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A review by richardrbecker
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger touched me in some surprising ways — both as someone who is part Native American and as someone who lived in Minnesota, having even been to some of the places the story takes us in person. At its heart, This Tender Land resurrects and updates the stories of Tom Sawyer and Huck Fynn with a new cast along a new river.
Krueger also adds an uncomfortable element of U.S. history to the mix, starting the story at the Lincoln Indian Training School, one of 20+ such schools in Minnesota tasked with the prospect of removing the Native from the Native Americans. The practice, which was even more prevalent in Canada, began as voluntary until policy changes made it much more aggressive in some areas — transforming its original purpose into forced assimilation.
Not all of the children in Krueger's story are Native American. Two principal characters, Odie and his brother Albert, are among the 200,000 orphans created during the Great Depression. They are added to the school's roster as a misguided act of good faith. The person who sent them here had no idea the treatment they would be asked to endure.
As a result, the boys — along with two others who are Sioux — flee the school and head toward the mighty Mississippi. They run into a litany of different people attempting to survive one of the most challenging periods in the history of the United States. Well crafted and memorable, the story sets one adrift in a time and place where vagabonds, faith healers, and shanty towns still existed.
Krueger also adds an uncomfortable element of U.S. history to the mix, starting the story at the Lincoln Indian Training School, one of 20+ such schools in Minnesota tasked with the prospect of removing the Native from the Native Americans. The practice, which was even more prevalent in Canada, began as voluntary until policy changes made it much more aggressive in some areas — transforming its original purpose into forced assimilation.
Not all of the children in Krueger's story are Native American. Two principal characters, Odie and his brother Albert, are among the 200,000 orphans created during the Great Depression. They are added to the school's roster as a misguided act of good faith. The person who sent them here had no idea the treatment they would be asked to endure.
As a result, the boys — along with two others who are Sioux — flee the school and head toward the mighty Mississippi. They run into a litany of different people attempting to survive one of the most challenging periods in the history of the United States. Well crafted and memorable, the story sets one adrift in a time and place where vagabonds, faith healers, and shanty towns still existed.