"Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger

With many books, you can proceed with the sensation that the plot is interesting, or the theme a worthy one, or there is a new slant on something, but often with wonderful thoughts like these, we get workmanlike prose, or something basic and serviceable. But in "Peace Like a River" not only is the plot interesting and clearly unfolding, the words along the way hold such enchantment and fun that it has an effect, where one wants to keep turning the pages and finding the next delight.

This piece is told mainly from the viewpoint of an 11 year-old boy. This boy has a very devout father, who is literally capable of miracles. After a full novel of suffering from asthma, 11 year-old Reuben is shot, and by all rights should die, but his father, also shot, but not critically wounded, performs his last miracle by giving Reuben his healthy lungs so he can live.

The prose serving this lovely tale is charming, flowing, witty, and knowing throughout. It takes us on an unusual journey (plot-wise and idea-wise), and at the end we're given a glimpse of heaven: brightly lit, humming with life, where a river flows uphill. Reuben sees his father, who takes his place in the peace that is like a river.

This isn't really a coming of age. Rube experiences some awfully weighty things for a sixth-grader, witnessing miracles and seeing his fugitive brother, and sitting by, awe-struck and envious, as his little sister composes remarkable verse. This is an extremely enjoyable book, kindly, wise, and a little fantastic. Time quite certainly well spent. Don't pass it by, by any means!

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"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

"The Life of Pi' struck me as a book-length parable - what does the stranded mariner do to save his life when he shares a flimsy vessel with a Bengal tiger? The reader and the Japanese authorities are given the choice of buying into the parabolic parable version or the more orthodox version.

Pi is a believer in each major religion, each of which has within it the seeds of its destruction, or at least the grand antagonist which lends each faith the sense of urgency. The fanciful version of Pi's adventure and rescue is really the vivid, compelling one, and it's the one that contains the most effective lessons.

This book is overly unorthodox - not a bad thing, I love to be taken out of the mundane. But its setup and resolution, and the minutiae of its long ordeal, left me puzzled about the real intent. I'm tempted to equate the hero with the human race sailing on dangerous seas, but that just seems too facile, a selling-short of Martel. If the intent lay elsewhere, then I couldn't find it, not that I was motivated very strongly. Praise for this book is appropriate, but the over-the-top praise heaped upon it is not. If you're worried that you are missing something very special by not reading this book, don't be. It's an unusual journey with parable-like overtones. Choose accordingly.

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"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson

"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson is a long contemplation of growing old - this is a valediction, but more than that it is an etude on life's moral verities. I don't know what I was expecting after the shining tour de force of "Housekeeping," the previous novel of Ms. Robinson's, but I don't think I was expecting this. I wouldn't say I was disappointed because this is an impressive, thought-provoking work. It took me by surprise by its depth, and by the weight of its subject matter.

Reverend John Ames, the third in a line of Congregationalist ministers, fathers a child very late in life; he's sixty-nine years old when his son is born. "Gilead" is his series of letters to his son, and a very personal reflection on faith, family, and the interpretation of grace. The reverend comes from a place where moral actions mark and make one's life. His grandfather, the first Reverend Ames, took up the cause of John Brown and a free Kansas, and could not comprehend his son's (our protaganist's father's) reservations and judgments on that issue. This conflict clearly establishes the awe and uncertainty with which the pious encounter and consider their God.

Our Reverend Ames has experienced a dynamic and difficult relationship with his godson, the offspring of another preacher in town. His late-coming biological son embodies his second chance at the challenging and rewarding arena in which familial relationships are worked out. He is thankful for the chance at a time in his life in which he has had at least a chance to consider all the consequences and ramifications of faith and love.

This book is a lovely, understated study. It's balanced in considering human interaction, reverberant, humble, dignified, and straightforward. Do yourself a massive favor and pick it up.

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"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon

There are some highly diverting pages early in this renowned piece, with various passages in which I took delight. However ... as the story wore on, I began to wear out. This story took a very labored route to its main point, the Hebrew legend of the Golem, and became weighed down like the Golem's clay legs.

This book just seemed like such an effort to get through, and when I did slog my way fully through it, I grudged the effort. I could have spent my time more profitably.

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"Miss Garnet's Angel" by Salley Vickers

Salley Vickers gives us the lovely story of Miss Garnet, who retires from a very closed life teaching school in the UK, and who travels south to Venice, to discover that maybe there's a little more to life than living by rote and believing in the socialist ideal. This story lives in reverence, wonder, and intrigue. For someone who has just retired, Miss Garnet has missed quite a bit, until now.

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