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shellkay 's review for:

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
4.0
dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very slow paced with complex characters (but way too many, with a man named Connie & a woman named Charlie, so…annoying to keep things straight).

First 1/3 -1/2 is kind of dull, & drawn out, even though there’s a potential murder right away. 

Set in 1958 Minnesota, so typical post war prejudices are a large part of this small rural town’s opinions & drama. Nearly all locals have a deep, dark secret & there are also strong themes of home, justice, allegiances, wounds (those seen & unshared), grief, & past demons. 

Epilogue:
“Our lives & the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, & there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them, there is truth, & in all of them, a good deal of innocent misremembering.”