PEACE LIKE A RIVER

This lovely book, set in the small-town West of the 1960s, has much of the flavor and appeal of Kent Haruf's PLAINSONG, which is plenty high praise. But the family constellation feels familiar: Jeremiah Land is an iconically wonderful father, and the boy narrator, Reuben Land, has a fierce and unforgettable younger sister, Swede. (She writes rhymed narrative poems about the Old West in the style of Robert Service.) As the nature of the family's moral dilemma comes clear, one recognizes, with pleasure, the resemblance to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. It has that kind of humor, depth, and weight, and Edward Holland's warm and sympathetic reading enhances what is already a great pleasure. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]