:: siringo ::

Well, I finished So Brave, Young, and Handsome, and just as I expected, I fell in love with Leif Enger's characters once again. I will admit this book starts out slower than Peace Like a River, but I promise that if you stick with it, you'll be hard-pressed to put the book down, dying to know just how Glendon's and Monte's journey ends.

As I read So Brave, Young, and Handsome, I was thrilled to find a subtle nod to Peace Like a River in this description of Charles Siringo:

"His sentiments for the most part were vengeful and emerged from experiences so long at a simmer that he spoke in what amounted to strong verse about those who had wronged him. I was surprised to learn he had been fired by the Pinkerton Agency years before; he gave an eloquent screed on the decayed character of Allan Pinkerton, whose 'spine went missing at birth.' To a cowardly pard who had fled gunfire he gave a scorching epitaph. Strangely his softest words were for certain of the outlaws he had hunted: Butch Cassidy, whom he never saw in the flesh through four years of pursuit; the surgeon and gentleman gunsmith Howard Cawley, whose talent for baking cinnamon rolls made him welcome at Hole in the Wall; and Glendon, whom Siringo referred to as 'that gentle bastard.'"
[pages 148-149]

I think Leif Enger should share the exact cinnamon roll recipe, don't you?

And, I'm proud to say that my husband is finally reading Peace Like a River (after I bugged him to death). He now understands why I'm so geeked up about Enger's stories. Johnny is reading quite fast, and loves Swede's poems.