Swede is the youngest child.

Swede presents a nice contrast to Reuben, I think. She is younger than Reuben, but more intelligent; she is smaller than him, but is healthier. Reuben longs for safety, while Swede is not afraid of adventure - either in real life or in the stories that she writes. She is certainly a precocious child, and Reueben is not. Hope you enjoy the rest of the book! Let us know what you think.

I loved Peace Like a River and remember recommending it many times to anyone who would listen. I fully intend to reread it soon. I had borrowed the libary's copy the first time I read it, and a few weeks ago, I spotted a copy on the clearance table at Borders and nabbed one for my personal library, which is explosively growing and threatening to take over my entire house.

I'm glad you're enjoying it, Pammyfay. In my opinion, it gets better and better as the story progresses.

Count me in on loving this book. I reread it a few months ago, and it was as good the second time as the first.

I have a hardback coming through paperback swap that I ordered last week. Really looking forward to it!

Chiming in to say I'm another one who adored this book and gave copies as Xmas presents one year. I need to buy a copy for myself and re-read it! I've recommended it to so many friends and they all loved it, too.

I particularly enjoyed the landscape descriptions, such as that of the burning lignite coal seam. I liked the young narrator, the boy with asthma -- he seemed to me the most realistic character.

However, I didn't think the precocious little girl was believable and certainly not comparable to Scout Finch, as I heard or read her compared to from many reviewers. I didn't especially like the story either, perhaps because it didn't feel authentic to me in its time frame and setting. I grew up during that time in that part of the world, and I remember it very well so that probably makes me a little too discriminatory.

One friend of mine said she thought the whole time she was reading it that she should be taking notes as if she had to write a high school-type analysis paper. I understand how she felt, because I also thought Enger was pushing too hard with the symbolism and message, neither of which are part of "my thing" and what I value in a reading experience.

However, my criticisms, above, don't sink the whole book for me -- I do see some of the appeal of the story and writing. I think it is probably a good book for most book-club reading.

I had never heard of this book until a few people started to recommend it here a couple of years ago so I borrowed a copy from the library.
I thought the descriptions of the winter landscapes atmospheric but had difficulty with the subject matter.
What is there to adore or love about the theme of murder, bullying, kids on the run, or the weirdo's the older boy lands up with or the fear felt by the younger children? I realise I can't quote chapter and verse as I read it a while ago.
Was life in the '60's really so lawless in those parts of the US?
Perhaps I was making a rod for my own back by being too pragmatic about the subject matter and forgot to look for any symbolism along the way.

>Perhaps I was making a rod for my own back by being too pragmatic about the subject matter and forgot to look for any symbolism along the way.Perhaps so, veer. There is nothing too lovely about many of the Grimms Fairytales, either, yet they are read to children, and somehow the message within the story is understood, and we find them valuable, entertaining and sometimes beautiful. It seems to me that Peace Like a River is dealing with large themes within the context of a fascinating and troubling story of a poor but loyal family, similar to a fairytale. Atmospheric is a wonderful word for the book as well as the landscape, I think.

Veer, what I love so much is the love and faith of the father, the loyalty, faith and love of the children for him and for one another, and the great goodness that permeates the book. Yes, the goodness in the heart of murder and evil. It seems to me to resonate of hope.

> I understand how she felt, because I also thought Enger was pushing too hard with the symbolism and message, neither of which are part of "my thing" and what I value in a reading experience.

My feeling as well. I tried reading this book for a book group and couldn't finish it. Which is too bad, because it looked like a book I'd like.

>Was life in the '60's really so lawless in those parts of the US?

No more so than parts of Britain or Europe.

thyrkas, you have expressed my thoughts on this book. It is almost like a modern day fairy tale. I've read it twice and probably will read it again one of these days. The writing is unique. It seems to me that it was Enger's first novel. Does anyone know if he has published another?

In looking to see if Enger has published other novels, I came across this link. It give some interesting insight into the book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interview with Enger

thyrkas and lacey thanks for your input into my dilemma. I certainly could empathise with the asthmatic boy having spent what seemed like half my childhood bed-ridden and wheezing. I blame the damp English weather.

Thanks for posting the interesting interview. I think I can sum up in one word what I most loved about the novel, apart from language and characterizations: it's about Transcendance.

If (big IF) you liked this novel, you might like Kent Haruf's Plainsong and Eventide. He writes in a very spare fashion which you will either love or find off-putting or even boring. The family situations Haruf writes about are somewhat similar; his novels do not include magical realism. If you're looking to add to your TBR pile, you might check these out.

I've read Plainsong and enjoyed it, although I liked Peace Like a River better. I've been eyeing Eventide at the bookstore since it's been on the bargain table, but I haven't picked it up yet since I've been trying to be good and limit my book purchases lately. Of course, let's not count the two books I ordered from Amazon yesterday, okay?

I completely agree with Siobhan, above. I loved both "Plainsong" and "Eventide." Haruf's work has such an authentic style, IMO, and he captures the atmosphere of the Western landscapes so beautifully.

OK, I have finished the book!
I really enjoyed it.
Granted, you need to suspend belief at the start and believe that anything can happen; opening your mind to possibilities is kind of hard to do for many people, I understand.
The precocious girl, yeah, that was a stretch. But there are many little geniuses in the world, no?
I loved the description of the landscape. For some reason, many writers who do it go over the top, and I become bored. Not with this one.
I think the pace of the story was very good. At the beginning, I thought, "This is a book I'll pick up when I have a few minutes here and there" (having really had to focus lately on other projects)--but this is a true page-turner.
And the ending didn't make me feel like he was just tired of writing and wanted to wrap it up.

Glad you enjoyed the book, pammyfay! Did you have any favorite parts? I loved the scene where Reuben and his 'girlfriend', Bethany, were in the basement of the church making pancakes. The fragrance of the pancakes floated upstairs to where church was being held, and was 'incorportated' into the worship service. The church-goers' minds may have been on heavenly things, but their noses were still earthbound!