This Tender Land

Synopsis: It’s 1932, a time of hardship, adversity and despair, especially at the Lincoln Indian Training School. Ostensibly it’s a place where Indian children who have been taken from their families are sent so they can be educated in the ways of the white world. In reality, it’s a place meant to obliterate every trace of their Indian heritage, by force if necessary. Odie O’Banion and his older brother Albert are the only two white boys in the school. Odie is mischievous boy who is frequently punished and always getting in trouble. A series of events leads to Odie and Albert, along with two other orphans, to steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi, seeking freedom or a home of their own. Over the course of a summer, these four vagabonds will cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers, to traveling faith healers, to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds.

Review: Who can resist a plucky orphan story, especially when it’s the age old yarn of good v evil? It’s been done, of course, but there’s something satisfying about rooting for an underdog! Four orphans, all likable characters, escape an institution that’s as bad as it comes, run by the truly villainous Thelma Brickman, or the Black Witch as they call her. They are off to try and find the aunt of the two brothers in far off St. Louis. Along the way they have to face more than a couple of obstacles. This book reminded me of a classic Huck Finn type story, and it was a bit of a nostalgic read. In tone, it was very similar to The Lincoln Highway, so if you liked that story, this has a similar vibe. While it was a bit predictable in some ways, it also contained more than a few surprises. I can’t resist a hero who remains hopeful in difficult circumstances!

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: It’s the depression and times are hard. Odie and his fellow travellers are fortunate to find a soup kitchen of sorts serving Lentil soup. They probably didn’t have kielbasa, but that really makes this delicious.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried lentils

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 minced garlic cloves

1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces

1/2 cup chopped carrots

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 pound or more smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1) Place the lentils, onion, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, chicken broth, cumin, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick in a 5-6 quart slow cooker. You can substitute a few shakes of cinnamon if you don’t have a cinnamon stick. Stir to combine.

2) Place the sausage pieces on top.

3) Cover and cook on low heat until lentils have absorbed all the liquid and are tender, about 8 hours.

4) Add more liquid while cooking if they seem dry.

5) When ready, remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick, and serve.