Book Notes | This Tender Land
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger is an epic coming-of-age story set in Minnesota during the summer of 1932. Krueger, a masterful storyteller, takes the reader on a mesmerizing journey to follow the adventures of four vagabond children who escape the abusive horrors of the Lincoln Indian Training School and sneak away in a canoe across the state to reach the Mississippi River in search of a home.
The narrator is a gifted storyteller and harmonica player named Odie O’Banion. In his 80s, he looks back on his life at the boarding school, and the heartbreaking events, places, and people the four children endured as they canoed that fateful summer when Odie was 12 going on 13.
Accompanied by his older brother Albert, a mute Sioux Indian boy called Mose, and Emmy, a sweet young orphan girl, Odie tells tales of evangelist tent revivals, faith healers, shantytowns, Dust Bowl farm closures, and lost souls. The children come across Sister Eve and her traveling tent revivals, where she holds nightly meetings that conclude with a call for the afflicted to come forward to be healed. Sister Eve changes their lives, but ultimately they move on.
Camping near a makeshift “Hooverville,” the children meet people devastated by the Great Depression, and Odie meets his first true love. As the river takes them into St. Paul, they discover discrimination of another sort and find their fates changing once again. Throughout the novel the boys are pursued by the law and the superintendent of the Lincoln Indian Training School for escaping and kidnapping Emmy.
Krueger has called this his Huckleberry Finn. Evoking Twain, Dickens, and Homer, this novel tells a story of faith, soul, and hope. UMRA Book Club members unanimously enjoyed reading it and said this book was a page-turner they couldn’t put down. While several felt some of the stories were implausible, others felt this is a book that invites you to go with the flow—like the river it is set on. Educational, this is a must read.
—Mary Jane Towle, UMRA Book Club I member
Book Club I to meet October 21
Fri, Oct 21 2022, 2pm
Mary Jane Towle will lead the discussion of This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 21.
Email Pat Tollefson for more information, including suggestions for starting a new book club.
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.