This Tender Land

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Because I live in a city that’s more concrete than grass, I sometimes go weeks without spending time in nature—which means I fantasize about tossing my phone down a subway grate and setting off into the woods a lot. As this is neither practical (I have no outdoorsy skills) nor feasible (the woods are very far away), I like turning to the next best thing: books set in the great outdoors. Give me a character canoeing down a river, or a vivid description of changing fall leaves, and I am, shall we say, a happy camper. Book review: 'This Tender Land' a harrowing Depression-era coming-of-age tale". Sun Sentinel . Retrieved 2022-08-05. Moreover, I was moved by their adventures in their journey. They escaped the brutal Indian School, and met other dangers, but through it all they strengthened their bonds. This book had a lot of heart!

In the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota’s Gilead River, Odie O’Banion is an orphan confined to the Lincoln Indian Training School, a pitiless place where his lively nature earns him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee after committing a terrible crime, he and his brother, Albert, their best friend, Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own. For your next book club gathering, plan to meet somewhere outdoors and go on an adventure whether by foot or canoe. Discuss with your group what you notice about the landscape around you. How is the Midwestern landscape a part of Odie’s story and what connections to This Tender Land can you make to your own life and the place that you live?

This Tender Land

The author is a wonderful storyteller, the prose is beautiful, the characters well-developed and engaging, and the setting and time period of the Depression years were brought to life. But the story is a long one, my interest flagged, and I found myself fighting the urge to skim. The overall message is heavy-handed and the story took on a farcical fairy tale quality with too many unlikely scenarios and coincidences. The novel centers around two young brothers and their two friends, a mute American Indian and a sweet-hearted girl with a mysterious gift. Sister Eve says to Odie that the only prayer she knows will absolutely be answered is a prayer for forgiveness. What do you think she means by this? Who are the people whom Odie needs to forgive, and for what reasons? This is the moving, heart-wrenching journey of four Native American children, narrated by Odie O’Banion who was just 12 years old but mature enough to take this long journey and a talented story-teller. Other children were Albert, Mose who can only communicate by singing and another gifted, lovely character (Indeed after Odie, she became my favorite, it was impossible to adore her attributes)Emmy.

Characters: These four children! :::::sigh::::: I cared about their well being, wanted to protect them, and cheered for them to find a forever home. They have a common goal to escape their dire circumstances at the Lincoln School, but they each have individual struggles, too. The story also features a cast of colorful and memorable (some unlikeable) supporting characters. Dead, that’s where. He is no longer present to read you stories. The stories you hear now are the ones I tell you. And they mean just what I say they mean. Do you understand me?” The story follows the group as they make a narrow escape from the school after an accidental crime is committed and set out for a new home, making their journey down the Mississippi river. Along the way they encounter drifters, struggling farmers, and faith healers. What follows is a series of adventures and missteps with the children, underfinanced and out-resourced, often relying on the intermittent kindness of strangers as they make their way slowly toward St. Louis by way of Nebraska. Their aim is to locate Aunt Julie, a relative who Odie barely remembers but who apparently sent money to the school for the boys --- money that they never saw. There are many surprises along the way, but none so great as when Odie reaches his final destination, and a chain-link series of events change everything for him. a book you won't own. It will own you. Long, sprawling, and utterly captivating, readers will eat up every delicious word of it.”

Study Pack

William Kent Kruger’s This Tender Land is an epic adventure, a story that takes us on a journey through one boy’s Depression-blighted summer of 1932. Fans of historical fiction will love this well-researched tale.” Mose is able to keep an upbeat demeanor despite enduring cruelties himself and seeing them at the Lincoln Indian Training School. When he stumbles on the remains of a young Indian boy something is triggered in him. Why do you think this particular incident draws out a darkness in Mose that the other things didn’t? Did you think Forrest was a friend or foe to Mose during that time? a b c "It's no mystery why William Kent Krueger's latest is one of the fall's most anticipated books. Everybody loves this guy". Twin Cities. 24 August 2019. Klara and The Sun: A keen Artificial Friend named Klara closely observes humans in a store, yearning for a true connection. However, she’s cautioned against putting too much trust in human promises, raising the profound inquiry: what does love truly entail? Themes: Thoughtful themes in This Tender Land include found family, survival, searching for safety and home, loyalty, friendship, helping others, homelessness, generosity, bravery, faith, reconciliation, and healing.