The River We Remember
William Kent Krueger
Synopsis:
On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.
Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.
Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life, The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.
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Richard says:
In reading this book, I could not get “To Kill A Mockingbird” out of my head. The two stories are not the same, though they have the same feel about them: poor people in the American South or Midwest, the downtrodden, living hard lives.
But The River We Remember is much, much more. Set in Minnesota in 1958, the book is about the universal facets of humanity. It might be best described as an examination of the flaws and foibles of humanity, its sins, flaws and shortcomings told as an unfolding story. The story’s continuity is maintained by continual reference to a river that flows through the area in which the story is set, the Alabaster. The river is worth mentioning as its flow, its erosion of the shoreline, its eddies and pools are a metaphor for the trials and tribulations of humanity, continuous flow with wear, tear and erosion but never stopping.
The story’s main character is a PTSD-afflicted veteran who is the sheriff of Jewel and who must deal with the death of one of the area’s most prominent and affluent citizens, Jimmy Quinn. Dern is a troubled man, haunted by the memories of the battles he fought as a US marine. But he is a sensitive man with fairness for all as his moral compass. The victim found on the shores of the Alabaster leaves indications that there is more to this death. He could have been killed. Curiously, the sheriff wipes the scene of evidence that points to murder. We never learn why, but some answers are implied as the story unfolds.
The story covers a varied list of humanity’s flaws balanced by its merits: racism, alcoholism, misogyny, violence, prejudice, infidelity, rape, abuse VS romance, justice, morality, equality, and humanitarianism.
It is to the author’s credit that he writes about these two facets of humanity, weaving it into an absorbing story. Each new character opens to a flaw or merit of people, written so engagingly that most readers will find page-turning irresistible. Each flaw and each merit gets the full treatment in its revelation and examination but without judgment. These characteristics are fully displayed, leaving it to the reader to judge.
A number of characters help to develop the story: two young boys, Scott, the boy with a medical problem of a hole in his heart and Del, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, poor, ostracized by most of the people of the county; an older female lawyer, possibly gender challenged, but who has a backbone of integrity and principles.
The strongest aspect of this book is the Epilogue. Many books tie up loose ends using their characters within the story. Krueger closes the book with an epilogue that is written as if it is real life, recounting the story of each individual in the story to the end of their lives. No questions are left about the character’s lives. However, Krueger does not close the story on the flaws and merits which he flows continuously through the book. The life of every character is brought to a conclusion. Every flaw and merit is closed with the death of the sinner and saint. It is one of the strongest finishes to a book that I have ever read giving one the feeling the story is over and every aspect has been closed fully and properly.
This book may be a very enjoyable read for those who like their books to unwind slowly, with emotions revealed and characters being described fully, emotionally and psychologically. And the Alabaster flows endlessly, as do the flaws, foibles and merits of humanity.
An engaging and rewarding book for those who enjoy a book with intellectual, emotional and psychological layers.
