A beautiful book; read it slow and enjoy the fullness of the characters. I always loved his previous book Peace Like a River. This one knocked my socks off in a quiet way.
I loved Leif Enger's previous two books, but initially was disappointed in this one: not much seemed to be happening, other than people flying kites, fishing, and chit chatting. I'm glad I stuck with it though, becasue the characters really started to grow on me. There are lots of individual stores in this book rather than one overarching plot. As always, Enger's writing is subtly warm and compassionate.
A big-hearted story about small-town characters, with some very strange elements that come together at the end in completely unexpected ways. Very well written and engaging.
I thought this book had incredible writing, delightful moments of magical realism, and enough symbolism and character development to have a good discussion with my book group. Sometimes when everyone shows up liking the book there's little left to talk about. This time we were all enamored of Enger's writing to such a degree that we shared our different marked passages with no overlap.
Having recently read and loved Peace Like a River, I was nervous to read Virgil Wander ... what if I didn't enjoy it as much as Peace? I'm happy (and relieved) to report that I thoroughly enjoyed Leif Enger's first novel in 10 years.
The title character of Virgil Wander is the city clerk and operator of the movie theater in a small town in northern Minnesota. As the story unfolds, he has just survived a near-death experience, and readers accompany him in the weeks and months following as he re-evaluates his life. Along the way, we meet a large cast of memorable and flawed characters, fellow residents of Greenstone.
This novel is filled with so many well-crafted phrases, some beautiful, some humorous. My only regret with listening to the audiobook was the inability to capture such phrases when I listened while driving.
I enjoy character-driven novels, and this one was a delight. Thank you for an excellent reading experience, Mr. Enger.
The title character of Virgil Wander is the city clerk and operator of the movie theater in a small town in northern Minnesota. As the story unfolds, he has just survived a near-death experience, and readers accompany him in the weeks and months following as he re-evaluates his life. Along the way, we meet a large cast of memorable and flawed characters, fellow residents of Greenstone.
This novel is filled with so many well-crafted phrases, some beautiful, some humorous. My only regret with listening to the audiobook was the inability to capture such phrases when I listened while driving.
I enjoy character-driven novels, and this one was a delight. Thank you for an excellent reading experience, Mr. Enger.
