Praise for Peace Like a River
New York Times Bestseller
A Time Magazine Top Five Book of the Year
A Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Denver Post Best Book of the Year
“You don’t see novels like this one very often. Peace Like a River reminds a reader of Kent Haruf’s Plainsong or even Norman MacLean’s A River Runs Through It. It’s got that pure American loss of innocence theme, that belief in and fascination with miracles, that insistence on the goodness of men outside of the law.”—Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Book lovers inclined to complain that novelists don’t write gripping yarns anymore would do well to pick up a copy of Peace Like a River, a compelling blend of traditional and artfully offbeat storytelling . . . a miracle well worth witnessing . . . Grade: A.”—Amanda Heller, Boston Globe
“The Lands are such a fascinating family that they could easily populate a memorable book even with no plot to speak of. Swede may be literature’s most unforgettable little girl since Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.”—Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“If you like a ripping good story told in robust prose that gives you goose bumps, latch onto this book—more than a novel of miracles, it is truly a miraculous novel.” —Valerie Ryan, The Seattle Times
“Enger has written a novel that’s boldly romantic and unabashedly appealing, a collage of legends from sources sacred and profane—from the Old Testament to the Old West, from the Gospels to police dramas. It’s a journey you simply must not miss.”—Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor
“There are miracles in this book, of faith and family and place, that come alive by the breathless climax.”—Karen Valby, Entertainment Weekly
“Here is a world we want to know. Here is an author we can trust and who we are willing to follow anywhere. Enger strikes just the right balance of instinctive storytelling, narrative play and pretty prose. He’s the type of writer that other writers read, and die a little. Peace Like a River is a book that serves to remind us why we read fiction to begin with: to commune with a vividly, lovingly rendered world, to lose ourselves in story and language and beauty, to savor what we don’t want to end yet know must.”—Andrew Roe, The San Francisco Chronicle
“One of the most wondrous books I’ve read in recent years. If Peace Like a River is reminiscent of anything, it’s John Irving’s A Prayer of Owen Meany, another novel infused with transformative magic. ‘What do I make of Peace Like a River?’ That something rare and precious–maybe even miraculous–has this way come.”—Polly Paddock, The Charlotte Observer
“It’s dangerous work, writing about faith. To get it as right as Leif Enger does in his novel is nothing short of miraculous. What could be unbelievable becomes extraordinary in Enger’s hands. If words can bolster lapsed faith, if a story can sturdy a shaky foundation, then the flow of Enger’s amazing new novel may bring more than a few of us to his promised peace.”—Connie Ogle, The Miami Herald
“If ever there was a time for a novel of faith and redemption–a quiet book of old-fashioned verities–this is it. Written in lyrical, open-hearted prose, Peace Like a River even has a comforting, remarkable glimpse into the afterlife.”—Michael Giltz, New York Post
“Leif Enger has written a great Midwestern, a debut novel that explores the limits of filial loyalty and inscribes the northern Great Plains on the reader’s bones. Enger’s people are tender-hearted stoics, played not for humor but for something more raw—Garrison Keillor’s characters in the hands of Russell Banks.”—Bruce Barcott, Outside
“Even if you believe only in stirring, heart-thumping storytelling and sentences that sing, this book will work for you. If you’re a devotee of boys’ adventure books–bruised innocents confronting scoundrels round every bend–all the better. But what allows Peace Like a River to transcend any limitations of belief and genre is its broad, sagacious humanity. There is magic here, none more potent that Leif Enger’s prose.”—Dan Cryer, Newsday
“Outlaws and miracle workers take center stage in this tightly constructed, lyrical novel. Of the many pleasures of this book [are] Reuben’s conversational voice, the lovely prose and the dead-on evocation of place and time.”—Robin Hemley, Chicago Tribune
“A spirit of peace flows through the whole gripping saga . . . Told in poetic, lyrical style.”—Anna Bedford, Horizons
“The narrative picks up power and majesty, then thunders to a tragic, yet joyous, climax.”—Bella Stander, People
“Leif Enger may have unwittingly written the perfect book for an anxious time. A book of deep faith in faith, yet it is neither simple nor sentimental. It is the surest thing to a winner this fall, a book of great literary merit that nonetheless restores readers’ faith in the kindness of stories.”—Marta Salij, Detroit Free Press
“In his big-hearted debut novel, Leif Enger spins a rich, old-fashioned yarn about brotherhood, faith and family. It is a tale full of magical plot twists and supernatural flights of fancy. Enger’s twinkle-eyed prose will coax even the most skeptical readers to suspend their disbelief. We need to create in order to believe, Enger suggests. And if this wondrous book is any suggestion of its author’s faith in the world, that belief is large and beautiful.”—John Freeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Gripping, richly textured, filled with sharp prose and vividly realized scenes, [Peace Like a River] has the makings of that rarest commodity: the literate bestseller.”—Chris Waddington, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“[A] breathtaking, stand-out debut novel. Enger’s exceptional talent with language and character make this adventure, romance and moral coming-of-age story one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time . . . A thing of beauty.”—Lynn Hartnett, Portsmouth Herald
“A beautiful story of a family searching for its fugitive son [that] pulls out all the literary stops and ensnares you in a few pages. Enger’s great talent is evident in his deep knowledge of character, and the way he so easily seduces us ’We are putty in [his] hands.”—Geeta Sharma-Jensen, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Everything you want in a book–especially love, honesty and adventure. It is touching, but at the same time it will keep you on the edge of your seat . . . To read this book is to feel like you are at the start of something great; you’ll want to tell all your friends and force strangers in bookstores to buy it.”—Lynn Carey, Walnut Creek Contra Costa Times
“[Peace Like a River is] not so much an on-the-road story as one celebrating family and faith.”—Ft. Myers News-Press
“A stunning novel about faith, miracles and a family that is ultimately miraculous. It echoes the essence of restorative power found in great literature.”—Lorraine Lindahl, The Minnesota Senior News
“The amalgam of strong characters, Biblical illusions, and great epic storytelling makes this novel hard to put down.”—Rachelle Lasky Bilz, Teacher Librarian
“The miraculous and the mundane are woven together seamlessly . . . Enger has crafted a moving story and placed it in the mouth of a refreshingly open and candid narrator.”—Rob Cline, Bookreporter
“This is a stunning debut novel, one that sneaks up on you like a whisper and warms you like a quilt in a North Dakota winter, a novel about faith, miracles and family that is, ultimately, miraculous.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Written in prose tart and crisp as a Minnesota Autumn, Peace Like A River is seductive and deliciously American and there are passages so wondrous and wise you’ll want to claw yourself with pleasure.”—Frank McCourt
“Once you begin Leif Enger’s Peace Like A River, you are carried away by the elemental surge of its story, the sheer eagerness to see what happens to the engrossing characters who, though contemporary exist far from the intrusions of the media in the timeless arena of family love and anguish over a lost member. It is Enger’s gift that he has made their extraordinary world credible.”—Jim Harrison
“Enger’s limpid sentences are composed with the clarity and richness for which poets strive . . . Peace Like a River is an exceptionally heartfelt and moving tale about the resilience of family relationships and told through the prism of memory . . . Enger’s profound understanding of human nature stands behind his compelling prose.”—Booklist (starred review)
“A dazzling first novel. This poignant book is about family and sacrifice and the lengths to which people go to protect those they love. Peace Like a River has all the hallmarks of a lasting piece of fiction.”—Karin Glendenning, Chattanooga Free Press
“A remarkable journey marked by humor, loyalty and, in the end, redemption. Enger’s lyrical language, spirited allusions to old-time outlaws and provocative biblical references . . . make this a wonderfully accomplished first novel.”—BookPage
“What a book! I was captivated from page one. His pitch-perfect prose is a pleasure to read, and his imaginative storytelling took me through the whole range of human emotion. Peace Like a River deserves a huge audience, it’s that good. I eagerly look forward to its arrival so we can begin the delightful task of finding a readership for this really extraordinary (and really fun) novel.”—Mark LaFramboise, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
“A wonderful coming-of-age story, from a 12-year-old boy’s perspective. Set in the early ’60s in the upper Midwest, this novel is the source for great discussions on religious overtones, family issues, and life in that era.”—Corey L. Hiseler, Between the Covers Bookstore, Telluride, CO
