...a deeply satisfying odyssey, a quest in search of self and home. Richly imagined and exceptionally well plotted and written, the novel is, most of all, a compelling, often haunting story that will captivate both adult and young adult readers.
... a heartfelt, true to life Depression-era story filled with courage, determination, and heroism ... a book you won't own. It will own you. Long, sprawling, and utterly captivating, readers will eat up every delicious word of it.
... not quite the book that William Kent Krueger’s fans expected, but it’s hard to imagine a better one ... a story that will stay with you long after you read the last page ... A reading of This Tender Land flows like the Mississippi River, which runs through the novel in a quiet backdrop. Although it takes place in a bygone era, the themes are contemporary, as occurs with the best of historical fiction, of which this book should certainly be included. You will not be disappointed with the story and will read it effortlessly from start to finish in a single sitting.
This is a picaresque tale of adventure during the Great Depression. Part Grapes of Wrath, part Huckleberry Finn, Krueger’s novel is a journey over inner and outer terrain toward wisdom and freedom ... The ending of the novel is beautiful and surprising and as satisfying as the original Odysseus’ return to Ithaca — although instead of that wayward traveler’s bloody vengeance our hero finds friendship, family and a miracle that makes sense given all that comes before. This is Kreuger’s 20th novel and his first stand-alone story since Ordinary Grace. Like Ordinary Grace, it is a compelling tale told through the eyes of a boy who translates the world in all its beauty and meanness and emerges hopeful on the other side.
In an author’s note at the end of the book, Krueger says he envisioned This Tender Land as 'an update of Huckleberry Finn,' and that antecedent is clear on almost every one of his briskly written pages ... Krueger’s writing is usually plain, although at times it wanders close to the purple prose boundary ... the tone and the story of the 1932 episodic river odyssey match nicely.
...[a] lively but heavy-handed adventure ... Krueger keeps the twists coming, and the constant threat of danger propels the story at a steady clip. Though overly sentimental prose...weakens the story’s impact, Krueger’s enjoyable riff on will satisfy fans of American heartland epics
