Peace Like a River

So, I don't normally get into religious books. Let's just put that out there. I have a difficult time with the pushiness of hard-core fundamentalist religion that is usually touted in christian fiction. So when I opened up the cover of Peace Like a River , by Leif Enger, and read that it was one of the best pieces of fiction about faith, I got a little nervous. (I bet you're thinking, "Wow, she's kinda close-minded about the whole Christian novel thing!" Not really. It's more the fact that I won't get to read all the books on my mental list before I die... which is sad.) I read the first ten pages of this book while I was procrastinating earlier this summer. It held my attention, mostly because of the quirky, backwoods Minnesota language. Unfortunately, I had to put it down. (Way to go, Me!)

So now I'm reading it for real. And I like it. And I like the faith aspect. I don't feel pushed or choked by the author's religious views. I just feel happy. Happy that the allegory is so fun to journey through, like The Chronicles of Narnia. I love the surface story as well as the undercurrent. I love that the little girl's name is Swede and that she's spunky and opinionated and wise beyond her nine years.

I don't think that this will help me transition into lots of Christian fiction. And actually I don't think that was Enger's point in writing the book. I think he set out to write a beautiful book set in his boyhood small-town Minnesota. I get the impression that he is a very smart guy. Someone I'd want to sit in coffee shops with.