Sometimes I may just “wax poetic” because a book moves my heart, whether or not it’s a “great” book. We all have our guilty pleasures, and the overall quality may not matter as much as how much I fall in love with the hero or think the heroine could be a good friend. After all, I’m always going to cheer when Lynryd Skynryd breaks into “Sweet Home Alabama” (my home state) and melt whenever Han Solo comes flying out of the sun.

I’m just a softie.

If you’d like to suggest a book, I’m open, but I’m not going to be soliciting new releases. I only have 24 slots a year, and I want to feature books I love. Mostly new books, yes, and mostly inspirational fiction, but occasionally, I’ll indulge in a book of the heart. As a result, I want to start this with a book recommended by someone I respect a great deal, agent Sandra Bishop.

In a recent post on Chip MacGregor’s blog, Sandra made this comment: “And as much as I love Steinbeck, Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River replaced Tortilla Flats as my all-time favorite novel.”

Until that moment, I’d never heard of Mr. Enger’s book.

I had no idea what I was missing. I finished it a few weeks ago, and I barely waited for this post to gush about it. Not only is this a book of the heart; it’s a work of enduring quality that’s sure to entrance readers for generations to come.

The storyline is deceptively simple. Set in Minnesota during the early 1960s, the story follows its 11-year-old asthmatic narrator, Reuben Land, through a coming of age story that grows from the choices his family makes: mostly his eccentric, highly spiritual father’s decision to give up medicine for the life of a small-town school janitor and his older brother’s choice to take revenge on the town bullies then flee town.

Yeah, not my kind of tale. I never would have picked it up on my own. Good thing I value Sandra’s opinion.

Reading Peace Like a River is akin to diving into a wondrous world of unforgettable imagery, characters that imbed themselves skin and nail into your soul, and a tale that will make you believe in miracles all over again. I didn’t want it to stop, but Mr. Enger draws it to such a real, inevitable, and satisfying conclusion that I released it with a sigh. It’s a glorious reminder that “Christian worldview” isn’t a category. It’s a way of life; a way of telling your story that has as much to do with the author as the characters that emerge from the tale.

And it’s a first novel.

I share Sandra’s high opinion of the book (obviously), although I can honestly say it didn’t usurp the #1 book in my head. That place was grabbed when I was only 14 and never relinquished. Someday, I may talk about that one. For now, I can only offer up a book that will live long in the memory of anyone who slips between its covers.

Peace Like a River
Leif Enger
Paperback: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN-13: 978-0802139252
$13.95