Reviews

I loved more than just the one character in this book but I didn’t think that the ending was paced appropriately. The beginning of the book is written with such a care that the entire experience is enjoyable. It moves along and you get a lot of good story tidbits. The ending is so wambam thank you mam that it caught me off guard. I was also fairly confused even when the narrator encouraged me to stick with him.... but why?!? Lol read this book for Swede’s western verse and poetry! That part of the book if turned full length would be an easy western read for me! 3/5 for the rest of it though.

jfuel's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Characters I cared about, beautiful writing and interesting themes.

Content Warnings

rebeccatc's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I recommend this book to anyone who just loves fiction. The year is 1962 and the narrator is 11 year old asthmatic Reuben Land. He and his father, Jeremiah, and his younger sister, Swede, embark on an adventure that is all about faith, family and miracles. I don't want to say much because the story needs to unfold on its own. Just trust me and read this.

rborrego824's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

msmurph's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Gave up 3/4 through. Despite re-reading the beginning I couldn’t figure out what era they were in. I couldn’t picture the characters. It’s a 1960’s poor, small town, midwestern family yet both kids have incredible vocabularies, their brother can break out of jail and ride off on a horse, and there’s also some sort of magical element? Reuben is an 11 year old yet talking in very advanced prose (I know it’s told from his POV later but still it was confusing)...and the younger sister constantly writing western poetry that my mind was too tired to figure out how it connected to the main plot. When Enger is on the main plot the book was decent...but it’s too few and far between the western or biblical tangents for my taste.

mikepage7176's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is a really good book. The characters are incredible and deep. It doesn't superficially dive into anything, but things are often left unsaid and implied which is the mark of great development in my opinion. The narrators blindspots are left in place giving it a realistic feel. You are very present in their world. The ordeal central to the book isn't initially simple as put forward. It's a complex situation and it brings out depth in the central characters. There is great humor in their interactions, and oftentimes a heartfeltness that doesn't resort to sapiness.

The setting is amazing. You are freezing cold reading this book as he immerses you in the harsh northern mid-west winter climate.

The greatest part is that it is basically a theodicy. The tension of a miracle worker being present as Reuben struggles comes up a few times and is amazing. The tragedy is heart rending. It's often a part of a story I love, especially with a redemptive story arc. This one is quite open ended more than I like though (it still works extremely well). Or maybe just so excruciatingly tragic it's hard to swallow.(?)

The drawbacks are few. Major ones are the narrators character tendency to ramble in certain circumstances that don't seem to contribute much to the story. His foreshadowing is troubling. I don't mind it when it's used right, but in this case you realize it's giving away parts of the plot that I'd rather have come to me progressively through the reading.

More...