Radium

by John Enger

"...a Sam Shepard play with interior monologue, or a Cormac McCarthy novel in the voice of Holden Caulfield." — The Star Tribune
 
Chosen as the featured read for  One Book, One North Dakota , December 2022.
 
Radium is about two bad-luck brothers from a bad-luck town in the flat farmland of western Minnesota. Jim, the narrator, is fifteen and damaged, the result of a car accident years before that left him with a head injury and a tweaked view of the world. He sees his big brother, Billy Quinn, in near mythic terms. Billy is wild and strong and capable of things other men are not.

They live together in a trailer house on the ditch-side of a beet field until Billy gets into bad trouble, and then they go on the run. That's what wild young men like Billy—growing up rangy and unsupervised in the desperate middle of this country—do when trouble comes. They run. They drive cars fast. They go west. They live on the lam, always about three days from a federal manhunt.

Laws are broken, but with an older brother his only true friend on earth—a brother he loves more than his own next breath—Jim justifies their deeds, willing to do...anything...to keep Billy free.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

Published May 10, 2022

Reviews

[Oliver Sime · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a neo western with lively characters and a fast-paced story. What's not to like?

[John Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both John's father (Leif) and uncle (Lin) are writers who have written books together and separate. I consider his uncle Lin as one of my closest friend. Both Leif and John worked with MPR here in Minnesota telling human interest stories. All three of these Enger males have similar voices and when I couldn't get together with my friend, Lin, during the pandemic, I enjoyed hearing the Enger voice through John's stories on MPR. John's writing voice is more similar to that of his father and there are parts of this book that reminded me of his PEACE LIKE A RIVER, but his writing style is much more action-oriented. This is a story of two outlaw brothers, Billy and Jim, who are forced to flee across the American West after they burn down the grain elevator and most of the Western Minnesota town of Radium. The story is told by the younger brother, Jim, who considers himself mentally challenged. As they flee, they rob many stores and kill quite a few people, but they run into some interesting characters. A US Marshall follows them all the way to Alaska and they join a missionary couple for part of the trip. The book is both a mix of a dime-store and literary novel. If it had been told through Billy's voice, only the actions would be told, but Jim's voice has more thoughtfulness to it.

[Ονι · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the lives of two brothers, Jim a damaged 15 year old and Billy his "mythical creature" of a brother. This book is a fast paced story about family bond and how far one will go for the ones they love.

With western style undertones this story pulls you in and captures you from beginning to end. Jim will make readers laugh, he'll have you crying and he'll take you into his world and never let you go. The character development is excellent, and the plot is driven forward very easily. After the last page I just sat there, staring off into the sunset as I processed what I read. With a healthy dose of brothers and violence (please be advised there is violence), this story should be on your TBR right now. Enger is a master wordsmith that the world should be paying attention to.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was quite a trip. Starting off with two brothers - Jim and Billy - the story follows their life in the small town of Radium. Jim idolizes Billy and it starts off like an average coming-of-age tale about sibling relationships. However, when Billy accidentally burns down a grain elevator (which results in most of the town burning up, too), the boys find themselves as outlaws on the run.

Over the course of time, they rob and kill their way westward. It feels like a tale of the Wild West in some parts, but with a modern bent. There is also a ton of violence which makes for a very colorful and action-packed story.

A little bit of everything, this story is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat! I know it wasn’t quite what I was expecting when I started, but I was sure glad to have experienced it. A very unique sort of story!

[Tiff Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim wasn’t born like everyone else yet his brother Billy still saw him the same as everyone else, so when Billy found himself in a situation that not only burned their home to the ground but also began a run from the law Jim was all too eager to follow his hero in his flight. With each crime, they commit the state to state Jim’s devotion to his brother never wavers. More than anything he hopes they can find a place where they’ll truly be free and the threat of his brother serving time in prison will just be a memory.
This is such an amazing book. I loved that it is written from the point of view of the younger brother who idolizes the older. That’s something I can relate to having an older brother that I idolized even though he wasn’t a perfect human and had run-ins with the law. I definitely recommend reading it! 10/10

[Alphonse Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know that feeling when you can’t quite put a book down? Where the adventure of the story and the love for the characters keeps you up longer than it should- well, I had that with this one.

It’s something of a foil to Enger’s father’s book, “Peace Like a River,” where the latter is the hunt for an outlaw, in John Enger’s book you as the reader get to run with the outlaws: or rather, you’re with the unreliable narrator, not sure whether our Billy the outlaw is a villain, a victim, or a minor deity.

The adventure meanders some (as all good adventures do), and while I wondered why places and events were included in the saga of these hard luck brothers, I find myself thinking about these vignettes and wondering what I would do in their shoes.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! An odyssey, a page-turner, I couldn’t put it down. Also, in parts, hilarious. This line got me “When the sun rose, I had to crawl out of the car and be sick. We were parked in a field of six-foot-tall sunflowers. The prettiest place by far that I’ve ever barfed.” Congratulations John Enger! This book is amazing. Can’t wait to read the next one.

[Bug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thelma and Louise on steroids. I enjoyed the book, the writing and character development is excellent. The 4 and 5 star ratings are completely justified but the relentless violence wore me down in the end. I recommend Radium but reader be warned.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS! Love, love, loved this book. Sort of take on “Huck Finn,” only with 2 brothers who head out on a crime wave after literally burning down their hometown, mistakenly. What a story which I could see making it to film.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy can write!

[Kara (Books.and.salt) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going into this book I never expected to like Jim and his big brother Billy, so color me surprised when not even 50 pages into the novel I was declaring my undying love for the pair. As misguided as Billy was at times, he had such a golden heart & really loved his brother. 💛

This story is dark, gritty, and violent. But despite the high body count, the characters gallows humor and quirks made this a laugh out loud read! Jim's interactions with Randy at the start cracked me up.

I loved every second of this book and highly recommend it to fans of modern Westerns & coming of age stories! Huge thanks to the author for my gifted copy.