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Title: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger ISBN: 0-8021-3925-6 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 20 August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.21 (224 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Completely unbelievable
Comment: I see that I am not alone in finding Peace Like a River a tedious book. I just could not connect with the characters. So much of this novel was simply unbelievable. For example, I could not help but wonder what happened to Jeremiah's wife. I recall only a passing reference to her having left the family. Here we have 3 children under the age 17 who never ask for their mother, never seem to miss her and have apparantly forgotten that she ever existed.
And those children! Swede, who is 9 years old, writes long (boring),epic Western poetry, cooks an entire Christmas dinner, is looked up to by her older brother, and speaks with the insights and vocabulary of an adult with an IQ well into the genius category. Very irritating.
The whole book, in fact, is difficult to fathom. Jeremiah has the power of miracles. I was able to tolerate a few of these "miracles" because they had a poetic quality, but touching and healing the injured face of his employer while he is being fired? Driving hundreds of miles on a nearly empty tank of gas? I would not even have minded these "miracles" if they had had a metaphorical point. They did not, except that Jeremiah was supposed to be a very religious guy with a hint of Christ-like virtue; to me, he is portrayed throughout most of the book as being rather passive. (He too, looks to his 9 year old daughter for guidance--she being so sharply intuitive). Anyway, the miracles stop when Jeremiah falls in love. And his is not a passionate love, but more of a measured, deliberate union. There is some reference to him not needing to perform miracles any longer. I can suspend reality as well as the next person, but this is too much.
Throughout the book, I found it difficult to know what motivated the characters. Why does Jeremiah make a pivotal change regarding Davy, why is Swede portrayed as so precocious, what binds Davy and Jape together? Books should encourage thinking and use of one's imagination, but I think it is the author's responsibility to throw in some clues here and there.
The book ends in a suprising way. There is tragedy, confusion and yes--Enger could not resist--just one more miracle. The very last paragraphs, where the author answers the nagging question "What ever happened to...?" is utterly silly and reminded me of the endings of chilhood fairy tales. Anyway, I didn't care what happened to Swede or Reuben, because I had found them wooden and emotionally stagnant, more dispassionate pseudo-adults than frightened, needy children.
Any comparison to the lyrical, complex magical realism of Gabriel Garcia-Marquez is outrageous.
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful prose and a lovely journey
Comment: I really conected with this book and the characters. The children reminded me so much of my own in their conection with each other and individuality. The believability of the miracles or the daughter's abilities was not an issue for me. Reading this book is like listening to beautiful music, its the journey not the reality that speaks to this mother's soul
Rating: 4
Summary: a pretty good read
Comment: While I agree that some things in this book are a little unbelievable, I found it pretty easy to suspend disbelief and read on. The prose is lovely. I love Enger's writing style. Even though the characters don't necessarily jump off the page at you, they're still interesting and sometimes funny. I stayed up late into the night finishing the last 50 pages because I couldn't wait until the next day to finish it. Great book.
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Title: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ISBN: 0142001740 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Life of Pi by Yann Martel ISBN: 0156027321 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Three Junes by JULIA GLASS ISBN: 0385721420 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 22 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett ISBN: 0060934417 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress : A Novel by Dai Sijie ISBN: 0385722206 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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