A Couple Novel Reviews

I know I haven't been posting many book reviews, but two novels I have recently read deserve mention.

The first is Leif Enger's latest- So Brave, Young and Handsome. It is storytelling at a high level from the author of the even better Peace Like a River. It is the story of lifetime criminal Glendon Hale finds an unlikely companion in struggling novelist Monte Becket as he seeks redemption from what to him is his greatest sin, leaving his wife decades earlier. Along the way the story unfolds with grace and quiet hope even when facing unusual villains and heroes who are not always what they claim or seem to be.

Enger is a master storyteller and this does not disappoint. It is a tale of the old west when it has become too old to be what it once was. As his previous novel, Enger paints a portrait of grace at work- and reminds us that in the end grace is not about what you do- it truly is about a hopeful nature of the world. His seemingly simple story-style fools you until in the end you, too, will realize you have been graced.

The other novel is a mystery by Iain Pears, The Immaculate Deception. It is an "art" mystery where a painting is stolen, ransomed and returned. But nowhere is it that simple. Police and security, politicians and crooks and even the Prime Minister of Italy get involved. It is a well-paced novel that in its own way becomes a page turner.

How I to looking at this book is an example of the nature of how books become popular. A friend had posted on Facebook his list of 15 books that were transformational or important in his life. Another of Pears's books was on the list and someone else suggested this one as well. Since Pears was an unknown to me, I picked the shorter and probably more accessible of the two. That simple.

Now that I have finished this, I am about to start the other, longer volume, An Instance of the Fingerpost. I will let you know what happens I think about it.