≡ Libro Gratis Peace Like a River Leif Enger 9780802139252 Books

Peace Like a River Leif Enger 9780802139252 Books

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Peace Like a River Leif Enger 9780802139252 Books

For me to really like a book, it's got to feel real: dialogue needs to sound authentic, characters need to well developed & a mix of good & bad, as real people are. Likewise, I don't want the ending to be predictable, nor all happy or all tragic. I also prefer fairly clean language & no graphic sex scenes. (Not because I think those have no place in literature, but just for my own mental health.)

So, you can see I'm pretty picky! This book met all my criteria. The one character that feels too saintly to be real is the narrator's father, but he's seen through the eyes of an 11-year old boy, in the more innocent early 1960's, so that makes perfect sense. (And more so, in light of the ending.)

I appreciate how hard it must be to write an ending that the reader doesn't see coming, and that is neither too neat and happy, nor so shocking that it feels like a cheap shot. Again, this story delivers. I was truly surprised by several twists at the end, saddened by some of them and satisfied by others.

The author also accomplishes a rare feat: writing about faith in a way that makes room for doubt, without judging those characters for whom doubt wins out.

I look forward to reading more from Leif Enger.


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Peace Like a River Leif Enger 9780802139252 Books Reviews

This novel, mostly set in the early 1960's and on the harsh northern plains of America, is a 'tour de force' of fiction. The tale, mostly narrated by the middle, seriously asthmatic child of a motherless home, is a saga of how a family will find their moral center, when tragedy comes to call. They also learn how to strengthen their familial bond, when they set out on a quest to find their errant brother and son, after two town bullies set out to avenge their dishonor, at the hands of the father of the story.

In the process of seeking revenge, one of the bullies is killed by the oldest son. After that, the teenager sets out to flee his guilt, which he believes that his crime was committed in self-defence. But many in the small, N. Dakota town don't agree. So the boy flees and his family set out to find him, perhaps bringing him back to allow justice served.

Along the storyline, the family faithfully follows their highly religious and decent father, as he takes the children and himself, deep into the Dakota Badlands. There they meet saviors, antagonists, murderers, government men, and magical moments that allow them to continue their search, against many insurmountable odds.

The key characters are very individual and as quirky alone, as they are with one another. The reader comes to fall in love with one or a few of them. They learn to trust and love, as they become frantic to become reunited with their errant elder brother and son.

If there is a genre of N. Dakota magical realism, this is a novel of that ilk. Magic happens, Miracles happen. Good and bad happen. Evil and good happen. Sadness and happiness are lost and found. Redemption and sinning happen.

The language and character development are of a very skillful and high level that fully supports the plot, which is, at times, other-worldly. I couldn't put this book down. I loved it, since I've not read such a wonderful piece of fiction, in a very long time.
If waiting for a storybook to come along and take you on an epic journey like those of your childhood, look no longer. Enger's storytelling capabilities surpass much of what has been written for decades. Along with including an old fashion faith, Enter dares to draw from his own imagination a truly unique description of what a real modern faith might entail. His characters come alive through vibrant dialogue and he leads you right into the heart of each one. No slouching on descriptive scenic mountain scenarios, no leaving one wondering what each place visited holds, Enger sees and tells all.

Recommend this to middle school English teachers trying to instill a love of reading and teach imaginative writing of both prose and poetry.
There is something about the writing style and characters I truly enjoyed. It's a very unique and clever story, told from the perspective of a 14 year old asthmatic boy, Reuben. It reminded me in some ways of Prince of Tides, another book I liked a lot, but with a few miracles from heaven tossed in, just for fun. I read a book a few years ago called The Tower, the Zoo, and Tortoise, which for me was unusual in that I found myself enjoying the book paragraph by paragraph - sentence by sentence - word by word. I felt the same way about Peace Like a River, which made it a very slow, but very enjoyable read. The combination of the writing style, the characters, and the overall narrative really worked for me. This one gets a big thumbs up.
Leif Enger, the author of Peace Like a River, is a word master like his character Swede, a quite imaginative young girl short on humility. I cannot say enough good things about this book, now the favorite at the top of my list. This story of the Land family is wrapped in belief and faith, as well as a bit of skepticism. There are miracles within, yet I believe the truest cynics can be open to such ... and it's merely a tale, right? I don't want to give the story away, but it is set in the Midwest, often in winter’s brutality, in the midst of real life. It is a tragic tale filled with more laughter than I could bear at times and with characters that I truly want to spend days with. This is the second riveting novel I've read this past year that is told in the voice of a child. I thought this couldn't work, but who better to tell the story ... especially in this novel where 11-year-old Rueben spills the beans. The story is frank and vibrant, the characters so genuine you could touch them, and the ending will take you somewhere you have not been! However, in spite of all these treasures, I was constantly amazed at how Mr. Enger summoned so much emotion with his evocative combination of words. Words are his magic. This is a book I will read over and over and that will stay on my bookshelf.
For me to really like a book, it's got to feel real dialogue needs to sound authentic, characters need to well developed & a mix of good & bad, as real people are. Likewise, I don't want the ending to be predictable, nor all happy or all tragic. I also prefer fairly clean language & no graphic sex scenes. (Not because I think those have no place in literature, but just for my own mental health.)

So, you can see I'm pretty picky! This book met all my criteria. The one character that feels too saintly to be real is the narrator's father, but he's seen through the eyes of an 11-year old boy, in the more innocent early 1960's, so that makes perfect sense. (And more so, in light of the ending.)

I appreciate how hard it must be to write an ending that the reader doesn't see coming, and that is neither too neat and happy, nor so shocking that it feels like a cheap shot. Again, this story delivers. I was truly surprised by several twists at the end, saddened by some of them and satisfied by others.

The author also accomplishes a rare feat writing about faith in a way that makes room for doubt, without judging those characters for whom doubt wins out.

I look forward to reading more from Leif Enger.