Lin Enger shares brother’s talent

  Leif Enger has gained recognition for his books “Peace Like a River” and “So Brave, Young, and Handsome,” two novels that I absolutely loved. When I saw that his brother, Lin, had a book out, I jumped on it, not quite knowing what to expect.
  Leif Enger set the bar high for his brother, but Lin Enger proves that he is up to the task. In “Undiscovered Country,” Lin Enger shows he is a great storyteller, with a talent for developing characters without having to mimic his brother’s style.
  “Undiscovered Country” centers around 17-year-old Jesse Matson. Jesse and his dad go hunting on a snowy day in the woods of Minnesota. After hearing a gunshot, Jesse feels something is terribly wrong and runs for his father, only to find his dad dead of an apparent suicide. Later, Jesse, overwhelmed with grief, is even more shocked when his father’s ghost, head still mangled, visits him and tells Jesse he didn’t commit suicide. Jesse’s grief turns to anger as he suspects his Uncle Clay is responsible for his father’s murder.
  “I started the engine, shifted into reverse and eased the Mercury back, away from the lake, then drove on home, where I sat in the driveway for ten or fifteen minutes — maybe an hour, I don’t know — trying to absorb the fact that my life was over, that through no fault of mine I had lost my dad and then been handed the burden of that loss — to carry, redress, expiate, or avenge. Which? I had no idea.”
  The novel is a modern take on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” and the similarities are not lost on Jesse.
  “I remembered one of the discussions we’d had in class about Hamlet and Claudius, and saying, Why doesn’t he just kill him and get it over with? I hadn’t been able to imagine the dynamics at work —  the moral questions he faced, the political dilemmas, the danger to himself. I couldn’t wiggle out of my own skin, none of it made sense to me. But now, crazy as it seemed, I was right where he’d been — and recognizing that gave me a little charge of confidence.”
  Jesse is a wonderful character and Enger realistically portrays his confusion, anger and sadness as the boy explores the culpability of his uncle and whether there is blame to be placed on his own mother as well.
  “I would have to reconsider who my mother was and what she was capable of doing — or overlooking. There were depths and darknesses in her that I couldn’t fathom. For now, though, it was enough to know that I couldn’t count on her as an ally.”
  Lin Enger’s writing is not quite as poetic as his brother’s, but it doesn’t need to be. “Undiscovered Country” is a different type of story. I think I would have been disappointed if Lin Enger obviously tried to capture the same tone of his brother’s books, but by relying on his own talent, he created a work that shows he’s capable of going toe-to-toe with his brother.
  If there is any sibling rivalry between the two siblings, readers will only benefit.