Peace Like a River

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Peace Like a River blends elements of Christian fiction, coming-of-age narrative, and Western adventure. How did this genre-blending approach affect your reading experience? Which elements resonated most strongly with you?

2. The novel opens with the memorable line, “From my first breath in this world, all I wanted was a good set of lungs and the air to fill them with” (1). How did this beginning set the tone for the rest of the story, and what were your initial impressions of Reuben as a narrator?

3. Reuben’s narration combines childhood innocence with adult reflection. How did his perspective shape your understanding of the story’s events? How does it compare to other child narrators you’ve encountered in literature, such as Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Reuben struggles with his role as a witness to his father’s miracles—and with keeping secrets from various family members. Have you ever been in a position where you had to decide between loyalty to different people you care about? How did you navigate that challenge?

2. Faith plays a central role in the Land family’s journey. How does your own relationship with faith or spirituality affect how you interpret the miraculous events that the book describes?

3. The Land family’s journey west in search of Davy reflects both physical and emotional challenges. What journey in your own life has tested your resilience in similar ways?

4. Swede processes her experiences through storytelling and writing her Sunny Sundown epic poem. What creative outlets have you used to make sense of difficult experiences in your life?

5. Roxanna Cawley enters the Land family’s life at a crucial moment, providing stability and care. Has someone ever entered your life unexpectedly and changed its course in a meaningful way?

6. Throughout the novel, Reuben observes how different characters cope with their limitations: He copes with asthma, Swede with her youth, and Davy with his fugitive status. How did their various coping mechanisms resonate with you, and which character’s approach felt most relatable?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Peace Like a River is set in the early 1960s Midwest but evokes the nostalgia and mythology of the Wild West. How does the novel’s portrayal of justice and outlaws reflect changing American attitudes toward law enforcement and vigilantism?

2. The novel explores different manifestations of justice—legal justice, vigilante justice, and divine justice. How do these concepts of justice reflect broader societal debates about crime and punishment?

3. Enger depicts both the warmth and the insularity of small-town life. How does the novel’s portrayal of community compare to your understanding of rural American communities today?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Enger uses biblical symbolism throughout the novel. How do symbols like Jeremiah’s walking on air, the miraculous pot of soup, and Reuben’s healing contribute to the book’s exploration of faith?

2. Swede’s Sunny Sundown epic parallels and foreshadows events in the main narrative, similar to how Melville uses the whale’s story to explore deeper themes in Moby Dick. How does this story-within-a-story technique enhance Peace Like a River’s themes and character development?

3. Enger uses breathing and asthma as a motif throughout the novel. How does this physical condition serve as both a literal and metaphorical element in Reuben’s journey?

4. The novel portrays the character of Jape Waltzer as embodying evil. How does his character function as a foil to Jeremiah, and what does this contrast reveal about the novel’s moral universe?

5. Reuben’s perspective as an adult looking back on his childhood experiences shapes the narrative voice. How does this retrospective viewpoint affect the reliability and emotional resonance of the story?

6. The novel explores different types of sacrifice, from Reuben’s $25 to Jeremiah’s ultimate sacrifice. How do these acts of sacrifice connect to the book’s exploration of love and redemption?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to continue Swede’s Sunny Sundown poem, what adventure would you create for the character, and how might it parallel potential futures for Davy?

2. Imagine that you could spend a day with one character from the novel. Who would you choose, what questions would you ask them, and what might you learn?

3. As the novel ends, it notes that Reuben maintains occasional contact with Davy in Canada. Create an alternate ending in which Davy returns to face justice. How might this ending have changed the trajectory of the other characters’ lives?

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