Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

This book was a delight, with just a tinge of darkness. I love Enger's writing--he's amazing in his imagery and word choices, not to mention his wonderful characters who are quirky and fascinating. Here's an example from page 173: "Ellen was working things through. One week she'd show up plain as a hymnal, eyes cast down and her hair yanked back; the next she arrived in glitter and paint, short and bright as a puffin." 

The narrator in this book is hapless and humble. Bordering on crazy and slightly worried about that. His voice is very similar to the narrator in Enger's other two books. Very lovable and vulnerable. He has crashed his car into Lake Superior and rides around the dying town on an old Schwinn. He loves from afar and when this love is returned, he can barely believe it.

One image and character I really enjoyed in this book is the Norwegian Rune. He builds and flies kites. And Enger describes them so beautifully that you want to see them. He describes flying them as a transformative experience--you want to go fly a kite. There's a surreal almost spiritual quality to both Rune and Virgil. It's interesting to notice Enger's feelings about God and faith. In his first book (Peace Like a River), it's evident the narrator son is amazed by the goodness and faith and power of his father. In his second book (So Brave, Young and Handsome) there's a feeling the narrator is not relying on or expecting help from God. It's more about goodness and evil and persistence... And in this story, the character of Adam Leer is thoroughly evil and is pitted against Virgil. I wonder what Enger is trying to tell me...

The small dying town of Greenstone, Minnesota is well- but depressingly-described. I love the setting of cold Lake Superior and the proximity of Duluth, having visited there last summer. I related to and enjoyed the descriptions of that very beautiful yet isolated part of the country. 

I really love Enger's word choices. They are beautifully simple but evocative. I enjoy his characters, even though some of them scare me. His stories and settings are charming, yet there's a darkness that creeps in...but the light prevails. I like that. I don't read to explore darkness...but maybe it's useful to consider its complexity and counterpoint to goodness and light.