Fiction Review: This Tender Land

I've heard wonderful things about William Kent Krueger's novels over the years, but haven't read them. So I was very excited when our library system chose This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger as our territorial reading option for this spring. Her neighborhood book team then chose the novel as our April book. I was fascinated by this fascinating, moving and thrilling historical novel. I loved every minute and never wanted to finish it. Although I missed our discussion, I think my reading team agreed that this novel received one of our highest marks (8.4 out of 10).

It was 1932 and a group of orphans were living near the Gilead River at the Lincoln Indian Training School in southern Minnesota. Although most of the school's neighbors are American children (orphans or well-meaning parents or sent to school), two white siblings live there after their parents died four years ago. Odie O'Banio was twelve in 1932 and his older brother Albert was sixteen. Although Albert is an exemplary citizen, Odie still has a problem. But despite his behavior, Lincoln School is a scary and dangerous place to grow up. Director of the Ikastola. Brickman, who is commonly known to students as the Dark Wizard, is ruthless, and some of the adults he hires are even worse. He threatens to send her to Hate Reform School, so the brothers know they have to leave soon. When disaster strikes and things get more dangerous for the boys, they canoe their best friend to Moses. Moses is an Indian boy of Albert's age, who was found in a ditch next to his dead mother. As he grew older, he could no longer speak because his tongue was cut off. The school administration named him Musa because he was dropped out. One of the reasons he was so close to the O'Banion boys was that he learned sign language because what he learned as a child was deaf to his biological mother, which made him opened up his world. When the three boys go canoeing, a little girl arrives, promising to protect them. The four children descended, knowing that the river would cross the Minnesota River and finally the Mississippi River. They hoped to reach Saint Petersburg. Louis. Louis' aunts, Odie and Albert barely remember where they are. Along the way, they will meet very nice people, but also very dangerous people. Despite all this, Brickman's Law seeks them out, and the four children want one home and a place to live.

Their journey starts at 90 pages, and the length of the novel is around 450 pages, but I wanted to avoid the pleasures of summarizing the argument above (as usual), focusing on the background. But their journey is an epic journey of months and miles, and there are many lessons to be learned. There is a lot of tension here because the children face one problem after another: the risk of being arrested at some point, the risk of one life being ahead of another, the fear of being taken and return to existence, etc. . It is also a very thoughtful novel as each child grapples with personal, family and destiny issues. We know Odien well as the novel's narrator, and he struggles with questions about God, as if feeling God as a destructive force after his life. Here, a farmer they meet on the road shares his opinion of God (here Buck is nicknamed Odie):

"It's hard work, Bak. Don't change your mind, life will definitely kill you. I, this people, like to work. I've never been to church. God has everything." Down? I know, don't think about it. Ask me, God is there. Rain on the ground, in the sky, trees, apples, stars in the cotton trees. You and me. That's it" and that's it for God. It's hard work for sure, but it's good work because it's part of what connects us to this land. It's a beautiful land and delicate."

In this section, Krueger's beautiful writing and compelling reflections stand out throughout the novel. Although the children see many new things on their journeys along the river and overcome many difficulties, this is not just an adventure story. It is also an interesting historical fiction that recreates the difficult years of depression and how it affects different people. Krueger also weaves elements of fairy tales and myths throughout the story. First of all, this novel is nauseating and sincere. These poor kids have endured and struggled a lot, but eventually they find they are family to each other, and the stories come to a good conclusion, even if they aren't very surprising until the plot never turns! All in all, it's a perfect novel, so the vote for my group of books is a perfect 10. I would like to join our discussion; I always try to tell someone! I can't wait to read more Krueger novels because I know what I'm missing.

444 pages, Atria paper booklet

This 2022 workbook addresses the following issues :

TBR mountain challenge

Alphabet Soup Challenge - T

The challenge of diversity

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Listen to the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The examples are taken from the preface to Odie and the beginning of chapter 1, and provide a good introduction to the story. The presenter gives a great sound!

 

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