Peace Like a River: A Novel

By Leif Enger

Hailed as one of the year's top five novels by Time, and selected as one of the best books of the year by nearly all major newspapers, national bestseller Peace Like a River captured the hearts of a nation in need of comfort. "A rich mixture of adventure, tragedy, and healing," Peace Like a River is "a collage of legends from sources sacred and profane -- from the Old Testament to the Old West, from the Gospels to police dramas" (Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor). In "lyrical, openhearted prose" (Michael Glitz, The New York Post), Enger tells the story of eleven-year-old Reuben Land, an asthmatic boy who has reason to believe in miracles. Along with his sister and father, Reuben finds himself on a cross-country search for his outlaw older brother who has been controversially charged with murder. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers, and its remarkable conclusion shows how family, love, and faith can stand up to the most terrifying of enemies, the most tragic of fates. Leif Enger's "miraculous" (Valerie Ryan, The Seattle Times) novel is a "perfect book for an anxious time ... of great literary merit that nonetheless restores readers' faith in the kindness of stories" (Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Release date: Dec 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781555845902

Leif Enger

Leif Enger was raised in Osakis, Minnesota and has worked as a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio since 1984. He lives on a farm in Minnesota with his wife and two sons.

Reviews for Peace Like a River

[katherinegregg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Peace Like a River tells the story of the Land family, a father and his two sons living in rural Minnesota in the 1960s. Life changes dramatically when bullies enter the Land home and older brother Davy shoots and kills the assailants. While awaiting trial, Davey escapes from prison and an all out search begins. Jeremiah, the father, and his younger son Reuben set out in their Airstream trailer to find Davy. Along the way they meet kind strangers who give them shelter and nurse Jeremiah back to health. Reuben finds Davy but keeps it a secret until he fears for Davy's life. Ultimately Davy is never captured although there is a shoot out and Jeremiah is shot and killed. Reuben returns home to live and marries the girl whom Davy lived in hiding with at one point.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unlike anything I have ever read. Feels like a Western, but more modern, and with a touch of magical realism.

[lukes_171461 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

With many books, you can proceed with the sensation that the plot is interesting, or the theme a worthy one, or there is a new slant on something, but often with wonderful thoughts like these, we get workmanlike prose, or something basic and serviceable. But in "Peace Like a River" not only is the plot interesting and clearly unfolding, the words along the way hold such enchantment and fun that it has an effect, where one wants to keep turning the pages and finding the next delight.This piece is told mainly from the viewpoint of an 11 year-old boy. This boy has a very devout father, who is literally capable of miracles. After a full novel of suffering from asthma, 11 year-old Reuben is shot, and by all rights should die, but his father, also shot, but not critically wounded, performs his last miracle by giving Reuben his healthy lungs so he can live. The prose serving this lovely tale is charming, flowing, witty, and knowing throughout. It takes us on an unusual journey (plot-wise and idea-wise), and at the end we're given a glimpse of heaven: brightly lit, humming with life, where a river flows uphill. Reuben sees his father, who takes his place in the peace that is like a river.This isn't really a coming of age. Rube experiences some awfully weighty things for a sixth-grader, witnessing miracles and seeing his fugitive brother, and sitting by, awe-struck and envious, as his little sister composes remarkable verse. This is an extremely enjoyable book, kindly, wise, and a little fantastic. Time quite certainly well spent. Don't pass it by, by any means!

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful, evocative title and wonderfully unfolding tale.(from [THEN SINGS MY SOUL]) -"The saints shall flourish in His days,Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;Peace, like a river, from His throneShall flow to nations yet unknown." - Isaac Watts, 1719Yet, how welcome it will be when the grotesque glorification of barbaric human hunting has ended.A miracle we can work.

[maryreinert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reuben Land is a asthmatic ten year old son of a single father who is raising Reuben, his sister Swede, and brother Davy in the 1960's in rural Minnesota. Davy gets into a confrontation with some local thugs and kills both when they enter the Land house. Davy is jailed, but escapes. Most of the book tells of the family's attempt to find Davy; a trip which takes them to the badlands where is he hiding with a mean old man who also has a young girl who he is "raising" and will marry her when she is old enough.The story is narrated by Reuben which at times borders on "cuteness". There is a lot of simply living and philosophy interspersed with a rambling plot.

[lovinglit · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would never have picked this book up based on the cover. In fact I thought it to be religious or spiritual propaganda at first glance! (woops) But thank goodness it was a gift, and I was able to get past my prejudices and read it. This is a story of an eleven year old boy, his brother and sister and dad. The older brother is jailed for a shooting that was committed in defense of his sister who was at threat of violence. He ends up escaping prison and the family goes in search of him. The story unfolds slowly, very slowly, and with a lot of description that to me seemed superfluous. Very close to the end of the book, the story picks up and gets very exciting, yet for some reason this section is rushed through. Perhaps the author wanted to keep focussed on family relationships which is what dominates the first 4/5 of the book. I found the slow pace made it difficult for me to keep interested, and I was really pleased when the story shifted gear close to the end. However, it was too close to the end that that happened for me to consider this book an excellent read. If I was editor I would have cut quite a few scenes from the book, including most of the epic poem the sister was working on throughout the book. (Yes, it paralleled the story we were reading, but to me was too much a distraction.) But: even though I found some of the phrasing irritating, it all added up to a rounded picture of the life of the family searching for their son/brother, a strong sense of place and the rollicking ending was exciting and worth the reading to that point.

[dverdecia-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book completely disappointed me. It is labeled as Fiction. I call it Fantasy. The reason you might not call it Fantasy is because it is has very religious undertones and lets face it, we live in a very religious (Christian) society. I feel that this book bordered on propaganda and nothing more. As you will probably tell, I am not into this sort of genre at all.

This book basically tells me one and only one story. God is bored. It is the story of a broken family. The Land family. Jeremiah (the father)(Yes we had to go with the biblical name because Sven just wouldn't fit or it was too late by the time we thought of the name Sven. Book was already in print.) Davy (eldest son) Swede (Daughter) and Rueben (youngest son). The story starts off nice enough, but right from the start, asks me to swallow the unbelievable as probable truth. When I read Tolkien or Eddings I have my mind set that all the magic that is used in those stories are fictitious and that is why the books are labled "Fantasy". Here, the impression is that with GOD "It could happen" so we get away with "Fiction". But I digress....

The Land family starts off with advesaries. It seems that two of the boys from high school are after Jeremiah and his family because Jeremiah saved a young lady from their pleasure in the school locker rooms. So what do these two boys do? They break into the Land residence with the intention of causing bodily harm to any of the Land family members with a baseball bat.

In my opinion, the true hero of this story is Davy Land. He gets up and decides that he has had enough and gets his father's hunting rifle and ends the matter, his way! Good for you Davy! Now he gets arrested and public opinion sides with the two boys that were murdered. I totally disagree with the author on the chain of events here. It seems that he is asking the reader to behave like the townspeople.

Lets forget that these two kids have a rap sheet with the law a mile wide.
Lets forget that these two losers committed breaking an entering.
Lets forget that these two kidnapped Swede with the intent of doing her harm. (much earlier in the story).
Lets forget that Davy Land never had an encounter with the law in his life.

He gets busted really bad as if he were a hardned criminal.

What ever happened to protection of property?
What ever happened to Self Defense?

Nope. The Author asks me the reader to be ignorant and not think of these things in order for the story to flow. Then...here it comes...another fantasy moment. Davy breaks out of jail. He was gone in a "puff of smoke" according to another inmate. The implication here is that it was God's Will that made Davy's escape possible. Earlier in the story Rueben gives an account of how he had to go to the bathroom in the woods but held it beyond all reason to watch his father walk on air "by the power of God" Again, if this were a fantasy novel, we would expect this as magic or witchcraft. But no, we are in a fiction novel, with the power of God - it could happen! Yeah right!

Problem that I have with this is that there are many impressionable people reading this stuff. And the author tries to make an impact while proposing that because of faith, this could happen. Well, to me, this goes against all the almighty took the trouble to create. It just does not make sense that God would violate his own laws in order to directly intervene and help others. Doesn't he have better things to do? And what did he do before Homo Sapiens came on the scene? It must have been really boring with the Amoebas.

The writing is kind of childish as well. Granted, the author was writing from the perspective of Rueben, the youngest child, but still....the descriptions were bland and you just wanted to skip paragraphs because you did not want to get caught up in all this meaningless descriptions of things.

I guess one of the reasons I gave this book a low rating is because it was hyped up to me as such a great story. Now that I read it, I wanted to wretch like I had gotten the flu or something.

So, in conclusion, if you are looking to renew your faith in God or if you just like a good "Go God Go" Rah Rah Rah God...type of book, you will find this highly entertaining. God can do no wrong and as long as you associate with him, his way you will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, you will be able to even perform some of the miracles described in this book. One rule does apply here. You MUST believe everything you read when it comes to God's miracles. If you don't, if you question (like I do), you will simply ruin the mood and the book will not be anywhere near as enjoyable....So, Don't listen to Eve, don't take a bite of the fruit!

For those of us who have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and are free thinkers, you will struggle with this book. You will have difficulting accepting that there are some people in the world that have problems with original thinking and give God all the credit for building the airplane that allows us to fly and give no credit to the God within man that gave man the inspiration to create. In the end, it was Man who exercised his creativity and his free will to build the Airplane in order to fly. The seed came from God, the rest was up to man! (I am just waiting for all of the highly religious to come after me on this one).

[bookconcierge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5 stars and a &#10084Think Scout Finch and Montana 1948, in this novel about family loyalty vs the law. Reuben (11 years old) narrates a family story revolving around brother Davy's murdering two intruders bent on hurting the family. Their father is a deeply religious man who, per Reuben, can perform miracles. The writing is glorious. There are many biblical references (some subtle). Our book club found much to discuss in this novel. His writing is so evocative of place (the Badlands of South Dakota). A very good book (though I think it could have ended at the penultimate chapter).I will definitely read more of his works. P.S. I had the opportunity to sit with Mr Enger for the Milwaukee Public Library's Spring Literary Luncheon in May 2009. He is an incredibly nice man. Re-read this in August 2010. Still in love with Enger's writing. I flagged so many passages my book sprouted a Mohawk of neon yellow, green, and pink sticky notes. And I appreciate the closure provided by the last chapter.

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5*Our narrator is 11 yr old Reuben Land.Our time frame is the 1960's."This is the story of Reuben's unusual family and their journey across the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in search of his fugitive older brother.Charged with the murder of two locals who terrorized their family, Davy has fled."My main difficulty was identifying with the 1960's they present.It's unlike any thoughts I may have of the 1960's in the USA.Biblical illusions abound.To enumerate fully would be considered "a spoiler"This was a group read for my ABC reading group

[johnkalexander · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is told from the perspective of an eleven year old boy and the trials that they family faces after their older brother is convicted of murder. The murder was likely justified, however the family and community have serious doubts about what really unfolded. The boys younger sister is a writing protege who shares parts of her story about Sunny Sundown, a character straight out of the Western Genre, throughout the book. Her dialogue provides the comic relief to the story, and she seems much older than she actually is. The story ultimately is about sacrifice, love, and faith, and forces the reader to consider what they would be willing to do for a loved one. This book won the ALA Alex Award for best adult novel for teens.

[dorie.craig · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was simply wonderful. The writing was just beautiful, and the characters engaging. One of the better books I read in 2005.

[ozzieslim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had this book sitting in my pile for a long time. Several times I looked at it contemplating the reading of it and then set it aside for something else. I should have grabbed it a long time ago. It was a wonderful story and different from most "modern" books.

Although set in 1963, it reads more like a book from the late 1800's or early 1900's. Not in the sense of story but more in the sense of language and phrasing. The prose is sometimes poetic (bot literally and figuratively) but in a way that paints a very good picture. In addition, if you like words, there is a strong, sassy young female character who plays with language and writing.

All of the characters are interesting. My one disappointment, if you could call it that, was the character of Davy. He starts out strong and is a prominent force throughout the novel but is never as clearly defined as Rueben, Swede, Jeremiah or even Roxanna. There are also some threads left dangling in the story that leave you vaguely unsettled at the end. That leads me to rate this with 4 stars rather than 5.

The other weakness for me is that one important component of the story revolves around faith. There is always ambiguity in the discussion which is realistic but I felt that there were a lot of unanswered, as well as unasked, questions by the characters and about the characters with regard to where they stood. I suppose the author was asking you at times to read between the lines but for those of us who are spiritual without necessarily being religious, it was disquieting. There were Bible references but from a particular rendition and tradition and without that religious instruction or understanding of the historical meanings behind the denominations, it was indecipherable to me. I also had no interest in following up by delving more deeply into that whole arena at this time. For those who are religious, or have some religious instruction, they might get more out of that part of the book.

This is a thought provoking satisfying read. It kept me interested and I was able to enter the world of the story quickly. The end of the story is a little rushed and neat but it doesn't detract from the beautiful writing which is what I enjoyed the most.

[ireadthereforeiam · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would never have picked this book up based on the cover. In fact I thought it to be religious or spiritual propaganda at first glance! (woops) But thank goodness it was a gift, and I was able to get past my prejudices and read it. This is a story of an eleven year old boy, his brother and sister and dad. The older brother is jailed for a shooting that was committed in defense of his sister who was at threat of violence. He ends up escaping prison and the family goes in search of him. The story unfolds slowly, very slowly, and with a lot of description that to me seemed superfluous. Very close to the end of the book, the story picks up and gets very exciting, yet for some reason this section is rushed through. Perhaps the author wanted to keep focussed on family relationships which is what dominates the first 4/5 of the book. I found the slow pace made it difficult for me to keep interested, and I was really pleased when the story shifted gear close to the end. However, it was too close to the end that that happened for me to consider this book an excellent read. If I was editor I would have cut quite a few scenes from the book, including most of the epic poem the sister was working on throughout the book. (Yes, it paralleled the story we were reading, but to me was too much a distraction.) But: even though I found some of the phrasing irritating, it all added up to a rounded picture of the life of the family searching for their son/brother, a strong sense of place and the rollicking ending was exciting and worth the reading to that point.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As Lilly would say, 'I can recommend this book until the cows come home.' Great narration by Chad Lowe.

[cindamac · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Peace Like a River is a stunning debut. Gentle and meditative with great characters. The story is told by 11 year old Reuben who doesn't realize his own goodness in a family of remarkable individuals (in the case of his little sister, however , her precocity is a little unbelievable - she should have been an older sister.)

[zachmontana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Somewhat depressing story set in the 60's in poverty situation with a family of a father, 11 year old son, and younger daughter and 17 year old boy who kills 2 boys who enter their home with intent to harm. Good characters and somewhat accurate portrayal of people of these depressed small towns in that era.

[dickcraig · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story

[kc9333 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Slow.........painful to finish.........

[maryeisele · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't put it down and hated for.it.to.end. I love the character devopment. I pictured Scout from the movie To kill a Mockingbird as the daughter Swede. I loved the idea that miracles can happen and Ruben was the benefactor. Asthma is difficult to live with and I felt a lot of compassion for this boy. This book has a lot of twists and turns making it a very compelling read.

[alrtree · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed very much. Thought-provoking. Well-written character thought processes.

[rachelpenso · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A grabbing story of an asthmatic eleven year old boy, his little sister who loves all things western, his father who has been known to work miracles and their search for his older brother who is an outlaw.The characters were outstanding. Especially Swede.

[literatehousewife · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just over an hour into the audio book and I just couldn't believe that it hadn't been going on for double or triple that amount of time. I can't handle the author's writing. It doesn't sound right to my ear. It is terribly irritating. At 1 hour 15 minutes, I turned it off and I doubt I'll look back.

[gary10_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Satisfying, well written and with enough twists and turns to hold your attention.

[mmillet_7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is truly great. It is good on so many levels, but the one that stands out to me is the prose. There were so many passages I found myself rereading because they were truly beautiful writing. Loved all the Sunny sundown poems and I loved the discovery of this book. I can't believe it took me so long to read it, but I want my own copy to reread and write in! Amazing fiction!

[tiffanyhickox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The voice in this book was very well written. I felt like the narrator could have been sitting across from me recounting his story. The book moved along quickly enough to keep me interested. I actually read the majority of the book in three sittings. The end was fantastic!!! and so I don't spoil the surprise, that is all I will say about it :-)

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It seems many readers have loved this book. I liked it a lot, although not sure I loved it. It's sort of one of those bittersweet feel-good books that doesn't necessarily have a lot of action, but just reading about the family dynamics and the series of events that take place within a given space of time within the narrator's (Reuben's) life gives you a certain comfortable, cozy kind of feeling. The characterization was great -- Jeremiah Land is the father everyone wishes they had. And Swede (the narrator's younger sister) -- what a hoot she was. I didn't see the ending coming...but I don't think it detracted at all from the story. The only portions I didn't really care for were some of the the stories & legends about outlaws. It did fit with the overall story & feeling of the book, but I found myself skimming through these.

[rvolenti · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a while to get into the story. It is kind of slow and meandering, However, I loved from the first sentence Enger's prose. It is stunningly beautifully written. As the story continued, I did start to enjoy it. I can't say it's my favorite, but it is one of the best written I've read in a long time.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My boss gave me this book as a present, and I admit that it didn't sound appealing and I wouldn't have picked it up on my own. Once I started reading it though, I found it gripping and read it through in one sitting basically. The writing style was superb. I would definitely recommend, as I already have!

[sbenne3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good read. Lost me a little with the ending.

[5hrdrive · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved "Peace Like a River". The story, the characters, the setting, the poetry, and especially the ending were too perfect for words. This will stay with me for a long time - especially Rube's ending words; "All I can do is say, Here's how it went. Here's what I saw. I've been there and am going back. Make of it what you will." Better than Cormac McCarthy, and that's saying something.