"Could a person believe so strongly one way, yet take the opposite route?"
(Leif Enger - Peace Like a River)
Told from 11-year-old Rueben Land's perspective, Peace Like a River (2001) tells the story of the Land family's journey across the Badlands in the 1960s in search of Rueben's fugitive older brother, Davy, who has killed two men. Though a melancholy story of a family's loss, Peace Like a River has a big heart and is, above all, a story of love.
I had a bit of a hot/cold reaction to Leif Enger's debut novel. On the one hand, I thought it was a beautifully written book. Every word seemed carefully placed, and I got the sense that Enger loved these characters and was willing to be patient in telling their story.
On the other hand, I found reading this book to be a chore, and in a way it is, as I'm reading it for work. As lovely as Enger's words were, I simply found that I wasn't excited to come home and pick this book up at the end of the day.
Despite a bit of boredom, however, Peace Like a River had me thinking. One of the questions I had as I was reading was whether or not Rueben felt his brother was guilty, and this is where that love comes in. Davy kills two men, it's true, but as the reader, I had the history, and I felt I understood why he did what he did. And with a big brother myself, I also understood the depth of Rueben's love for Davy. For me, understanding a character's motivations - even I don't necessarily agree with their actions - is helpful in drawing me into the heart of a story.
Overall, I'm glad I read Peace Like a River, and I think it's a book that will come back to me quietly in the coming months. Even though the story itself didn't have me racing home for more, I feel Enger has given me much to think about in terms of the lengths I would be willing to go to protect my family.
Roald Dahl's Kiss Kiss (1960) is a collection of 11 macabre stories, less sexually charged than Switch Bitch, but equally as disturbing.
