The author is a wonderful storyteller, the prose is beautiful, the characters well-developed and engaging, and the setting and time period of the Depression years were brought to life. But the story is a long one, my interest flagged, and I found myself fighting the urge to skim. The overall message is heavy-handed and the story took on a farcical fairy tale quality with too many unlikely scenarios and coincidences. Book review: 'This Tender Land' a harrowing Depression-era coming-of-age tale". Sun Sentinel . Retrieved 2022-08-05. After committing a terrible crime, Odie and Albert are forced to flee for their lives along with their best friend, Mose, a mute young man of Sioux heritage. Out of pity, they also take with them a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy. Together, they steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi in search of a place to call home. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphan vagabonds journey into the unknown, crossing paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. That first night in the quiet room, I barely slept a wink. It was April, and there was still a chill in the wind sweeping out of the empty Dakotas. Our father was less than a week dead. Our mother had passed away two years before that. We had no kin in Minnesota, no friends, no one who knew us or cared about us. We were the only white boys in a school for Indians. How could it get any worse? Then I’d heard the rat and had spent the rest of those long, dark hours until daylight pressed against Albert and the iron door, my knees drawn up to my chin, my eyes pouring out tears that only Albert could see and that no one but him would have cared about anyway. We follow them as they escape with Emmy who didn't originally live at the school and move farther and farther away from Lincoln School and the horrors they had endured.

He said?” Now there was something different in the way she spoke. As if she were struggling to cough up a fish bone caught in her throat. “ He said?” She’d been sitting on a stool that raised her up so everyone in the dining hall could see her. She slid from the stool and walked between the long tables, girls on one side, boys on the other, toward where I sat with Albert. In the absolute silence of that great room, I could hear the squeak, squeak of her rubber heels on the old floorboards as she came. The boy next to me, whose name I didn’t yet know, edged away, as if trying to distance himself from a place where he knew lightning was about to strike. I glanced at Albert, and he shook his head, a sign that I should just clam up. After reading this book I think there should be a separate genre for incredibly well written books that will endure the test of time, this is truly a “masterpiece”. It is literary fiction, adventure, mystery, a lesson in morality and forgiveness, and so much more. To understand this book you really MUST READ it, and I seldom say that about a book. It is every bit as good as Ordinary Grace by this author. For your next book club gathering, plan to meet somewhere outdoors and go on an adventure whether by foot or canoe. Discuss with your group what you notice about the landscape around you. How is the Midwestern landscape a part of Odie’s story and what connections to This Tender Land can you make to your own life and the place that you live? This Tender Land is an epic story as big as the Mississippi River herself. William Kent Krueger has an extraordinary way with words and his storytelling pulls the reader in like a strong current. This vagabond saga has everything one could possibly want from a great work of fiction: thrills, danger, friendship, adventure, and an ending that leaves the reader sated and fulfilled. Anyone who likes to lose themselves in a great novel should get their hands on this work.” Mose is the heart of the wandering group, bringing them together with his cheerful disposition and willingness to help others. However, his journey takes a dark turn when he learns about the abuse suffered by his people. This experience causes him to distance himself from Odie and Albert, but they are eventually able to reconcile. Mose’s journey mirrors that of his Biblical namesake, Moses, as both were found among reeds and raised within a culture that oppressed their people.As I read this book I felt as Odie stated in the book “With every turn of the river since I’d left Lincoln School, the world had become broader, its mysteries more complex, its possibilities infinite”. Why does Odie trust Sister Eve so wholeheartedly, but not her partner, Sid? Do you think he’s right to draw the conclusions he does about Sid from their interactions? How do some of Odie’s misjudgments lead to disastrous consequences? In your opinion, is what happens to Albert in some way Odie’s fault? Following the three friends and Emmy down the Mississippi river and meeting the folks along the River was mesmerizing. Mr. Krueger’s magic is indeed evident in THIS TENDER LAND and is a book that needs to be read by every book club and everyone who loves becoming engrossed in the lives of the characters in a book and an era.

Because I live in a city that’s more concrete than grass, I sometimes go weeks without spending time in nature—which means I fantasize about tossing my phone down a subway grate and setting off into the woods a lot. As this is neither practical (I have no outdoorsy skills) nor feasible (the woods are very far away), I like turning to the next best thing: books set in the great outdoors. Give me a character canoeing down a river, or a vivid description of changing fall leaves, and I am, shall we say, a happy camper.This book was a beautiful symphony to my ears, refreshing smell of nature to my nose, healing hands to my soul, heart-warming, emotional touch to my heart, lyrical, poetical, nurturing elements to my brain. There was not much words to express my feelings how I loved this book and how I enjoyed each word, sentence, each of the journey those orphans have taken, each impeccably, meticulously developed characters, each chapter and of course the poetic ending. Although Odie and Albert find themselves in a boarding school for Native American children, most of the Native children don’t actually speak in the story. The Native character whom readers get to know best is Mose, and he is mute and “speaks” only through sign language. Why do you think the author chose silence as a way of depicting the children at the school? The character of Sister Eve draws heavy inspiration for her complicated motivations from Sharon Falconer, the itinerant companion of Elmer in Sinclair Lewis's novel Elmer Gantry. Lewis's character in turn is inspired by the real-life Aimee Semple McPherson, whom Sid refers to (in text) as a role model for Sister Eve and the entire Gideon Crusade. [6] This reading group guide for This Tender Land includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.