The River We Remember

The first book I read by William Kent Krueger was This Tender Land back in 2020. I obtained it from the facilitator of a formerly in person book club that is now online.  I also recently got The River We Remember, the subject of the current review, from that same facilitator. This particular book club is a longstanding commitment for me.  I appreciate that the facilitator makes books she receives from publishers available to members of the club.

                              

 It took me ten days to read The River We Remember.  That was twice as long as the last book I read.  I hope that doubling the amount of time I need to read a book doesn't become a trend.                                 

Jewel, the fictional town in Michigan where this novel took place,  had a book club that was in the process of reading Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.   I hadn't liked this book when I read it in high school.  I still remember it as an unpleasant experience.  I'm so glad I belong to a club that reads only mysteries and thrillers.  I wouldn't want to have to deal with Catcher in the Rye in a book club context.    

I was interested in the background of Marta, who was the wife of Jimmy Quinn, the victim in The River We Remember.  Marta was born in Germany.  Her parents were non-Jewish dissidents who were killed by the Nazi authorities for their political views.  Marta was related to Jimmy's first wife, Gudrun.  She sent for Marta because she was very ill and needed help.  Then Gudrun died soon after Marta arrived, and Marta married Jimmy a few months later. 

Charlotte Bauer, the attorney for the person who was charged with  murdering Jimmy Quinn,  also had an interesting background.  Charlotte's father didn't think that women needed an education. We are told about a childhood incident in which Charlotte was caught reading Jane Eyre by her father. They struggled over the book and Charlotte's father finally took it from her. 

I also have a personal story dealing with Jane Eyre. My father gave me my childhood copy of Jane Eyre. I paged through it and decided it was a horror novel because of the monstrous illustration of the wife hidden in the attic.  I was so terrified of that illustration that I didn't actually read Jane Eyre until I was an adult. 

I thought that one of the most admirable characters in The River We Remember was Kyoko Bluestone, the Japanese born wife of Native American Noah Bluestone.  Kyoko was widely hated in the town of Jewel for being Japanese in this post World War II novel.  Her inner strength in the face of terrible adversity was never shaken.

I liked The River We Remember.  I found it emotionally involving with some striking characters.  I think I'll give it a B.