Virgil Wander is a lucky man. He survives flying his car into a lake and gets to come home to wonderful friends (and strangers) in his little town of Greenstone. Reading this book was like a comfortable walk with your oldest friends. Lots of great characters. But at times I felt lost and confused. I really think I need to read this book a second time to fully appreciate everything that was happening. My favorite parts were Virgil gaining use of more adjectives as well as becoming a stronger more confidant person. His love story with Nadine was definitely a highlight. Nune and his kites were another unique storyline that I enjoyed. I almost wish there could have been drawings to accompany the descriptions.

3.5 stars for its beautiful, lyrical imagery. I just wanted a bit more from the story.
You have all of these great quirky characters, some of their storylines seem complete and satisfactory, but others don't.
Maybe this book is just a bit too contemplative for me at this point, but I can see that it will be well-liked. Overall the plot and characters are great and the writing is stellar. It's just a little slow at times and didn't quite give me the feelings I was expecting.
Many of the characters I loved--Virgil, Nadine, Bjorn, Rune and they will stay with me for a long time.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Virgil Wander survives a near death experience. Awakening, he begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of affable and curious locals.

Reading is slower paced, so be sure you take the time to savor the book. Another reviewer compared the pacing as a 'quiet tugging to read more' and that seems a very appropriate comparison.

3.25 ☆

This book for me was definitely a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for the writing. I longed to read this new book by the author of “Peace Like a River” which I probably hand sold to hundreds of people. Did I love this book, no I did not, but I liked it. Here’s why:

As you know from the blurb and extensive reviews Virgil Wander is the main protagonist in this book and the story is told from his point of view. We begin with Virgil recovering from a near drowning after his car crashed through a barrier into lake Superior in icy water. Fortunately there was a local man who routinely looks for interesting items washed ashore who saw the accident, called the police and Virgil was saved. He has a concussion but is slowing getting his words and ambulation back.

As he is at his home which is above the Empress theater which he owns a curious man appears, his name is Rune and he is a kite making, kite flying master. He has recently discovered that he had a son who lived in town but that son has been missing after flying his solo airplane across the Lake. He does however have a grandson and daughter in law whom is trying to get to know as well as asking everyone in town about his lost son and what he was like.

There are so many characters in this book it can make your head hurt. There is the young attractive widow, Nadine, whom Virgil has loved from afar for ages; another orphaned young man 10 years old, Galen, who is determined to catch a mythical sized sturgeon whom he believes pulled his father into the water where he drowned. There is a towner, Adam Leer, who “made it big” as a filmmaker and has come back to spruce up his ancestral home, he may or may not be a “bad guy” since many bad things happen to people with whom he has disagreements. Jerry is a down and out guy whose marriage is floundering and is out of work. We see some hope for him when Adam gives him a job, but is this a good situation??? Where is this character really headed?

The list of characters goes on and on. If that weren’t enough there are also racoons, ravens and sturgeons to account for. The book for me felt like it meandered on and on. I grew frustrated with the slow progress of the story yet I stuck with it because of the beautiful writing.

I’m surprised that not many reviewers have mentioned all of the symbolism used by Mr. Enger, as he did in his previous books. Kites are symbols of prophecy and fate, also a wandering spirit. Black Ravens are symbolic of good prophecy. A man walking on water can either symbolize death or in Christian views, Jesus, walking on water, a sign of life. The most obvious use of symbolism was Lake Superior frequently referred to as the “sea” which is highly symbolic and from research I found this: “Usually, 'the sea' is used as a symbol in literature to represent life and its hardships. The sea, with its daunting width and depth, simply stands for life itself. It may be quite calm, but it become raging and even deadly in an instant, with the waves representing the sudden obstacles life throws our way”.

That description of the sea is exactly what this book is about, life itself and how people deal with it’s ups and downs. I don’t really think this book is about small towns as I live in Wisconsin and have never encountered a small town or it’s inhabitants like this one. I really would classify this entire book as magical realism if it was my choice.

I would recommend this book to someone who is willing to sit and read for long periods of time and has patience, with the story and the characters. I am looking forward to meeting this author in town next month and listening to what he has to say about the writing of this novel and what is all means.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through Net Galley

Will post to Amazon upon release.

I am clearly in the minority on Virgiil Wander. This book for me was a very slow read - it took me a few weeks to get it read. I really enjoyed the author's character development however - I thought that he created original interesting and quirky characters. That being said - I normally tend to read more mysteries and thrillers - so I don't want to sway anyone away from reading it due to my opinion. I thank NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A wonderfully quiet, contemplative book about a small, chilly, Minnesota town on the coast of Lake Superior, where everyone knows everyone else, the town has a history of hard luck, and a man named Virgil Wander runs the Empress, an old movie theater that sees 8 ticket sales on decent open nights. But more than all of this, the book is about the interior lives we live, how we think about the greater world even when we haven't seen it, how we set ourselves within our own lives, and how we experience peace-of-mind - whether by flying kites in the snow, taking naps under a stormy sky, surfing on a freezing, wave-less lake, or eating fresh-baked bread and a roasty Guinness for breakfast. Everything about this book was quiet, and a bit melancholy, but in the best way. It made me wish for a moment in a different, more quiet life - one where I knew how to fly elaborate kites and not be afraid of icy driving.

Leif Enger is an extraordinary storyteller. His voice is unique and wonderful and his stories walk a delicate line between the universal human experience and the magical realm. Virgil Wander is a simple man inhabiting a simple life, and then he dies. Except that he doesn't die, fate intervenes in the form of a salvage yard operator who happens to be nearby when Virgil's car sails through the car and into the lake. When Virgil wakes up, he isn't quite himself anymore. It starts with adjectives, but continues into village lore, a mysterious kite artist and returned villain who seems to know more about mysterious disappearances than it would first appear.
Virgil Wander is a charmingly understated lovely book that charts the course of a man reorganizing his life in ways more familiar to his emerging self and in turn, reorganizing the known patterns and behaviors of the townspeople around him. Filled with quirky, compelling characters this is the perfect story get lost in, and then perhaps find yourself as well.

Virgil Wander
By Leif Enger
2018
Grove Books

When movie-house owner, Virgil Wander flies off the slippery winter roads into an icy Lake Superior, he is lucky to be alive, but his language skills and memory are changed and its a reality he must face. Slowly he begins to improve and show progress, beginning the the process of piecing together his past. He pretends to remember old friends in the town of Greenstone, Minnesota he has always called home, with the help of his sister, Orry and long time friend, Tom Beeman.

Greenstone, Minnesota, near Duluth, is a small industrial city, whose biggest events include fishing, baseball and watching old classic movies on reel-to-reel projector in the towns movie house.
"Greenstone was full of people who could make you sad just strolling into view."

Virgil befriends various eccentric local residents. Rune, a pipe-smoking kite builder/ flyer who is investigating the disappearance of his son, Alec. Nadine, Alec's wife. Marcus Jetty, owner of the Greenstones bike shop who saw Virgils'
accident happen and the Pea family. All begin to believe he may be the one to bring this small industrial town a revival.
"Memorys' oldest trick is convincing us of its accuracy"

This is a charming book with a wide cast of loveable characters and intriguing sub-plots. The characters stories and the imagery is engrossing and rewarding. I enjoyed this from start to finish and will be recommending.
Many thanks to #netgalley, Leif Enger and Grove Press for sharing this pre-release book.

Again, Mr. Enger has written a story rich in words that makes you wish you were living in the book with all of the characters. I will be telling many readers to get this book.

I found this to be a wonderfully lyrical book filled with memorable characters. I enjoyed the Midwestern setting and the town felt a bit like my own small town growing up. I read Leif Enger's first book "Peace Like a River" as part of a One Book initiative years ago, so when Is saw that he had a new book out, I was excited to read it.

I liked the flawed character of Virgil Wander, he is a town clerk and also owns the movie theater in town, the Empress. His character has a spectacular car crash into Lake Superior as the book opens and that seems to change his outlook on life. We are introduced to the wonderfully quirky character, Rune, who is in town searching for clues about his son and is a kite maker. These kites sound spectacular and seem to run the show with the town people who fly them. There is a romance that develops and many relationships that are so realistic the characters seem to step out of the book. I want to go watch a matinee at the Empress with them.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy strong character driven stories.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #atlanticmonthlypress for a free copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Kite flying ... nostalgic film references ... film reels .... small town independent theaters .... Lake Superior .... a midwest town down on its luck .... quirky characters .... splashes of humor ... and a touch of magical realism make Virgil Wander a remarkable and memorable story.

Leif Enger's devoted fans have long anticipated his new release, Virgil Wander, as it's been several years since Enger's well-known 2002 title, Peace Like a River. Enger is an exquisite writer, and he fills this well written, quiet, character driven story with an eclectic mix of quirky characters and an astounding assortment of vocabulary (a great deal of which I had to look up!). Since I'm a fast reader, I had to slow my pace in order to savor the writing and ponder the phrases. Virgil Wander is not a book to power through. Because every sentence is packed with meaning, I found that it worked best for me to read it in chunks and then set it aside for an hour or an evening and pick it up fresh.

Enger creates an amazing sense of place as readers are introduced to a small, upper midwestern town on the shores of Lake Superior, north of Duluth, Minnesota as well as its various, colorful characters. The town, Greenstone, and the main character, Virgil Wander, are both struggling. Greenstone is on the decline and has experienced so much tough luck that it eventually creates a festival called "Hard Luck Days." The story opens one snowy afternoon with Virgil's rescue after he drives accidentally (?) off a cliff and submerges his car into Lake Superior. Virgil, surviving with a mild brain injury, returns to his former life feeling like a tenant and lives above the decrepit Empress theater which he owns and manages. Virgil's life begins to change when Rune, a friendly Norwegian man, comes to town with his creative and extravagant kites. He has "a hundred merry crinkles at his eyes and a long-haul sadness in his shoulders." Rune seeks to reconcile his grief over a son he never knew who has mysteriously disappeared while Virgil attempts to regain his memory, his equilibrium, and his vocabulary, and suffers silently with romantic feelings towards Rune's son's beautiful widow, Nadine. Rune and Virgil become friends and affect some positive changes in the town and help many of the town folk. Virgil finds joy in flying Rune's kites:

"As a kid I'd enjoyed kites, but only in the usual way of kids, losing interest once they were airborne and manageable. Now I thought of flying daily, hourly. I didn't hold the string so much as comb it, and once flying I felt small and unencumbered, as if the moving sky were home and I'd been misplaced down here. Maybe I wanted the broad reach, as Lou Chandler had said. That great wide open."

Many sentimental moments involve Rune and Virgil rewatching old classic movies at the Empress theater, also providing an accepting and comforting gathering place for an assortment of their friends. There are too many sub plots to address in a review, but many of the story lines involve the reinvention of the town and Virgil.

A masterful writer, Enger includes themes such as loss, rebuilding a life (and a town), taking a risk ("[The kite] broke the line and caught the next gust out of town. A perilous beautiful move, choosing to throw yourself at the future, even if it means one day coming down in the sea."), friendship, finding yourself ("For a man named Wander I'd spent a long time in one place."), family, love, community, and drawing a wider circle ("Your tribe is always bigger than you think."). Greenstone, the town's name, is symbolic and thematic, too: (Wikipedia) "Greenstone is the state gem of Michigan, found along Lake Superior. It is a mineral found in basalt, a volcanic rock. The Ely greenstone found in MN is basalt that has been metamorphosed; that is, volcanic rock which under pressure has been changed into a new form."

Recommended for fans of literary fiction and for fans of sentences like these:

"This he stated in a flattened voice like a wall build hastily to conceal ruins." or "He had the heartening build of the aging athlete defeated by pastry."

Recommended for readers who love character driven stories, important themes, and the thoughtful descriptions of ordinary people and their circumstances, for all who are searching for thoughtful content, for vocabulary enthusiasts, and, of course, for devoted fans of Peace Like a River.

4.5 Stars

Few authors touch the heart the way Enger does. He has created a story that won’t soon be forgotten with his superb writing style and beautiful prose. Not many can capture the essence of small town America as Enger can. A town that is past its prime and dying a slow death. This book is quirky, endearing and very much character driven. Each character is strong in their own right and as the last pages are turned it’s like saying good bye to dear, old friends. Immerse yourself in this story of Virgil Wander. Savor each and every word. Enjoy the imagery and the whimsy of this fine tale. It’s been ten long years since Enger’s last novel. Far too long a time. My hope is that we will not have to wait nearly as long for the next one.

Summary:

      After his car went over a cliff, Virgil is saved by the local scavenger.  His health is frayed, but what seems to upset him more is that is memory is shot.  While he remembers a lot of people, he doesn't always- or not completely.  Words fail him- which is a terrible thing for a man that prides himself on his precise description.

Then there's a stranger, Rune, who is the lost father of the man that disappeared 10 years ago- come to town after learning of the son he never knew in hopes of learning who the man was.   The man and his hand made kite's call to something in Virgil and he finds himself becoming close to him.

And the missing man's son, Bjorn.  A teen now with his own passions and ambitions, wanting to make a life of his own- be more than "that man's son".

Nadine- the gorgeous, enigmatic widow raising her son as she sends suitors away.

Gavin- the Tom Sawyer-esk youth who hates school, loves fishing, and is far too intent on the status of his manhood.

These characters and more pull at Virgil, move him as he strives to take control of his life and his aging theater.

My thoughts:

There have been several books in my life that I loved beyond reason.  This is going to be  one of them.  Virgil was a fantastic character that I couldn't help but root for.  His pain quickly became mine, and his mistakes more easy for me to forgive because I loved him so much.  With gorgeous, sometimes whimsical descriptions and a steady pace, this book wasn't a fast read, but one that you lingered over; chuckling over a turn of phrase or sighing over a declaration.  I filled page after page of quotes and character quirks.  It was part imaginative imagery seen in the likes of Isabel Allede's Eva Luna, married with the quirk of small town living found in Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.  Both are favorites of mine and I could not fail to be charmed  by a book that could incorporate what was magical about each.

Another thing I loved was seeing the different characters grow and change through Virgil's eyes.  There was a lot of growth in almost all characters without ever derailing from the story being about Virgil- his life and observations.  Gavin, especially went from a young Tom Sawyer-type imp to a strong man-boy with a fishy arch nemesis.  I loved these characters, and was sad to see the final page.  For me, this is a five star book.  

As far as the adult content goes there's some language and light substance abuse, nothing major.  I would give it a four.  It's geared toward adults but an older teen might like it.

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Grove Press in exchange for an honest review.  My thanks!  I loved it so much that I have preordered the hardback novel from Amazon (get ready for a second post with quotes and a lot of gushing).

The book comes out 10-02-2018.  Who's excited?

When a fatal car accident doesn’t kill you, and your past comes back in varying ways, it changes your outlook and attitude on life a bit. To put it mildly. A story of evolving humanity and relationships, with a hard look at who Virgil once was, and the person he has become. Detailed with a storytelling knack, Enger takes us through Virgil and his peers’ trials.

What a wonderful story of finding yourself! Beautifully written, evoking a sense of caring, time and place long past. Yet still of the present. Very well developed characters. I cared so much for Rune, his sense of loneliness and having nothing to give to the future until his discovery of a child born many years ago and hidden from him. Can’t recommend this book highly enough.

This is a story of missing persons, quirky small town decay and revival, fathers and sons, and the search for what has been lost. It's a cozy fall read with its chilly setting up on the North Shore of Lake Superior and its kind of film noir vibe.

Most of the book reads quietly and somewhat meanderingly with a lot of moving parts it takes awhile to put together, but hold onto your hat towards the end. It took some turns I wasn't expecting! I thoroughly enjoyed the author's style and unexpected word choice.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital ARC!

I've always thought that if I had to live in the mid-west, the northern part like Minnesota would suit me. I love cold weather and all things Scandinavian. Leif Enger created such a town, Greenstone, and placed Virgil Wander there. Virgil is the opposite of his name. He is content to be in this small town where barely anything happens. He owns a run-down movie theater called The Empress, and he works part-time as a city clerk.

On a cold wintry night Vigil's car slides off the highway and hang-glides into Lake Superior. Virgil survives but with some memory and speech deficits that change his life. At about that time, an old man appears in town. His name is Rune, and he makes unique kites that ride the wind like nothing anyone has ever seen. Rune is from Norway, and he has come to find the son he never knew he had. This event begins the patchwork of a deeply felt story about many of Virgil's friends and people he loves in Greenstone.

Life may be annoying in a rundown forgotten post-industrial town, but each inhabitant has a beating heart and a desire to connect with others and to find a
special spark that makes each day worth the toil and pain of having to live with the past. LE has written a story for the soul and the heart. Even if you live in a beating metropolis of a global city, Virgil's story will make you think and hope for a better day for us all.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

I do believe this is my favourite book so far this year. It's a light yet not frivolous read full of quirky likable characters, and the author clearly loves words in I way I usually associate with the Irish! I was not aware of Leif Enger's work previously, but I will be checking out his earlier titles pronto.

This book is one of those books that I just wanted to crawl inside of to stay awhile. The main character, Virgil Wander, survives a car accident but has some amnesia, and he is just not the same person he was prior to the accident. As Virgil pieces his life back together, we journey into his small town; we get to know all of its inhbitants as Virgil forges new relationships with those who he has lived among for years. There is a little bit of a mystery that Virgil becomes involved with, as well, which gives the story momentum at the end. This is a charming story, and I felt as if I really knew these characters--they were so lifelike. I highly recommend this one! Thank you #negalley for this ARC of #VirgilWander

Sometimes you just need a break from today's headlines. Leif Enger has solved that problem in the creation of Virgil Wander. Virgil, the central character, is just recovering from a nearly catastrophic car plunge into the lake waters of Greenstone ,Minnesota. He runs the local Empress theatre although in their depressed economy he barely makes ends meet. However, the Empress later becomes a meeting place where his cache of old classic films brings townsfolk together. Virgil Wander is filled with quirky, delightful and winsome characters, all well defined and articulated. Another funky individual is Rune, an older Norwegian who has recently found out that he fathered a young man ages ago who lived in this small town His unique talents are in kite making, from sculptures of dogs to fat armchairs. Through his kite flying, many people in the town found a means of peace and tranquility. Although nothing much happens in the town until the end, that is how it should be. One should just tuck these characters next to them and put on a happy smile.