Chosen By Carol
September 2008 For Discussion October 2008
Leif Enger Wikipedia
Review
The setting is Minnesota in the 1960s, and in the hands of this instinctive writer the Mid-West still retains a feeling of frontier country, with more than a hint of pioneering, and self-sufficiency bordering on lawlessness. The story is told by 11-year-old Reuben, who lives with his father, a school janitor who can work miracles, his elder brother Davy and little sister Swede, whose favourite pursuit is writing ballads of the Wild West. When two local louts bully Swede and then break into the house, Davy shoots them dead. Charged with manslaughter, he escapes from jail and disappears into the Badlands of the Dakotas. It is now that the heroic and perilous journey at the heart of the story begins - the search for Davy, a hide-and-seek operation with the police on their heels. Driving an unreliable Plymouth rapidly running out of fuel, the family struggle on until they stumble on a friendly farm-cum-filling station - and Roxanna Crawley, who will change all of their lives. This is a magical tale touched by tragedy. Enger writes in a clear, rich style, with a gift for simple imagery that slips by almost unnoticed but transforms the feel of the whole book. A heartfelt, warming story with a rare sense of place, always bordering on the edge of the miraculous.
Score
Carol: 7.5/10
Eleanor: 8.5/10
Karen: 8.5/10
Kelly: 7.9/10
Nicole: 7.9/10
Average Score: 8.1/10
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