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frostap's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this less than PLAR, which was likewise meandering but had more compelling characters. Enger's prose is lovely, though, which helps make up for a less-than-climactic story.
danib11's review against another edition
3.0
Another "read aloud" book. I did this one over too long of a time...I think it would've been 4 stars otherwise.
Another fun story by Enger, lots of adventure and love. Curious about the potential of molding the narrator after himself...a writer wondering if he's a one-hit wonder and trying to make something out of himself without letting those around him know his fears. Quite good.
Another fun story by Enger, lots of adventure and love. Curious about the potential of molding the narrator after himself...a writer wondering if he's a one-hit wonder and trying to make something out of himself without letting those around him know his fears. Quite good.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audiobook narrated by Dan Woren.
Monte Becket has had one greatly successful novel published, but he cannot seem to write another book. He lives with his wife, Susanna, and son on a farm in Minnesota, and keeps promising his publisher that he’s working hard on the next novel. Then one day he notices a man rowing a boat while standing up. Spurred by his son, Monte befriends Glendon, and the older man confesses to regret at abandoning his wife some two decades previously. When Glendon decides that it is time for him to go back to Blue, he asks Monte to come along, and with Susanna’s guarded acquiescence, Monte agrees to go along.
I was caught up in the road trip. The story takes place in 1915, when automobiles were scarce, and more people lived in the rural area of America. As Monte and Glendon head West and South, the landscape virtually becomes a character in the novel.
I really like the relationship between these men. Glendon is an admitted outlaw, and even spent some time at Butch Cassidy’s Hole in the Wall retreat. But that was decades ago, and he’s spent years in relative hiding, building boats and living simply in a converted barn. Monte is drawn to Glendon, but disturbed when he learns the truth of his new friend’s background. And yet … when push comes to shove, his loyalties lie with the Glendon he has come to know on this journey.
Enger gives the reader a relentless pursuer in Charles Siringo – a former Pinkerton detective who is determined to track Glendon down and bring him to justice.
In many respects it reminds me of the old traditional Westerns. And I think it would do well translated to film.
Dan Woren does a marvelous job of performing the audio book. I almost felt as if I were listening to a master storyteller around a campfire. Part of this is Enger’s way of writing the tale, but Woren’s narration really brought the story to life. I really liked the way he voiced the many characters, but particularly Monte and Glendon.
Monte Becket has had one greatly successful novel published, but he cannot seem to write another book. He lives with his wife, Susanna, and son on a farm in Minnesota, and keeps promising his publisher that he’s working hard on the next novel. Then one day he notices a man rowing a boat while standing up. Spurred by his son, Monte befriends Glendon, and the older man confesses to regret at abandoning his wife some two decades previously. When Glendon decides that it is time for him to go back to Blue, he asks Monte to come along, and with Susanna’s guarded acquiescence, Monte agrees to go along.
I was caught up in the road trip. The story takes place in 1915, when automobiles were scarce, and more people lived in the rural area of America. As Monte and Glendon head West and South, the landscape virtually becomes a character in the novel.
I really like the relationship between these men. Glendon is an admitted outlaw, and even spent some time at Butch Cassidy’s Hole in the Wall retreat. But that was decades ago, and he’s spent years in relative hiding, building boats and living simply in a converted barn. Monte is drawn to Glendon, but disturbed when he learns the truth of his new friend’s background. And yet … when push comes to shove, his loyalties lie with the Glendon he has come to know on this journey.
Enger gives the reader a relentless pursuer in Charles Siringo – a former Pinkerton detective who is determined to track Glendon down and bring him to justice.
In many respects it reminds me of the old traditional Westerns. And I think it would do well translated to film.
Dan Woren does a marvelous job of performing the audio book. I almost felt as if I were listening to a master storyteller around a campfire. Part of this is Enger’s way of writing the tale, but Woren’s narration really brought the story to life. I really liked the way he voiced the many characters, but particularly Monte and Glendon.
coleycole's review against another edition
4.0
Great read! I loved his other novel, "Peace Like a River," and this did not disappoint me at all.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
5.0
Monte Becket is a postman in Minnesota in 1915. In his spare time, he wrote a swash-buckling adventure that somehow becomes something of a bestseller. No one is more surprised than Monte. As these things do, the success goes to Monte’s head and he quits his day job to become a fulltime author. And he hits a wall. There’s nothing there. He has written all the stories he has in him in this one story. We first encounter Monte when he has been fighting this writer’s block for about five years. He is sitting at his window one day, trying to meet his daily quota of 1000 words, when he glimpses a boatman row into view through the fog. The boatman is rowing standing up and facing forward as he laughs to himself like he has a delightful little secret. Who could resist that particular allure? Monte runs outside and invites the boatman in for coffee. The man just keeps rowing and laughing, but responds, “Some other time.” Eventually, Monte and his wife and young son have the opportunity to become friends with the boatman, whose name is Glendon Hale. As they become closer to Glen, they feel certain that the man has a past he is hiding. One day, Glen confesses to Monte that he was married to a young Mexican girl a long time ago. He left her for reasons of his own, but now he feels like he should find Blue, as he affectionately calls her, and apologize for leaving her the way that he did. He invites Monte to accompany him on his search. Upon his wife’s urging, Monte eventually agrees to go with Glen, and their adventure begins.
Okay, let’s just get it out there. This is not Peace Like a River. It’s just not. I missed Reuben and Swede. But--this is still a five star book. I love Leif Enger’s writing. Magic happens for me when he starts stringing words together. When I open one of his two books, I am lost in his world. When I was trying to describe Enger’s writing style to my husband, all I could say was, “It’s just--just--just perfect.” That’s the best I can do. It’s just perfect.
The characters are wonderfully complex. Monte is a scrupulously honest narrator. He doesn’t dwell on the moments when he might shine a little. He plays up the times when his cowardice gets the better of him. I don’t want to give away anything else, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the other characters are well-developed also. I told my husband five minutes after finishing this book, “I miss those characters already.” I wasn’t really exaggerating.
The plot moved along at a good pace and the story was engaging. I never wished that we could just get on with it. The characters moved in and out at just the right time, within events that happened at just the right time, with just the right amount of foreshadowing.
The story is a good story in and of itself. But there are larger themes hidden within the pages, and I loved those too. We’ve all read the books about how family isn’t necessarily the people you’re related to, it’s the people you choose and who choose you who are always there for you. True. But Enger takes it a step farther. He seems to believe that family can be made up of the people you’re related to and the people you choose. A true family will always have room for more people, blood relatives or not. Love grows more love. I like it.
There are more of these, but this is getting long.
I was so nervous starting this book. I was afraid that I would be disappointed because Peace Like a River is one of my two absolute favorite books. So Brave, Young, and Handsome is a wonderful book in its own right. Don’t overlook it because it’s not as good as Peace Like a River. Peace was something like a seven star, once-in-a-lifetime book. This one is “just” a five star. But think about that. Everyone runs out to buy a five star book, so give this one a chance. You won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.
Okay, let’s just get it out there. This is not Peace Like a River. It’s just not. I missed Reuben and Swede. But--this is still a five star book. I love Leif Enger’s writing. Magic happens for me when he starts stringing words together. When I open one of his two books, I am lost in his world. When I was trying to describe Enger’s writing style to my husband, all I could say was, “It’s just--just--just perfect.” That’s the best I can do. It’s just perfect.
The characters are wonderfully complex. Monte is a scrupulously honest narrator. He doesn’t dwell on the moments when he might shine a little. He plays up the times when his cowardice gets the better of him. I don’t want to give away anything else, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the other characters are well-developed also. I told my husband five minutes after finishing this book, “I miss those characters already.” I wasn’t really exaggerating.
The plot moved along at a good pace and the story was engaging. I never wished that we could just get on with it. The characters moved in and out at just the right time, within events that happened at just the right time, with just the right amount of foreshadowing.
The story is a good story in and of itself. But there are larger themes hidden within the pages, and I loved those too. We’ve all read the books about how family isn’t necessarily the people you’re related to, it’s the people you choose and who choose you who are always there for you. True. But Enger takes it a step farther. He seems to believe that family can be made up of the people you’re related to and the people you choose. A true family will always have room for more people, blood relatives or not. Love grows more love. I like it.
There are more of these, but this is getting long.
I was so nervous starting this book. I was afraid that I would be disappointed because Peace Like a River is one of my two absolute favorite books. So Brave, Young, and Handsome is a wonderful book in its own right. Don’t overlook it because it’s not as good as Peace Like a River. Peace was something like a seven star, once-in-a-lifetime book. This one is “just” a five star. But think about that. Everyone runs out to buy a five star book, so give this one a chance. You won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.
katel1970's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the cadence of the words, sentences, paragraphs in this book. Lovely writing with fascinating, nuanced characters.
debs4jc's review against another edition
3.0
This rollicking tale of the old west is one enjoyable yarn. Monte is a writer who is afraid his brief success and subsequent writers block have made him a failure to his family. His friend Glendon entices him to accompany him on a trip to find Glendon's long lost love, Blue. What seems to be a simple trip south turns out to become an adventure, where Monte and Glendon are dodging the Pinkerton agent Charles Siringo who is after Glendon--who turns out to be a former train robber. Monte becomes aquainted with the true west (albeit the fading one) as they survive squalls, fires, floods, gunfights, and the like. Monte is an introspective narrator, so expect plenty of rumination along with the adventure. I enjoyed listening to this tale for the unforgettable characters, larger than life adventures, and it's contemplation of the human condition. The narrator did a bang up job, having different enough voices for each character so that I could follow the story easily and varying the pace to suit the story.
vanvicki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0