Born with no air in his lungs, it was only when Reuben Land's father, Jeremiah, picked him up and commanded him to breathe that Reuben's lungs filled. Reuben struggles with debilitating asthma from then on, making him a boy who knows firsthand that life is a gift, and also one who suspects that his father is touched by God and can overturn the laws of nature.
The quiet 1960's midwestern life of the Lands is upended when Reuben's brother Davy kills two marauders who have come to harm the family. The morning of his sentencing, Davy—a hero to some, a cold-blooded murderer to others—escapes from his cell, and the Lands set out in search of him. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers, and they cover territory far more extraordinary than even the Badlands where they search for Davy from their Airstream trailer.
Sprinkled with playful nods to Biblical tales, beloved classics such as Huckleberry Finn, the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the westerns of Zane Grey, Peace Like A River is at once a heroic quest, a tragedy, a love story, and a haunting meditation on the possibility of magic in the everyday world.
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"Peace Like a River is a story with such great flow, it feels like it could be a movie. Enger makes his writing seem so easy and natural that at times it is hard to think about the writing because it rolls on so well. The story follows the quest to find Davy after he flees from the court after a self defense murder. As Reuben and his family look for Davy to complete their family, many other adventures come up and lead to a satisfying conclusion. It took me a while to fully appreciate this book. After finishing it, I thought it was a good book, but that it was nothing special. Over the summer, my mom started to read it and it hit me of how good and detailed this book actually is. I may read it again soon."
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Craig (4 out of 5 stars)