Reuben Land, as an adult, reflects on his family in 1962 Minnesota and the events that altered the path of their lives. His voice lends a storytelling quality to Leif Enger’s first novel, Peace Like a River.

Reuben’ s lungs didn’t want to work when he was born until his saintly father, Jeremiah Land, commanded him to breathe. The miracle left Reuben with asthma. The story kept Reuben in awe of his father, and ever watchful for the next miracle. Jeremiah, a school janitor, is brilliant, yet humble in his everyday life where he performs small miracles that enrich the lives of those around him. He stops two bullies before they can harm a friend of his son, Rueben’s 17-year-old brother, Davy. Things escalate with Davy and the boys until they threaten his 9-year-old sister, Swede.

Enger writes the story with words that flow into pictures as Reuben expresses in his childlike way, the love he shares with his family and the grace that he gathers along the way. Peace Like a River is the story of Rueben, Jeremiah, and Swede as they, and the FBI, pursue the fugitive Davy into the Badlands of the Dakotas. The novel is peppered with bits of an epic poem written by Swede about "Sunny Sundown" who pursues the evil "Valdez". It is sprinkled with miracles that make the reader believe that there are indeed no accidents, and that all things are as they should be, or at least will be in the end. It is a story of love, coming of age, family and miracles.

Peace Like a River is a warm, folksy, and deeply satisfying read.