Virgil Wander is an all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart. Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander is "cruising along at medium altitude" when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Awakening in this new life, Virgil 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--from Rune, a twinkling, pipe-smoking, kite-flying stranger investigating the mystery of his disappeared son; to Nadine, the reserved, enchanting wife of the vanished man; to Tom, a journalist and Virgil's oldest friend; and various members of the Pea family who must confront tragedies of their own. Into this community returns a shimmering prodigal son who may hold the key to reviving their town.
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Our final discussion, for the MomAdvice Book Club, was for Virgil Wander and I was so excited to read this one.
This is one of those cases where I felt like it was me, and not the book, that was the problem. Trying to read a slower build story in the middle of December made it really challenging around the holiday chaos.
Although this one took awhile for me to warm up to, Enger creates a beautiful Midwest town and shapes a beautiful little community, in his story.
Virgil is involved in a car accident where he drives off the road and right into the lake.
Miraculously, he is saved, but he isn't the same man he was before the accident. He has trouble finding words and forming sentences, something he used to be quite good at.
With difficulty retaining his old memories, he decides to change his life. Where he used to be more quiet and highly productive, he finds that he wants to approach his life differently after the accident.
Virgil's new identity allows space for unlikely friends and relationships. Enger builds this small town up beautifully and anyone who has a deep appreciation for character-driven books will enjoy this one.
It is gorgeously written, but slowly paced.
That said, sometimes that is just what your stack needs.
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