Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Story
Review: This is the best novel I've read in years.If you are looking for a novel with world-weary detectives or slick lawyers, you will be disappointed. The central characters in this story: A soft-spoken med-student-turned-janitor, who performs subtle miracles reminiscent of the New Testament
And his perceptive children, who discover that the distinctions between right and wrong are complicated, especially when family is involved. Tough choices. Put this on every middle-school/high school reading list.
Rating: 
Summary: Competently written, but ultimately unsatisfying
Review: Leif Enger clearly knows how to turn a sentence, but his debut novel suffers from a number of flaws. First of all, the book should have been edited down by about a third. The pace creeps along in places, and Enger's description-heavy prose can grow tiresome. More importantly, the ending of the book leaves much to be desired. Without giving away too much, I'll just say that Davy's fate is largely inconsistent with the book's themes of righteousness, redemption, and moral behavior.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time with this one.
Review: Sorry, but "Peace like a River" is one of the weakest new novels I have read in years. I am truly mystified as to how it ever achieved bestseller status. I base this criticism on two major, glaring weaknesses. Number one, the language. Reuben, the narrator, tells his story in an absolutely overblown, pretentious, awkward-syntax style. Here is an example: "I realized that without prompt staving, I would weep." Huh? Is this the way a twelve-year-old boy (who goes on and on about how un-literary he is) in the early 1960's speaks? I don't buy it. (Admittedly, he's telling his story as an adult, looking back, but still -- the paragraphs just don't flow.) My second problem with this novel is the character development-- or rather, the lack of it. The father figure with his cheesy-corny "miracle" episodes, the no-personality older brother on the run from the law -- I did not care what happened to any of them. The only halfway interesting, redeemable character was the sister, Swede. Her cowboy poetry and sibling-moments with Reuben were mildly entertaining -- but I still had trouble conjuring her character as a living, breathing, real-world person. Again, I don't care how precocious and high-functioning this girl supposedly is -- I just don't buy all this overblown language from a 9-year-old. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Religion
Review: I had to read this book for my English class and now I have to write an analytical paper on it. So I was here looking for my secondary sources - reading customer reviews on the book. But I couldn't resist giving my opinion about the book. Many people seem to see this book as being full of religious beliefs and Christian myths. And I grant you, that on the surface, it appears to be so. But I think many might be missing the underlying message beneath these miracles that occur throughout the book. I believe that these miracles are actually really about Reubon than anything else. This book is written through Reubon's point of view and so we see the tragic things that happen to him through his eyes. Perhaps these miracles are really what Reubon sees - not exactly what is really going on. It is his way of looking at the world - at seeking to find miracles in the people and places he encounters throughout his life that he cares about. And that is why Reubon is such a wonderful character- because despite the tragedy that happens countless times, either directly or indirectly, he can still see miracles. This way of looking at the world should be an example to all of us and I think that that is really what the writer is trying to say. You just have to look harder, past your unpleasant or pleasant feelings of religion because it is so much more than that.
Rating:
Summary: Great story!!
Review: We had to read this for a college class and I was dreading reading ANYTHING for class. To my surprise, this was a well told story with a great ending. We were suppose to read 2 chapters per week and do summaries, but I found myself finishing it and doing my summaries 4 weeks ahead of time. THAT'S how good it is. As for people complaining about a girl that is 9 years doing and saying the things she does...maybe it seems impossible in YOUR world, but not mine. If there can be an 8 year old kid with a college degree (yes this has happened recently) there can be an intelligent, witty 9 year old poetic girl. Besides that, it's a BOOK, a STORY, not an autobiography. It's suppose to be FUN and INTERESTING to read and use your IMAGINATION, not taken apart and compare every little detail with the real world. This story was told in the eyes of an 11 year boy, not CNN. Relax...have fun when you read. As I previously mentioned, this is a GREAT book, and it would also make a really good movie, in my opinion. "Make of THAT what you will."
Rating: 
Summary: If you can buy a few things . . . it's a lyrical read
Review: To enjoy this book, you have to accept the Christian mysticism the text relies on and understand that part of the pleasure of the book is attempting to "divine" the rules of the father's gifts . . . you also have to accept that an 8 or 9 year old girl is a genius. I was willing to ride along, if only because the lovely prose invites me to do so. This book might not be for everyone, but if you follow the rules of the text I think you're in for the kind of reading experience we often long for.
Rating:
Summary: Most satisfying book I've read in years ... possibly ever.
Review: This story has a lasting effect of the best kind. This is a book that I have already recommended to every adult I know, and fully intend to pass down to all of the children in my family (23 in all, counting nieces and nephews), as soon as they are old enough to appreciate it. It's richness and excellence deserve to be shared and savored for generations. I'm absolutely certain that I will read it again, and recommend it HIGHLY to anyone who has not yet had the pleasure. I promise you that this is a journey you will truly love. I can hardly grasp the fact that this is Leif Enger's debut. I will definitely be among the first to grab the next creation by this author!
Rating:
Summary: Peace Like a River
Review: I think this is a beautiful novel. I find that many of the reviewers before me have been under the impression that the mother of the Land children was dead. Near the beginning of the book the author tells us that the mother had left Jeremiah in search of a man with more money and who wasn't always having miracles happen to him. He goes on to say that she has never kept in touch with her children and that they had heard second hand that she had married a man in Chicago. I suppose the reason no mention is made of the children missing her is that the story is told by a man who is remembering his childhood nearly 40 yrs later. So if they did miss their mother, having not had contact with her for 40 years possibly would have made him forget missing her. This is a very refreshing novel because unlike many new works of fiction, it is not filled with demented depressives, sex, and families that hate each other.
Rating:
Summary: Sunny Sundown and Valdez will ride again, I hope. . . .
Review: Leif Enger's tale ranks as a modern classic. Sure, it may be the stuff of a Disney movie, but who cares. It's exciting, honest, simple and well-told. Ranks with Ivan Doig and, yes, even Jim Harrison, although it doesn't have their mature perspective. I wish I had a sister like Swede. But I'm glad I have a writer like Enger whose career I will follow.
Rating:
Summary: Deep, Developed, Well Delivered....Instant Classic
Review: This is an amazing book. It is hard to believe this is Mr. Enger's first attempt. Not since "Catcher in the Rye" has a book made me want to be part of the story. This book is extremely well written and the characters are irresistable. Mr. Enger almost makes you wish you were traveling through the Badlands with the family. The book starts with a Miracle performed by young Rube's father, Jeremiah, and ends with a Miracle that completes the first. In between, we are given a model of what a family can be like if their is enough love and faith, even when family members make mistakes (big mistakes). The biggest problem with this book is that it was so good that I did not want it to end. Don't be fooled by the bad reviews below -- it is clear that those reviewers have issues with the subject matter of the book and try to cover it with petty (and wrong) criticisms of the style. I hope a smart movie-maker tries to make a movie of this one. The little girl from "Remember the Titans" is a perfect fit for Swede. This book goes to heights where "A Prayer for Owen Meany" should have gone, but stopped short.
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