What I’m reading

Last week I read William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land. A terrific read! I’m no book reviewer, and I’ll leave it to you to do a search for one. There are many, I’m sure. But here are a few of my thoughts. The story is set in the summer of 1932, at the height of the Great Depression. In Minnesota, four young orphans – three boys and a little girl – run away from an oppressive institution and set out by canoe for St. Louis and what they hope will be a new home.

Along the way they face loads of obstacles, meet up with interesting characters, and find much of what they were looking for.

Book reviewers and critics have compared Krueger’s book to The Grapes of Wrath and Huckleberry Finn, true Americana stories. Here’s what I think. I don’t like comparing a book to another. They all stand alone, in my mind. Of course, similarities abound in the book world. And of course, writing coaches will encourage authors to find comparable books to align their own with, to help attract readers.

A number of years ago, when my wife and I were starting out on our writing careers, we flew from New York to Nashville to interview David Malloy. Malloy is an award-winning record producer. We spent time with him in his studio. He proudly introduced us to a young singer/songwriter, Anthony Crawford, whom he was helping get started in the world of country music. Malloy played tracks for us from the music they were working on. 

I commented that I liked his music. I said that his voice and style reminded me of another established country singer (whose name I have forgotten). Malloy came down hard on me. Don’t compare a singer to another singer, he said. It’s an insult. Each one stands (or falls) on their own.

Good advice, I think. Sure, it’s easy to compare, to find similarities. But for sure, let each artist stand on their own.

Krueger’s book, to close, offers a gleam of hope, a pinpoint of light, in what has become an increasingly dark world. A book well worth reading. A book destined to find its own place in American literature.