Peace Like a River
by Leif Enger
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Book Summary Information
Author: Leif EngerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-08-20
ISBN: 0802139256
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780802139252
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Peace Like a River
Book Review: "I'm sorry, but nope."
Summary: 2 Stars
I browse books, be it online or in second hand stores. Not infrequently, when in the latter, something catches my eye that is otherwise completely 'off my radar screen'. Enger's "Peace" was just such an anomaly. Two things intrigued me: [secondarily] the glowing praise printed all over it, and [more promisingly] the fact that the story involved someone growing up in the same part of the world (northern Great Plains) and at the same time (1960s) as I had myself. That it was said to contain spiritual and philosophical insight also seemed interesting. Even though I don't read very much fiction, I was hopeful.
And then disappointed. The blurb on the front cover instructs that this is "a reminder of why we read fiction to begin with." For me, the book is a reminder of why I generally don't read fiction -- things that never happened to people that never existed.
The first miracle is credible enough, Jeremiah Land, faced with a physician telling him that his newborn son would not live, "smote Dr. Nokes" and commanded the infant, in the name of the living God, to breath. And the baby, who becomes our narrator, is well. Powerful story-telling. "I'm going to enjoy this," I thought. Unfortunately, Enger has not even begun to push the envelope of incredulousness. In the voice of Reuben Land, Enger says, "let me say something about the word miracle. For too long it's been used to characterize things or events that, though pleasant, are entirely normal . . . I'm sorry, but nope." It seems that a "miracle" must be outlandish, perhaps to the point of being absurd. Take Jeremiah's "third miracle" in which he casually, unknowingly, walks on air for some sixty feet, Reuben quite accidentally noticing. Reuben believes that the common runs of miracles are mere trivialities; that they are called miracles at all has been learned from "greeting cards." Lest you think that Reuben is sundering profound insights, he obviously knows nothing of the fine-tuning of the 'quarks and gluons' relationship that gives rise to a "material" world, or the staggeringly precise interplay of gravitation and cosmic anti-gravity (inflation), or the inexplicable sophistication of the 'simplest' living cell. One who hasn't been educated by greeting cards (or numb fiction) could go on and on in this same vein. It is rather foolish story-telling to insist that we known what is and is not a miracle. The greatest genius among us is not that smart. "I'm sorry, but nope." Why is there this [supposedly uninteresting] merely "pleasant" and "entirely normal" world at all? As Leibniz so eloquently observed, that "normal" should be anything other than an absolute "nothing" is perhaps the most remarkable mystery we can attempt to fathom. If less eloquently, Aristotle had observed the same. It all looks like a miracle to me, even without people walking on air. So it is that Rube's spiritual and philosophical insights are, let's say, wanting; but trying now to stay with the story . . .
The characters are interesting, have many admirable qualities, but are less than believable. Thoughtful and quietly stalwart Jeremiah goes wallowing in Reverend Johnny's faith-healing ruckus, huh? About fifty easy reading pages in, the story was obviously developing pivotal events -- dramatic, fateful, and central to everything that is to follow. But, looking longingly at several nearby books, I couldn't take it anymore. The next time I'm tempted to read fiction, it had better be Dostoevsky, Faulkner, Endo, or the like. Is it unfair to Mr. Enger to invoke such names? Probably so. Based on my infrequent and ill-fated forays, the entire genre (popular fiction) tends to be a waste of gray-matter, perhaps Enger's Peace is better than most. If so, it's not saying much. Have at it if you must, but if you're disappointed, well, you have been warned.
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