Virgil Wander, by Leif Enger
Started 05.12.20 • Finished 06.04.20 / 4 stars
Memory's oldest trick is convincing us of its accuracy.
One of Leif Enger's previous books, Peace Like a River, is one of my all-time favorites so I was excited to pick this one up for book club. Unlike some of the other readers, I was immediately sucked into the story of this small town and its quirky inhabitants. I wanted to find out more about these people and what story they had to tell.
If we hadn’t been looking we’d never have seen it. I wondered then and still wonder what giants we miss by not looking.
The story revolves mainly around Virgil Wander, who loses his memory after careening off a cliff in his car, and a stranger named Rune who wanders into town at just the right moment. There is an emptiness to Virgil that is progressively filled by the people who have been around him all this time. The plot takes an unseen twist towards the end, but it still makes sense within the storyline. By the close, Virgil realizes he has everything to live for.
How kind of the attendant to come in a form that puts the attended at ease, like a guest from far off who comes to visit, but learns your language first.
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