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Author brings his 'Tale' to vivid life
Ben Beagle, Daily News Lifestyles Editor
PERRY - Author Leif Enger read from several chapters of his novel, Peace Like a River , and shared the personal stories that influenced them during the final program for "A Tale for Three Counties."
About 75 people came to the auditorium of the Perry Elementary/School for the talk and book signing sponsored by the Perry Public Library.
Enger had previously presented programs at Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia and Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina. For those programs he talked about his personal reading history and the writing process before reading a few pages.
Saturday, he played the role of a storyteller.
"I don't like to hear my own voice repeat itself too often," said Enger , who still managed to relay much of the information of the earlier talks through anecdotes and a question-and-answer session.
The nearly three-hour event marked the end of the community reading project "A Tale for Three Counties." The project, which involved libraries in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, asked people to read the book, discuss it with others and then talk about it with the author.
Peace Like a River is a story told in retrospect by Reuben Land, an asthmatic 11-year-old, who looks back as an adult on a turbulent few months in his family's life. Reuben's older brother, Davy, is accused of murder. When Davy escapes from jail, Reuben, his miracle-producing father, and cowboy poetry-writing younger sister, travel across rural Minnesota and the Bandlands of the Dakotas to find him.
"I cherished this book. The chance to meet the author was a joy," said Shirley Gannet of Victor, who traveled to Perry with two other women from Victor Free Library, where a book discussion group featured Peace Like a River last fall. (Victor is part of the Pioneer Library System, which includes libraries in Wyoming County.)
Enger , wearing an earth-toned sport coat over a black, corporate casual buttoned shirt and blue jeans, started reading from page one - the difficult birth of his novel's narrator. The author said that experience was close to the birth of his mother and her twin brother 77 years ago. His mother, born first, also had difficulty breathing and was given little chance of survival by the doctor.
Enger used sections of poetry from Reuben's sister in telling how his own mother instilled a love of poetry and adventure stories in him.
His parents, who grew up during the Depression, also experienced Christmases that were like the Land family's Christmas where there was no tree and no presents "except maybe an orange on Christmas morning," Enger said.
"I grew up wondering how I would have handled that," he said.
Another section featured one of the book's miracles. When the family gets an unexpected visitor - a common occurrence for the Enger s, the author said - the Land children are concerned that there is not enough soup. Yet somehow, after a dozen or so bowls are eaten the pot remains half full.
"At first I was a little turned off by the miracles in the book, but as I got to the end I could see how it all tied in to the story," said Deborah Vosburgh of Silver Springs.
Enger changed the rhythm of the words and inflection of character voices as he read. He saved his strongest, most consistent tones for Reuben.
"He showed his storytelling qualities," said Carolyn Anderson of Perry. "I could close my eyes and listen as he read and it sounded like he was just telling me the story. He made it come alive."
Courtesy of Batavia Newspapers Corporation