Book Discussion Questions for "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger

1. The Library of Congress cataloging system has placed this book in the following subject areas: boys, Minnesota, fathers and sons, motherless families, brothers, and outlaws. How does this constellation of subject areas contribute to the unusual power of this book? What other books have similar constellations?
2. How does the stark upper Midwestern landscape contribute to the strength of this book? If the book were set in the South, for example, how might the drama differ? How does the presence or absence of a major role for landscape affect the way you relate to a book?
3. How does the book's time period contribute to the strength of the book? If the book were set today, how would the story unfold? How does the story relate to its time period?
4. How does time move throughout the story? Discuss the pacing of the story. Where are the places of slowness and the places where events happen with intense speed? What does the pace of the story contribute to its telling?
5. The book begins and ends with the appropriately named Land family hunting geese. What are the parallels between these scenes and other scenes where humans are hunted by other humans?
6. Do you think Davy Land's battle against Finch and Basco can be compared to the battle between David and Goliath? If so, how? Can someone like Davy be a hero and an outcast simultaneously? How can we justify Davy's behavior?
7. Both Roxanne and the young Land children grew up motherless. How does the absence of a mother affect the book? How would the pilgrimage to find Davy be different if his mother were part of the quest? What is the role of Sara, another motherless child?
8. Discuss Natty Bumppo, Butch Cassidy, and Zane Grey in the context of this book.
9. Compare Swede as a writer to Little Women's Jo. How is the craft of writing presented? How do youth, gender, and writing interact in these stories? What is similar and what is different?
10. Both Davy and Jape are murderers. Describe the ways in which the author has made one a sympathetic, forgivable character and the other exactly the opposite.
11. Why do Jeremiah's miracles seem to stop once the Lands encounter Roxanna?
12. Loyalty to the law versus loyalty to the family is a huge issue throughout the book; discuss this.
13. Swede's tale within a tale provides comic relief in a serious situation; how does the author accomplish this? How are embedded stories used in other books you have read recently?
14. Davy's situation is not resolved at the end of the book; we gain no real insight into his life and mind. Is this a flaw? Is Jape's violence realistic? Were you satisfied with the book's end? How else might the author have ended the book?

Created by Holly Carver, Paul Ingram, and Kristin Gerhard