Reviews

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

bookin_w_tues's review against another edition

This book gave me the ick.

lindseyrinehart's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I am disappointed in this book. William Kent Krueger is an exceptional writer who can make landscapes (Minnesota) come to life. And I know he can write lovable characters too, because I read This Tender Land (5 stars). These characters are not those. There are too many. Several of them are cardboard cutout flat and our main character Brody Dern, is supposed to come off as damaged and complicated, but I did not warm to him. There are many sexual content warnings and if I’d known the situations for nearly EVERY FEMALE CHARACTER in this book, I would have thought twice before I picked it up. 3.5 stars for beautiful, atmospheric writing. 

laceyhsamuel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

jmbibliolater's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

abruce16's review

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ginia552's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

lindsey_reads06's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

smithce23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

susanmh's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.25

marci_travels's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 “Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end.”
The River We Remember is not a simple mystery of how Jimmy Quinn died. It is a rich tapestry of one small town in Minnesota in the years after WWII. The book gives vibes of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, and even F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby with its final lines of boats beating against the current.
It’s a slow starter, there is a lot to keep track of, but stick with it, and you’ll enjoy a deeply satisfying coming of age story as well as the knowledge that “the place we return to is home.”

Let me clarify: This is not an easy nostalgic book of years gone by. The entire scaffolding of the book is built on multiple forms of violence against women and racial violence. These aren't war heroes home from WWII and Korea, but damaged men who fight their internal demons and try to reconcile what they have done against what they are supposed to do now. There is a lot to unpack.