Latest book-club pick will appeal to the guys

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Books Editor

Drum roll, please. Our fifth Honolulu Advertiser Book Club selection is "Peace Like a River," by Leif Enger (Grove Press, paper, $13).

With this book, we make another leap in subject matter and style.

This is a sort of cowboy story that will appeal to people who'd never pick up a copy of Zane Gray (but if you DO like Zane Gray and all those other cowboy writers, there's an added layer of enjoyment in this book for you). It is a book that's suitable for a wide range of ages but that doesn't "talk down" (if there's an adolescent in the house, you might try a little read-aloud with this one, or reading the book together). It is a story that isn't ashamed to believe.

"Peace Like a River" has delightful portraits of small-town life, landscapes that are like additional characters, despicable bad guys, a really great dad, a late-life love affair, unabashed miracles and a little sister every bit as feisty and extraordinary as "To Kill a Mockingbird's" Scout Finch.

We'll be honest with you: A few critics hated it. This book takes some suspension of disbelief and they couldn't seem to let go and let this book do its magic. However, it was a Book Sense Book of the Year for 2001 and was listed by both Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times in their 2001 Best Books lists.

Next week, we'll introduce you to Leif Enger, a former reporter for Minnesota Public Radio, a father and a country boy who communicates his love for the landscapes of the Northwest and Midwest in every line.