THIS TENDER LAND
By William Kent Krueger
“The tale I’m going to tell is of a summer long ago. Of killing and kidnapping and children pursued by demons of a thousand names. There will be courage in this story and cowardice. There will be love and betrayal. And of course, there will be hope. In the end, isn’t that what every good story is about?” – Odysseus O’Banion
There are a few authors that I’ve read in my life that make me feel as if I know their soul just by reading their words. William Kent Krueger is one of them. He can tell a wondrous story, as he does in This Tender Land, and even in midst of the most brutal, heart-breaking or frightening settings, compassion and love wash through like a mighty river.
This is a story about children who were forced to endure loss and pain at a tender age, and the sometimes unimaginable things they did to cope with their hurt and to survive. In the end, it all came down to each of them finding what they needed the most.
Set in 1932 in Minnesota, Odie and Albert are orphan brothers, the only white children at the Lincoln School, where Native American children with no families were sent. The school is a brutal place for all the children living there, and punishment is swift and doled out with wicked pleasure by the owners of the establishment, Mr. and Mrs. Brickman and their lackey, DiMarco. Odie and Albert are close friends with Mose, a young Sioux who lives at the school and speaks in sign language because his tongue was cut out when he little.
Albert is a rule-follower and is often exasperated at the rebellious nature of the younger, twelve year-old Odie, but the two love each other fiercely and do what they can to protect each other from the harsh conditions of the school.
When a tornado rips through the area, and after Odie performs a terrible act, the two flee along with Mose and six year-old Emmy, a neighbor, whose loving mother was killed during the storm. They take to the Gilead River in a canoe to find an aunt living in St. Louis, always trying to stay one step ahead of those who would either drag them back to the hellish life they had been living, or throw them in jail.
“Everything that’s been done to us we carry forever. Most of us do our damnedest to hold on to the good and forget the rest. But somewhere in the vault of our hearts, in a place our brains can’t or won’t touch, the worst is stored, and the only sure key to it is in our dreams.”
A true Huck Finn type tale, the story weaves through the lives of those the children encounter on their journey. Their passage along the river is filled with danger and horrors, but there is always good to be found wherever they go, even if it’s not always obvious.
Narrated by the adult Odie, who has a gift for storytelling throughout his life, you know from the beginning that he survived their trek, and his many adventures along the way kept me enthralled and sometimes made me ache.
William Kent Krueger gently introduces topics in his story that are relevant today, including the abominable treatment toward Native Americans in their own country, the marginalization of others, racial and ethnic prejudice, poverty, gender roles and situations. And just as in his novel Ordinary Grace, there is a current of spirituality that runs through it all. This is something that can easily turn me off, especially in today’s climate of so much faux Christianity. However, it is obvious that the author isn’t trying to force religious beliefs on the reader, and that everything he writes comes from the deepest, sweetest place. I melted at his words, and I applaud the subtle, loving and non-judgmental position he takes throughout the novel.
“Open yourself to every possibility, for there is nothing your heart can imagine that is not so.”
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this exquisite novel in exchange for my honest opinion. #ThisTenderLand #NetGalley
Reviewed May 2019
House of Black and Blue 