When Israel Finch and Tommy Basca, the town bullies, break into the home of school caretaker Jeremiah Land, wielding a baseball bat and looking for trouble, they find more of it than even they expected. For seventeen-year-old Davey is sitting up in bed waiting for them with a Winchester rifle. His younger brother Reuben has seen their father perform miracles, but Jeremiah now seems as powerless to prevent Davey from being arrested for manslaughter, as he has always been to ease Reuben's daily spungy struggle to breathe. Nor ...
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When Israel Finch and Tommy Basca, the town bullies, break into the home of school caretaker Jeremiah Land, wielding a baseball bat and looking for trouble, they find more of it than even they expected. For seventeen-year-old Davey is sitting up in bed waiting for them with a Winchester rifle. His younger brother Reuben has seen their father perform miracles, but Jeremiah now seems as powerless to prevent Davey from being arrested for manslaughter, as he has always been to ease Reuben's daily spungy struggle to breathe. Nor does brave and brilliant nine-year-old Swede, obsessed as she is with the legends of the wild west, have the strength to spring Davey from jail. Yet Davey does manage to break out. He steals a horse, and disappears. His family feels his absence so sorely, the three of them just pile into their old Plymouth, towing a brand new 1963 Airstream trailer, and set out on a quest to find him. And they follow the outlaw west, right into the cold, wild and empty Dakota Badlands. Set in the 1960s on the edge of the Great Plains, PEACE LIKE A RIVER is that rare thing, a contemporary novel with an epic dimension. Told in the touching voice of an asthmatic eleven-year-old boy, it revels in the legends of the West, resonates with a soul-expanding sense of place, and vibrates with the possibility of magic in the everyday world. Above all, it shows how family, love, and faith can stand up to the most terrifying of enemies, the most tragic of fates.
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Add this copy of Peace Like a River to cart. $11.94, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2002 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
This author hit a home run with his story AND writing on this. I've read it before, lost my copy, and ordered two more so I could have and donate one to my small-town library. Yes, it's that good!
David C
Jun 6, 2013
Feel the rhythm
I am re-reading Peace Like a River just to enjoy the rhythm of Leif Enger's writing.
To borrow a line from the book, it lopes along "champing and snorting and kicking up clover".
COVER2COVER
Jan 23, 2010
This is great story and very original. I love reading books where you cannot predict or see the end coming. This is a story about Jeremiah Land, a devout man of faith and principle, and his three children. First is Davy, the oldest and very self confident. Second is Reuben, severely asthmatic, and also the narrator of the story, and third is the nine year old sister, Swede, who is apparently something of a genius and budding writer/poet. When Davy is being charged with murder for killing a pair of intruders, he manages to escape from jail. The family starts out on a quest to find him, and various federal and state investigators are on their trail hoping to be led to the fugitive. Miracles seem to be common occurances for the praying Jeremiah, and when the angels aren't fighting for the Lands, Reuben and Swede try to take up the slack, for better or worse, and sometimes hilariously. As other reviewers have said, this story manages to be told without either bad language or sex. It is a wonderful story and completely refreshing.Dont miss this one!!
Veraqd
Jan 21, 2010
I ordered this book for my husband for Christmas. He loved it!! He said it was one of the best books he has ever read.
maygiles
Sep 10, 2009
GREAT book!
I loved this book. Parts of it are hysterical, others poignant. Enger's description of the people and the environment are vivid.
I bought this book shortly after it was published, read it, and gave it to a friend to read (and return). It got passed on to another friend and I never got it back. So, I had to buy another copy because I want to read it again.
There aren't very many books out there that can tell an intriguing story without using swear words. It's a beautiful book that uses clean language only. I respect Engel for this.
