After a bit of a dry spell, I’ve stumbled thankfully into some lovely feel good stories lately. And this book is one of them. I hope you enjoy my book review of Virgil Wander by Leif Enger.

It’s a funny coinkydink, because I downloaded this book after it showed up on a list of best books from 2018. I hadn’t started reading it yet and my friend Merry mentioned Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, claiming it one of her all-time favorites. I began to wonder who was this Leif guy and why have I not read anything by him?

And so I began Virgil Wander, and found Leif Enger

Virgil Wander nearly dies in a car accident, only to come out of the experience with a new life awakening. As he heals he begins to notice more clearly people and things in his small Midwestern town life. Given the small town setting, as you might expect, Virgil’s story is accompanied by a wide range of characters that Enger brilliantly develops. In fact the character development of this cast is one of my favorite things about this story; from the sudden appearance of Rune a kite flying old man or the reappearance of the town’s prodigal son Adam Leer, to the life long residents like down on his luck Jerry, town drunk Shad, widow Nadine and Mayor Lydia. These are the people who make the plot of Virgil Wander unfold in a humorous and captivating way.

Enger has a talent I long for as a writing. He is gifted in his ability to turn a phrase, choose a word, fulfill a prose – in a way that puts you square in the heart of the moment, not just the story but the exact moment and believe you are there. Brilliant.

“The surface of everything is thinner than we know. A person can fall right through, without any warning at all.”

“He had a heartening bulk of the aging athlete defeated by pastry.”

I really loved this book and I think you will too. A look into life in small town upper Midwest America, and the people who love their town and each other. Their journey is Virgil Wander.

I hope you enjoyed my book review of Virgil Wander by Leif Enger.

*****Five Stars for Virgil Wander.

Read last week’s review of Beneath a Scarlet Sky

My current read Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

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This book kept showing up on lists of favorites by other readers I follow. But I was hesitant to read ANOTHER World War II story. But I relented and downloaded it to listen to on audible on our recent road trip. It was a very pleasant surprise. Please enjoy my book review of Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.

Sullivan happened upon the story of Pino Lella, a real person, who became an uncommon hero in Italy during World War II. When Sullivan approached the aging Lella, Lella didn’t understand how anyone could think him a hero or want to write his story.

But Lella is another, like many before him, who risked everything during WWII to do what he knew was right in his heart and save many, many people in the process. Pino Lella, an Italian teenager, was a real hero.

Sullivan walks the reader through the Italian side of WWII, in itself a refreshing storyline war story. Pino’s first hand account of what happened to him, as well as extensive research by the author, creates a suspenseful and often hard-to-believe tale of life in Italy during the war under Nazi occupation. Pino finds himself a spy, at the right hand of one of the Nazi’s most notorious leaders. His position, wit and savoir faire keeps him alive while also saving many Italians.

Near death experiences, meeting Moussilini, falling in love, saving Jews, seeing death everywhere he turns, wearing the Nazi uniform and his greatest heartbreak – non of these things take Pino down. His uncommon valor as such a young man makes him an uncommon hero.

My husband found some of the story not believable. But I’ve read enough WWII stories to except how living through such a unprecedented time created unprecedented heroes. I loved the book and Pino Lella. Thanks for reading my book review of Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.

*****Five Stars for Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

Read last week’s review of Dear Edward

My current read Peace Like a River by Lief Enger

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One of the best books I have read in months. I have been struggling to find a really captivating novel for a while. I found it here in this beautifully written story. Here is my book review of This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.

Set in Minnesota in 1932, our narrator is a 12-year old boy (nearly thirteen, he keeps telling the reader), finds himself caught up in an adventure of a lifetime. Leaving behind the cruel and corrupt Lincoln Indian School, Odie O’Banion and three other orphans set off to find a new life, and nearly perish in doing so.

Odie (nearly 13, his older brother Albert, Moses ( a mute Sioux boy) and 6-year old Emmy are all searching for something – home. They become a little family as they navigate in a canoe from Lincoln School towards Saint Louis on the Mississippi.

Of course a multitude of dangerous, funny, frightening and surreal adventures ensue…including murder, kidnap, snake bites and near starvation as the four orphans endure great loss and pain, reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath and Tom Sawyer all in one book.

I enjoyed William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace (see my review), but I loved This Tender Land and think Krueger’s storytelling ability shines bright in this coming of age novel about life in the hard scrabble depression. With a backdrop of the beautiful American Midwest, Krueger brings the reader easily along the adventure and the characters of this novel easily into our hearts.

*****Five stars for This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Read last week’s Year End Review 2019-2020

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