I echo the comments made -- this is a good read with chortles where you'd least expect them. Lake Wobegon in the rust belt, where all adults have two jobs, where teenagers are waiting to leave, (famous people, including Bob Dylan have already left) . Legends that may be true, mysteries waiting to be solved, a host of fascinating characters and surprises.

Highly recommended by BookBub & gets excellent reviews

Virgil Wander, the city clerk and theater owner in a small North Shore Minnesota town, tells the story of a few months when an unlikely stranger comes to town. Wonderful characters, pitch perfect prose. Deserves all the praise it’s gotten.

A dreamy, meandering, melancholy novel told in the style of magical realism. The novel is not action driven but rather explores the quirky and heartfelt characters. The prose is skillful and satisfying.

I would love to have a conversation with this man of phrases such as "a magician's bouquet of vibrant regrets". The story could be ho hum written by anyone else.
"The surface of everything is thinner than we know. A person can fall right through, without any warning at all."

Virgil Wander wakes up in the hospital in Duluth after his Pontiac has careened into the icy waters of Lake Superior. He looks at his life anew now. Should he sell his beloved Empress theater that only draws a few teenagers a week , and leave this dying old mining town? Well, a mysterious kite-flying Norwegian, looking for traces of his long lost son, shows up and life take an almost magical twist. Leif Enger deeply loves the Mid-West: he has the ability to take ordinary, tough events in life and reframe them to reveal the marvelous and mystical. His book Peace Like a River is my all time favorite.

Mr. Enger has a gentle style with Minnesota stories that remind me of Jon Hassler. ( If you want to read one of the best books ever, choose "Staggerford".) His development of characters is excellent. I recommend this book. Kristi & Abby Tabby

Mr. Enger has a gentle style with Minnesota stories that remind me of Jon Hassler. ( If you want to read one of the best books ever, choose "Staggerford".) His development of characters is excellent. I recommend this book. Kristi & Abby Tabby

Enger writes beautiful prose. This is a relaxing quirky story but the ending seemed disjointed from the feel of the novel. Not much of story, magical realism and nice characters.

A New & Noteworthy Best of 2018 pick. Written with love, care, and a bit of whimsy, the inhabitants of a small Minnesota town bordering on Lake Superior come to life. Enger’s first book after 10 years is a joy to read.