This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

This Tend Land has had many excellent reviews and was considered a novel similar to Where the Crawdads Sing. It is the story of four vagabonds who escape an incredibly hard life, only to embark upon a harder one. It was selected for the September selection for the Gables Book Club.

Odie, short for 12 year-old Odysseus, O'Banion and his older brother, Albert, have been orphaned and sent to live at the Lincoln School in Minnesota. Set in the throes of the great depression in 1932, the novel recounts the struggles of their summer and those of two other orphans, Emmy and Mose, a Sioux Indian. The Lincoln school was not one that was characterized by a loving and caring environment. Thelma and Clyde Brickman run the school and supposedly are responsive to the needs of those taken in for charitable reasons. Through a series of misfortunate events the four run away from the school after breaking into the Brickman's home and "kidnapping" Emmy and stealing the contents of the school safe. They set off in a canoe down the Minnesota River. Among the contents of the safe is a letter that Odie finds from his Aunt Julia, who lives in St. Louis. This discovery gives them a destination as their goal. Surely, they could live with her.  

From the Minnesota River to Mankato to St. Paul to St. Louis proves to be a dangerous and harrowing one for the children. It is filled with murder, revivals, revivalists, snake bites, childbirth, prejudice, a bit of young love, and some startling discoveries. It was certainly an odyssey for them, that fittingly concluded on Ithaca Street. The characters whom they meet along the way including Herman Volz, Sister Eve, Gertie, Mike Kelly, and the One-Eyed Jack, all are significant in moving the adventure along and contribute to the maturation of the protagonists. They all play a part in their realization of the importance of family, home, and forgiveness. Understanding that family is not just the blood relatives you know, but it also encompasses those with whom you connect.

Kreuger has written the novel from Odie's point of view. What makes it more compelling is that Odie writes it as an old man, with the ability to reflect on the events and understand their meaning with distance put between the occurrence and the penning of the book. He captures the voice of a 12 year-old in his writing at the same time allowing for that time of a different perspective. As an epilogue, he recounts what has happened to the four in the past 80 years, a technique that answered those questions that Krueger must have known would have lingered in the minds of his readers. It will be difficult to forget young Odie and his harmonica. A very enjoyable and well written read.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 There are some novels that hook a reader from the start. Such was the case of  Cummins' American Dirt. On the opening pages the reader witnesses the massacre of nearly an entire family who was celebrating a quinceañera with a backyard barbecue in Acapulco. Everyone was murdered except for a mother, Lydia, and her son, Luca, who were hiding in a bathroom. Realizing that their lives were in danger, they must flee the city to avoid being discovered by the drug cartel that was responsible for the murders. Fleeing means leaving the country undetected. This sets the plot line for the novel. 

When Oprah announced this as her book club pick, there was a major controversy surrounding its selection. The book tour by Cummins was canceled, but I never had read any of the debate regarding the subject matter. Consequently, I read the book without that knowledge or bias one way or the other.  I cannot judge the book by anything other than its story, realizing that it is a work of fiction. 

The reason for the massacre is revealed to be linked to an article that Lydia's husband, a journalist, has written that details the workings of the cartel's leader, Javier. Ironically enough, Javier is a friend of Lydia and the two have enjoyed conversations about book at the bookshop Lydia owns. With money that she has stashed away and her late mother's debit card, Lydia feels that they can make their way to El Norte and so the journey begins. They seek out a former roommate of her husband's and manage to get to Mexico City where they should be able to take a flight to the United States. However, without any identification for Luca, that plan is thwarted and they are forced to become migrants.

The journey that ensues is fraught with danger, uncertainty, and the necessity of courage. The two learn to hop trains, The Bestia, and to accept help from willing strangers. They become friends and companions with two sisters, Rebeca and Soledad, who are escaping a horrible sexual assaults because of their pulchritude. Other whom they meet during their escape are Lorenzo (possibly one of Javier's operatives), Beto, a ten year old suffering from asthma who is orphaned, and El Chacal, the coyote who will help them across the border for a hefty fee.

The writing is simple, but elegant in American Dirt. It is narrated in the third person, although occasionally Cummins interjects Luca's thoughts in to the telling. He is so precocious and it is the reader's good fortune to see how his brain is working. There is no way a reader can leave this book without feeling the horrific pain that must be endured for those who seek to come to the United States for asylum or to escape a life filled with fear and violence. There are two sides to every controversy and it is more than likely true about that debate regarding this book. It is fiction, but there need to be elements of truth for it to be read and believed. It is a story that will remain with the reader long after the last page is turned as the memory of the struggle and love of a mother for a child resonate in one's mind.