"The tale I am going to tell is of a summer long ago. Of killing and kidnapping and children pursued by demons of a thousand names. There will be courage in this story and cowardice. There will be love and betrayal. And, of course, there will be hope. In the end, isn't that what every good story is about?"
And so begins twelve year old Odie's powerful saga of adventure, of longings, of survival, of kindness, of evil, of friendship, of adversity, and of course, hope. In the summer of 1932, four desperate orphans race away from a place of terror and abuse, the Lincoln Indian School, set on the banks of the Gilead River in Minnesota. Along with adventuresome Odie and his more sensible older brother Albert, they bring along their best friend Mose as well as heartbroken little Emmy (who had recently lost her mother). As these self titled "Vagabonds" begin their journey, their sole purpose is in fleeing to the Mississippi River and heading south; not really having a clear purpose or destination, just to get away from the oppression they had been under and a deadly accident that had occurred. Literally running for their lives, none of the children have any idea what dangers they might encounter in that stolen canoe, or if they have the fortitude to survive on their own.
After publishing "Ordinary Grace" in 2013, William Kent Krueger followed with a manuscript somewhat related to that novel which he entitled "This Tender Land". However, after some consideration, he abandoned the project to begin again with a different concept. This extraordinary tale is the result of that re-write. Kudos to this author who knew when to "abandon ship" and pick up the pieces in a different way. It says something to me about Krueger and how he develops his characters to also "pick up the pieces" when they run into adversity. Adversity shows up in many forms to these wanderers as America is digging out of the effects of the Great Depression. They had already experienced it in the treatment of the Indian children being stolen away from their parents and sent to the orphanage. The children also saw adversity in the many communities along the Mississippi, where tent cities had sprung up - Hoovervilles for the homeless. They saw it in the anger and bitterness of many who turned to drink or crime, and the Vagabonds were sometimes the recipients of that rage. But they were also the recipients of grace and love from strangers who had overcome adversity and chosen a different way to walk through it. Some would call this the American Spirit. Others refer to it as the grace and healing of God.
Any real adventure involves change when adversity hits and circumstances shift. As the Vagabonds travel, their friendship with one another evolves. They drift apart, then draw close. They work together to formulate a plan to get to relatives in St. Louis. They lean on one another, then open their circle and begin to trust others. They take risks. They grow up. Odie realizes this as he muses, "It began to feel to me as if what had been broken was coming together again, but I knew it would never be exactly the same. With every turn of the river, we were changing, becoming different people, and for the first time I understood that the journey we were on wasn't just about getting to Saint Louis".
Hoping we all have the ability to face our summer adventures from Odie's wise perspective!
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