THE RIVER WE REMEMBER by William Kent Krueger

 

My thoughts

I've read and loved this author's work a couple of times. His books THIS TENDER LAND and ORDINARY GRACE stole my breath. Both are so well written and captivating. This one is also. 

When you start this book you won't want to put it down. It's setting is 1958 in a small town called Jewel in Minnesota. It takes you through a summer that you will find heartbreaking and possibly full of hope. New love and horrific death. Feelings that will take your breath away. 

As in the other books I've read by this author this one is beautifully written and captivating. It's one that will hold you in it's grasp until the very end. Lots of emotion and pain also. I did a lot of crying while reading this book. It's so good. 

This summer is about the people who live in Jewel, MN. What happens is unjust in many ways. How the people who grew up here treat outsiders is awful in many respects and so very true for most all of this era. Even today it's happening to many. 

A man is found dead. Murdered most likely and catfish are eating away at his remains. He was not a very nice man. Many in this town really hated him. But when an Indian is accused of killing him they turn on him. Noah Bluestone has lived here most of his life. He served in two wars and came back home to settle down and live out his life with his Japanese wife. The people in this town were never really accepting of Noah and certainly now with a Japanese wife they are not. 

Noah refuses to say anything in his defense and thus the secrets start to follow. The people in this town are somewhat hateful. They don't accept a Japanese woman into their church even. The widow of the dead man is German and they barely accepted her. 

This book is about many things. Murder, prejudices, rape, incest, forgiveness, love, tolerance. Many things. But mostly it's about the way this man is treated when believed to have murdered a man that most all disliked. There are only a few people in this book that I actually disliked immensely. One was the murdered man. He deserved it in my opinion. But that is neither here nor there. What happened the night Jimmy Quinn was killed? Who had a reason to do it? Many people actually but there are a few that I thought may have. 

The story tells about many of the characters. What happened to them growing up or as they were serving in the military or whatever. The questions I had were answered and for that I am truly glad. I was not left wondering about anything. This author can write like you won't believe. His prose is beautiful and hits you in the heart. It takes you to that time and the feelings that are happening during that era. You'll feel a lot. Or at least I did. 

I loved how Mr Krueger wrapped up everything at the end. What happened to many of the characters. That always makes me feel good about a book. No loose ends. This book is one you won't forget. 

My favorite word in this book was said by two young teen boys... "Fuggin." It just seemed appropriate for the time. 

My favorite two quotes are:

1) "Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from out beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about our past."

2: "We all die, but some of us-those who are blessed or maybe just lucky-have the opportunity before that end to be redeemed. We can let go, forgive others, and also forgive outselves for the worst of what we are or have been."

Thank you #NetGalley, #WilliamKentKrueger, #AtriaBooks

Five huge stars for this book and the highest recommendation possible. Grab a few kleenex as you will need them for sure.

Synopsis

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the “expansive, atmospheric American saga” ( Entertainment Weekly ) This Tender Land .

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life from an author of novels “as big-hearted as they come” ( Parade ), The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.