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Blake Patterson

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Blake is Currently Reading

Blake Patterson is currently reading

God's Unfaithful Wife: A Biblical Theology of Spiritual Adultery (New Studies in Biblical Theology, #2)

by D.A. Carson

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Mar 31, 2026 02:40PM

Blake Patterson is currently reading

A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation

by Matthew C. Bingham

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Mar 31, 2026 12:25PM

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Peace Like a River

by Leif Enger

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Reading for the 3rd time

read in April 2022

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Blake Patterson said: " grew up in small-town Iowa and so the fact that this author and the setting of this book takes place in the mid-twentieth century in a small community within Minnesota had me pretty engaged.
There’s four characters to hang onto in this book. There’s grew up in small-town Iowa and so the fact that this author and the setting of this book takes place in the mid-twentieth century in a small community within Minnesota had me pretty engaged.
There’s four characters to hang onto in this book. There’s the narrator, Reuben Land, who is 11. There’s Jeremiah Land, the single Dad. Then there’s the brother Davy Land, who is 16. Finally there’s Swede Land, the 8 year old sister.
Each one of these characters (including minor characters as well) are very distinguished characters. None of them are alike and each of them contains virtues that give the plot and the character progressions of others forward momentum. I could read about these people’s lives for hundreds of pages because it’s written so well.
Zooming out a little, I was gripped by Leif Engers’s writing style. He does a great job giving the setting a certain feel and stimulates a reader’s senses to understand truly what it’s like to trudge in deep snow drifts or seek warmth stuck in the backseat of a Plymouth. He has given words to certain sensations and experiences like no one I have read before. He also writes his brilliant and clever poetic verse through the 8 year old girl. Her fascination with wonder and fantasy spoken through her poems and writings transcends simple metaphors and ironies.
But my true admiration for this book, this story, and these characters all flows out of the great and noble, Jeremiah Land.
As a single Dad, working as a humble janitor at the local elementary school, he distinguishes himself as a man of a contentment, honor, strength, great humility, and love toward his family but also to those who walk over his kindness. He holds no grudges, carries himself with stillness and sincerity, and believes the best of everyone, even when they have behaved or shown their worst. No one is too far gone in his eyes.
If there is any character I desire to emulate as a husband, a father (Lord-willing), a friend, a leader, and as a man…it is found in Jeremiah.
Carrying the weight of singleness, poverty, and wayward sons; he handles his burdens as if he is behind a type of curtain throughout the book. Sometimes spotted by Reuben, Jeremiah is found turning his eyes to heaven and opening his King James through creaked doors and quiet mornings.
I got teared up multiple times reading the words Jeremiah says to his children, especially to Reuben-the narrator.
This book is worthy of a read for Jeremiah Land alone but contains so much literary richness that it might be a frequent re-read as I’m sure it will be for me.
Please read this book and then let’s find a time to talk about it. ...more "

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(25%)
— Mar 28, 2026 11:10AM

Apr 09, 2022 05:03AM · see review

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