Odie's storytelling brims with heart and soul. The story follows the group as they make a narrow escape from the school after an accidental crime is committed and set out for a new home, making their journey down the Mississippi river. The recurring voice of the narrator is the most salient characteristic of this novel. And Emmy Frost is searching for her role in life. Depression: (Minnesota, 1932): Does anyone ever get People are calling it a historical novel, which kind of makes me smile, he said. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Although spirituality was a main theme, I did not feel like that the author was trying to preach. Canoeing the Mississippi River, the children, ages 6 to 16, end up on a journey of discovery, each searching for something different. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. William Kent Krueger brings this truth to literary life in his magnificent novel This Tender Land. The reborn Odie OBanion, whose real life lay ahead of him now.. I love Krueger but Im not a fan of give me all the themes/issues I plan to read this anyway. My rating: 4 of 5 stars. by James Debono. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Or reveal them. I'm thankful that they were understanding and were willing to give me another shot.". Have any of you read this one yet? You'll grasp the flavor of This Tender Land in the first few pages. They were emotionally, physically, and sexually abused. Review of This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, Kid Lit Review of King of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin by Stephen Costanza, Review of The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, Black History Month Kid Lit Review of Mae Makes Way: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat & History Maker by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Review of The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The boys formed a bond with Mose, who was never able to communicate with anyone before Odie and Albert taught him the sign language they learned from their deaf mother. The news, analysis and community conversation found here is funded by donations from individuals. Also none of the reviews Ive read talked about the title, which I thought was odd. . everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of This Tender Land. Not affiliated with Harvard College. We find out why they are the only white . There will be courage in this story and cowardice. Your email address will not be published. In fact, the Herbert Hoover song made famous in the musical Annie, as well as the shantytown name Hooverville, appear in the novel. . Our former selves are never dead. They are confronted along the way by a dissimilitude of good and evil. A few hundred miles away, Omeir, a gentle country boy, finds . Whether you agree with what the revivalists preached or not, they gave people that thing called Hope. Odie, the focus character, finds his true identity and, with this self-knowledge, steps into a transformed life. There will be love and betrayal. 464 pp. They're welcomed and given food, but later are again forced to flee, chased by police with dogs. "This expansion project will not involve any land reclamation and the entire cost will be borne by MAHB," he said. Discuss your experience if you are open to sharing. Odie also encounters a great deal of kindness on his journey, blurring his image of God. 12. Make a gift of any amount today to support this resource for everyone. This Tender LandSimon & Schuster, 2019Hardcover, 444 pagesISBN 978-1-4767-4929-7. THIS TENDER LAND is a wonderful coming-of-age adventure, a story of hard times and hopefulness that carries a religious undertone with children that seem wise and capable beyond their years, but also make poor life-threatening decisions as they venture forward toward their dream of a better future. Dhruv Trivedi. There have been only a few scattered productions of . At a time when very few people had anything to be conned out of, Sister Eve is more interested in providing soup and bread than in swindling those who attend the meetings. The lyrics foretell whats up ahead for the children: Each of the four This book had a lot of heart! What happened to American Indian children nearly a century ago is not just old history, but another gut-punching point in American history thats happening today on our southern borders, where migrant children are being held in prison-like cages. He realized then that his generosity would lead to Maybeth's departure and the end of their short relationship. When he was four years old he was found unconscious in a roadside ditch next to his mother, who had been shot dead. . Talk about this transformation and why you think it came about for Odie but not for Albert. This Tender Land is set in the Midwest during the Great Depression as four orphans after a terrible act of violence set out on the river in a canoe one summer in search of family and freedom from the cruelties they've faced at a Indian boarding school in Minnesota. For This Tender Land, I provide your book club with a brief summary, a recipe, and discussion questions in that order!if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'bookclubbites_com-box-3','ezslot_4',132,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-bookclubbites_com-box-3-0'); If youve been stuck in a reading rut lately, especially due to the pandemic (or just life in general), then This Tender Land could be the next read for you. . Eventually the companions reached the next town, New Bremen. 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Required fields are marked *. The school calls this the training part of the curriculum, but it's really free labor for the surrounding farms. Orphan brothers Odie and Albert were the only whites at the school. A lot of history is embedded in the prose. They just know that life anywhere else must be better than the life theyre living at the Lincoln School, where physical punishment and sexual assault are routine occurrences. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Add the noodles and cook an additional 5-10 mins (per the pasta instructions for al dente). In This Tender Land William Kent Krueger weaves together several threads to create that kind of novel. . I could have sworn I heard the cracking of every vertebra as his spine straightened. west covina . one year ago. The Lands Authority has received three bids for the tract of public land in Mellieha that has been put up for sale. four years later when Albert is sixteen, Odie twelve, Emmy six, and Moses age If you loved books like Where the Crawdads Sing or Peace Like a River, youll love This Tender Land. I was horrified by ways the children were treated and how abusive the Lincoln School was. A magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace. Krueger did a great job with the setting. Amazon rating: 4 1/2 stars. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Genre: Fiction. Part "Grapes of Wrath," part "Huckleberry Finn . In Chapter 1, Odie spent the night in the quiet room of the Lincoln Indian Training School. Odie (short for Odysseus) OBanion is in his eighties as the book begins, looking back at the summer of 1932 and the journey taken by him and his comrades, The Vagabonds. Like the Greek hero Odysseus after whom Odie is named, he was on a quest to get home. Other readers are welcome to share their thoughts about the title/theme, if you see these comments. The series is set mainly in Minnesota, USA. Krueger, William Kent. A former history teacher in the group commented on how factual the book is concerning the Depression era and the treatment of Native Americans. . ISBN-13: 9781476749297. Mosie is the most victimized as hes the only American Indian of the foursome, symbolizing the long and ruthless history toward the Dakota tribe in Minnesota. As the hardest and most upbeat worker, his storyline is even more heartbreaking. Odysseus: O'Banion . Hawk Flies at Night: "The man materialized out of the dark, big and powerful, shoulders like those of a buffalo, with hair like a buffalo's winter hide flowing over them . After you claim a section youll have 24 hours to send in a draft. help you understand the book. It will own you. Its ending has now become a global demand. They were punished for speaking their native language. Learn how your comment data is processed. Bring the mix to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Our mystery group discussed Ordinary Grace and thought it was wonderful. In Mankato, Odie stumbled upon an encampment where he met a young girl, Maybeth Schofield, and her family. However, the orphanage is cruel, and the brothers steal some money and escape, with their new friends Mose and Emmy Frost. The unforgettable story of four orphans who travel the Mississippi River on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression. There were so many praises for this book and it was so highly recommended that we had to check it out for ourselves! 1932. The stakes are even higher when the underdogs are kids or teensadventures like This Tender Land, classics like Huckleberry Finn. Pig scarer takes them to a room in the barn where they are held captive and forced to work the farm. The Landlady was originally published on the 28th of November 1959. And I think great characters, who are realistic, are so necessary for making a story believable. As an aside, I really loved how the book acknowledged so many other facets of their new society - the raiders, the ultra rich, the seemingly mindless consumers while still keeping the overall focus zeroed in on Marcos and his insecurities. I finally decided that maybe what Id lost . . Ready Steady Cut film critic, M.N. It's a huge slap in the face for the readers, and it shows that desperation can change a person. Cant wait to check this one out! 'The Tender Bar' tells the story of a young boy named JR (Tye Sheridan), who grows up in Long Island, raised by his mother and her family, on account of an absentee father. . How did he change? But they too were sentenced to hard labor cleaning cement, while the boys were treated like slaves by a heartless farmer, his farm on the school grounds. . You can help us out by revising, improving and updating To get a feel for the mood of the novel you may want to listen to Shenandoah, a melancholy folk ballad, Odies favorite song, he plays on his cant-live-without harmonica, his hobo harp. Music is one of the saving graces in a merciless place that has the audacity to be called a school. .". As orphans Odie and Albert were adopted to Minnesotas Lincoln School for Native American even though they are white. The Native character whom readers get to know best is Mose, and he is mute and "speaks" only through sign language. Discuss the characters interactions with Hoovervilles and the Flats. Odies recollections are vivid, because everything thats been done to us we carry forever.. He seemed like one of the better ones compared to the other horrible characters in this book. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The brothers mother was deaf, so they knew sign language, giving Mose a way to communicate since no one at the school could talk with him. Still, it's surprising to watch a happy ending that's . The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Odies tales are spun Nobody in Hooverville has much, but everyone shares what they have with those who have less. The novel opens with a prologue that sets the stage for the story to follow: The tale Im going to tell is of a summer long ago. Krueger describes This Tender Land as a companion novel to his 2014 novel, Ordinary Grace . Hi Jeremy! . Were you aware that such institutions existed? The OBanion brothers also discover themselves on this quest. . Giving away the reasons would spoil the story as would mentioning the resolution to the mystery of how two Irish boys ended up at this particular school. What made each place home for each character? If you are looking for a book about second chances, forgiveness, and friendship, This Tender Land will have you turning the pages with a renewed joy for reading. As he sees evidence of Indian massacres and meets Native people along the way, he begins to incorporate the new knowledge into his sense of identity. The response to Ordinary Grace from readers and critics was . The plot was interesting and detailed and Krueger created a richness in the characters that made me want to read more. Kruegers fascination with Minnesota began when he moved here 40 years ago. The man was tall, awkwardly built, and held a shotgun in his hands. William Kent Krueger, author of "This Tender Land," Wednesday, July 31, 2019. But it's really a place meant to obliterate every trace of their Indianness, by force if necessary. . perhaps the real magic lies in reading or re-reading it [a coming-of-age story] later, when it serves to remind us about the people we used to be. Best known for his series about private investigator Cork O'Connor, Krueger delves deep into his second stand-alone novel for an affecting story about growing up and overcoming a childhood . modern classic, THIS TENDER LAND is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams and makes us whole. This Tender Land (Krueger) - Author Bio. Four boys at Lincoln School, a school where Native American children are forcibly sent to be educated, run away. So does the big-hearted narrator, who, after more than 80 years of life, comes back with an epilogue and tries to understand what I know in my heart is a mystery beyond human comprehension (p. 439). document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Place the chopped carrots, chopped celery, diced onions, and cooked chicken together in a heavy bottom pot. I enjoyed the book immensely. . This is a picaresque tale of adventure during the Great Depression. What did you think of Sister Eve and The Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade? Pour the chicken broth into the pot and whisk in the packet of Ranch seasoning. Strappings and abuse appear to be part of the curriculum, too, especially the kind rendered by a teacher named Vincent DiMarco. 30 minutes this self-knowledge, steps into a transformed life consent to record the consent. Here 40 years ago storytelling brims with heart and soul but it 's really free labor for cookies! 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Our mystery group discussed Ordinary Grace critics was by donations from individuals unforgettable of! Years old he was found unconscious in a roadside ditch next to his novel... Feel like that the author was trying to preach a story believable them to a room the...