Disappointed

I finished Peace Like a River by Leif Enger last night and I have to say that I was really forcing myself to get through it at the end.  Now before all of you who read it and loved it send me all kinds of comments and emails -- hear me out.

I do think Enger is a very good writer.  In fact, the only reason I finished the book is because I really thought that he did a great job of bringing his characters and the story to life.  At first I thought the book was heading in the right direction.  I was interested in the concept of the escalation of violence and the destruction of the family that resulted.  Then, just as Davy fled, so did the storyline -- for me at least.

Yes, the over-riding theme of this novel is probably not the thing for an atheist such as myself.  I suppose the brief description on the back should have alerted me to this.  (A few words that I may have overlooked -- "believe" "miracles" "revelation" "faith").

So, it wasn't my cup of tea and I found the ending very difficult to swallow.  If, however you are not an atheist, as I am aware a vast majority of the population is not, I think you will enjoy this book a great deal.  Because really, Enger is a great writer! 

Now on to a book I have been wanting to read ever since I went to see the musical:

And no, I don't expect the book to be anything like the musical.  I mean, there won't be any singing and dancing.  At least I don't think there will be?

Comments

[Jane]

I haven't seen the musical, but I really enjoyed reading "Wicked," as well as all his other books. Such an unusual way to approach "classics."

[jess]

given that I am agnostic/atheistic, it sounds like this book would affect me similar to you. So!

[Laurie]

I can't wait to see how you like "Wicked". I could NOT get into the book and I really wanted to read it!

[abby]

It's been a long time since I finished reading _The Little Friend_ by Donna Tartt, but I remember having a similar feeling of disappointment at the end of that book. The characters were so vivid and then the book seemed to just End, out of nowhere. But like I said, it's been a long time, and I may be mis-remembering. I hate it when books just...stop.

[Carrie]

I agree, "Peace Like a River" was not my cup of tea, I too was disappointed in the ending.
I'm interested in what you think of "Wicked", I never finished it.

I love the book reviews!

[AmyP]

I'm currently listening to the unabridged audio version of Wicked and I'm liking it so far (about a third of the way through).

[Teresa C]

I listened to the audio version of Wicked, and mostly, I loved it. The musical took the basic premise (the history of Glinda and the WWW) then went with a totally different theme. To enjoy either I really felt that I had to look at them as totally different stories. There is a section of the book that you may need to trudge through to get to the end, but then a few things happen that make it worth it. I'm interested to see your take on it.

[gigi]

i loved "wicked" and it is exactly the sort of thing i never like...i'm also interested to see your take on it. have fun!

[alice]

who cares that its nothing like the musical? its still SO good :)

[Marlena]

I LOVED Wicked, and really looked forward to Greg Maguire's other books, but none were quite as good (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister came kinda close). Turns out, Wicked was such a huge success that it became part of his contract to write the same kind of story. He wasn't even excited about Lost himself (and boy can you tell), so I'm kind of surprised that he's released Son of a Witch. I hope it heralds the end of his contract so he caan finally write something else!

Oh, got kind of long-winded there. Anyway, Wicked is wicked good. Very allegorical, and very well written.

[melissa]

I love both Wicked the book and Wicked the musical - but they're somewhat different. I use the comparison that the Wicked musical is like the Wicked book in a very simliar way as the Wizard of Oz book is like the Wizard of Oz movie... (and, the musical is more like the backstory of the movie, where the books seem to be in the same universe as well). Good book - hope you like it!

[susan]

I loved Wicked and just finished Son of a Witch. (I have not seen the play, so have no disappointments or other observations there.)
I thought his satire about goodness and differences and the political stuff was really great. And religion gone wrong gets spoofed too in a skillfull sly way.
His language is beautiful and weird and there were times I would read a line over aloud.
I hope you enjoy the book. It sounds like you can use a break from some hectic work!