Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Book suggested by Kelly, meeting hosted by Lucia.

This book was well-received by most. The author lives in Minnesota. His family, and especially his children, gave him many of the ideas and themes for the book. He wanted us to be a "Witness to the Wanders" of the world, the land, in which we live.

Kelly had a "novel" idea when it came to the discussion or, more appropriately, the dissection of this month's selection. We created our own questions and played a very inventive game. Great idea Kelly! Loved the dice!

This book raised a lot of discussion points. The miracles that popped up every so often seemed to be the underlying theme. The characters were quite likeable especially Swede and Rosana. Most felt that Swede was quite unbelievable and her ability to write and her vocabularly were unrealistic. Swede seemed to be Matilda in a cowgirl outfit. The ending was sad for all of us.

Some thought the book was contrived and that the story did not flow, and seemed disjointed. Others loved the writing style and the perspective of an 11-year-old boy. How would the book be different if it had been told from another character's point of view?

Evaluations ranged widely again. Will we never agree wholly on any book chosen? Scores ranged from 5 to 9.5, averaging 7.3.

Learn more about the author here: http://www.groveatlantic.com/grove/bin/wc.dll?groveproc~enger~bio