Peace Like a River

by Leif Enger

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Reuben Land narrates this tale, looking back on his childhood to remember when he and his sister and his father tracked his brother Davy--who has escaped from prison--across North Dakota to the Badlands. As Reuben tells the story, his sister Swede is composing her own precocious adventure yarn, in rhymed couplets, about the hero, Sunny Sundown, and a bandit named Valdez.

Editions of Peace Like a River

ISBN 9781587242120	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher Wheeler Pub Inc	Date 2002	Price $11.25	Used - Good
ISBN 9780871137951	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher Atlantic Monthly Pr	Date 2001	Price $1.00	Used, Very Good
ISBN 9780802139252	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Atlantic Monthly Pr	Date 2002	Price $1.00	Very Good

Publisher Notes

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).

Media Reviews

"[A]s clichéd as [Enger's] basic enterprise is, he manages to infuse sections of this novel with some surprisingly lively writing and deftly turned sentences. But ultimately the book suffers from a surplus of pretension...and a dearth of surprises. Enger's world, full of simple pleasures and populated by deep-thinking naïfs, seems unlikely to have ever existed, in this century or any other."

Customer Reviews

on Jul 17 2009, Egolpis said:

"This is an outstanding First Novel, although I would not recommend his later work. This was the first book in many years where I actually both laughed and cried out lound in reading it. This elegant piece of fiction will delight you. If you enjoy it, you may wish to try "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving."

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