When Leif Enger wrote Peace Like a River, he wrote a modern American classic. It's a novel so beautiful that I read it four times and was deeply affected by the Christian allegory and the beauty of the language. In my opinion Peace Like a River is the grown up The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. It is a book that is so very rich.Mr. Enger's book is loved by many and it means something to a lot of people. Imagine then the task of writing something new. Harper Lee never published a sophomore book. To Kill A Mockingbird is her only published novel, but it's a jewel.
So Brave, Young and Handsome is not Peace Like a River a book that I believe should live in the American literary canon forever, but it is a great book.
The characters have depth, they are engaging. The writing is sublime. It's ironically, the story of a writer who wrote one great book and has terrible expectations on his shoulders for the next... but after writing seven starts, puts it all away to help a neighbor find repentance on a wild goose chase across the west. I was sorry to finish the final page and say goodbye to people that I'd come to understand and enjoy and like so very much.
These cowboys didn't mind a lone horseman traveling through and confirmed
for Glendon that the river he followed was in fact the Rienda. Yes, it went all the way to the ocean. Yes, a region of citrus orchards awaited him downriver. No doubt the cowboys sense in this veteran horseman a lush deposit of stories, for they asked him to stay for an evening of music and fiery drink, but Glendon said no, he was too
near the end of his own tale now. He nudged Sparrow and they continued on, keeping the river on their left. ~Leif Enger So Brave, Young and Handsome
