A STONE FROM THE RIVER RHINE

A woman retraces the original route of an ancestor by sailing the Rhine River while carrying the ashes of her dead brother, who loved travel and history.

As a child, Natalie’s sure her big brother, Billy, will soar when he jumps off a corn crib, wearing improvised wings of feed sacks and baling wire. Instead, he breaks an arm. Billy’s later life also sputters; he faces health challenges and personal tragedy. Knowing he would have loved it, Natalie brings Billy’s remains when she and her husband, Hank, fly to Amsterdam and sail the Rhine. Johannes Welde, Natalie and Billy’s ancestor, also made this journey, traveling by sea from Eppingen, Bavaria, and settling in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. While Natalie and Hank enjoy their cruise, Johannes’ voyage differs. A young man in 1750, Johannes is amazed to learn about the wonders of America (skunks, bears, Indigenous peoples) recounted by a recruiter visiting his village. To acquire land in America, Johannes is told, he only needs a “Tomahawk Title,” cutting his initials into a tree wherever he wants to live. Johannes sails in the hold of the Neptune, a ship with “swollen, cracked, and uneven” flooring. Hold passengers get soaked and many contract fatal diseases. Though the two narratives, past and present, initially seem far removed from each other, readers slowly discover surprising links. Bourke’s writing is conversational, but there’s a depth to the characters. For instance, Francine, Billy’s wife, appears uncaring, but we learn she’s mourning the loss of a child. Billy cares deeply for his family, but, craving adventure, long-haul trucking keeps him far from home. Bourke’s book shines as a travelogue. In Amsterdam, she writes of multistory bicycle parking lots, and in the red-light district, girls “reminiscent of wind-up dolls” stand in windows. Natalie vividly recalls truck-stop cafes on a trip from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. The author nimbly switches time periods, contrasting Natalie and Hank’s contemporary, information-laden life with mid-1700s, when much of the world was new and unknown.

A fresh, interesting tour through 18th- and 21st-century Europe and elsewhere.