Drew Graham

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Drew Graham rated a book it was amazing

Peace Like a River

by Leif Enger

bookshelves: me, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in October 2011

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Drew Graham said: " I read this in college when a lot of family members recommended it, and I immediately fell for it and called it one of the best books ever written. It has been my go-to recommendation for friends asking for suggestions as to what books to read for ye I read this in college when a lot of family members recommended it, and I immediately fell for it and called it one of the best books ever written. It has been my go-to recommendation for friends asking for suggestions as to what books to read for years, so, all this time later I realized it might be a good idea to read it again, if not just to confirm its superlative designation, but also to relive the experience I so enjoyed the first time through. Rereading it did not disappoint. In fact, so many of the details and lushness of prose had I forgotten that in many ways it was like reading it all over again for the first time. The story of single father Jeremiah Land and his family, told from the perspective of 11-year-old asthmatic Reuben, is something of a miracle of literature (the term miracle being used very carefully here). When tragedy strikes the family and Jeremiah's oldest son ends up on the run from the law, the family pack up and head out west in the dead of winter with very little direction to find him, trusting that they'll be led the way they need to go.

How can I say enough good things about this book? The writing is so beautiful that I really took my time to read through it (something I usually don't do--I normally like to get through books pretty quickly) and really enjoy the words and characters. Reuben is a likeable and human narrator, providing the perfect hindsight perspective and showing the appropriate respect for his remarkable family, but still reading like a realistic kid. His older brother Davy is a credible teenager, and I really felt torn at the situation his actions lead him to; and his younger sister Swede is a tiny bit precocious, but I totally fell for her charms and spunk over and over again. Jeremiah is a stalwart patriarch to this wonderful family, but he's still human enough to believe, and Roxana is a breath of fresh air that appears exactly at the right time. Story-wise, it's fairly straight-forward, almost presented as a coming-of-age, not only for young Reuben, but for the Lands as a family. The threats to the plot ("Putrid Fed" Andreeson and frightening, godless Jape Waltzer) are carefully placed and artfully weaved throughout, and I really wondered how it could all possibly work out. Author Leif Enger has such an enviable way with words that sometimes I just marveled at how he decided to express something, and how he really painted a scene and described characters that felt so real and dear to me by the end that I was sorry to put it down. Another thing I really love about this book is how it emphasized the family's faith quite prominently, but didn't seem overbearing or schmaltzy in the least. Their humility and reliance on God was as good as fact, and the author didn't shy away from this, though he still somehow presented it gently. One chapter near the end in particular is quite moving in this respect.

This IS one of the best books ever written (especially considering its fellows in contemporary fiction), and I hope I don't let another near-decade pass before I pick it up again. The journey of the Lands is inspirational and touching, funny and tragic. And for someone who doesn't really care much for westerns in general, I just love that Sunny Sundown. ...more "

progress:

(page 288 of 312)
— Oct 13, 2011 10:55AM

Aug 09, 2026 10:09PM · see review