memorably to life. As with any consequential novel that demands our attention, as this one does, this book highlights the cost of caring, and for that matter not caring, about the resources, natural and otherwise, that give value to our lives."--Joseph Di Prisco, author of My Last Resume and Subway to California

"The war for water has come to California's Central Valley. When family farmers find themselves in a desperate battle against agribusiness moguls whose greed knows no bounds, the fight becomes about more than survival. In this gripping novel of loyalty, betrayal, and resilience, Victoria Tatum brings the land itself to vivid life as the most powerful character of all."--Laura Davis, author of The Courage to Heal and The Burning Light of Two Stars

About the Author

Victoria Tatum received her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State and her MA in Education from UC Santa Cruz. Her first novel, The Virgin's Children, was released by a Canadian publisher, formerly known as Rain Publishing, in 2006. She and her husband have two adult children and live in Santa Cruz, California.