58 pages • 1 hour read
William Kent KruegerThe River We Remember
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The River We Remember (The Book’s Title)
Krueger brackets the narrative with a prologue and an epilogue that detail the importance of the Alabaster River both to the plot and the thematic structure of his story. Although the river, as the site of discovery for Jimmy Quinn’s body, is a crucial part of the novel’s inciting incident, the epilogue clarifies its role within the larger project of the novel and its titular meaning. Krueger employs a third-person omniscient narrative voice, and through it, he clarifies that the river symbolizes the murky nature of what an individual perceives as “truth.” Krueger notes that the many disparate human lives that make up one community merge into a kind of river: “Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past” (417). This means that when multiple individuals remember the same place or series of events, there are bound to be discrepancies. Everyone remembers their own particular version of a story. This is evident in the disparate ways that Krueger’s characters think about the river itself, which Krueger enumerates in the epilogue: For Brody, the river symbolizes his clandestine love for his brother’s wife Garnet. For others, it is the site of treasured memories of childhood recreation. For Noah Bluestone, the river is a sacred space, and for men like Jimmy Quinn and Tyler Creasy, the river becomes the scene of their crimes. In the history of the river, too, can be seen these “many versions” of the same story: For white settlers in the area, the story of the river has long been one of Dakota aggression against the white population. Yet for the Dakota, it is the site of white erasure of Dakota customs and traditions.
Regional Indigenous History and Place Names
Krueger is deeply interested in the Indigenous history of Minnesota, the attempted erasure of that history, and the way that white and Indigenous communities live alongside one another. This is a theme that runs through many of his published works, and in The River We Remember, one of the ways that it manifests is in the repeated references to Indigenous history and place names. Inkpaduta Bend is the most obvious and oft-used of these, but there are many others, such as when Fiona tells Charlie about her husband’s interest in the Indigenous history of both Minnesota and northern Iowa. Through his representation of the endurance of Indigenous histories and place names, Krueger demonstrates that a complete erasure of Indigenous culture in the region, although very much part of the project of settler-colonialism, has not happened. Counter to stereotype, Indigenous people and cultures are alive and well in Minnesota, and although historically hidden, these histories have a way of coming to light. The Dakota War, which Krueger refers to by the now-dated but period-appropriate term “Sioux Uprising,” is another such example. Part of the transition from the term “Sioux Uprising” to “Dakota War” happened because of a greater understanding of the way that anti-Indigenous prejudice, bias, and racism impacted the historical record. Historians now understand the nuances of that conflict, and its contemporary depictions are much more accurate and balanced than they would have been in 1958 when this novel is set. The character of Sam Wicklow is attempting to uncover the truth of that history, and it is understood at the end of the novel that he will write a book detailing the war from a more balanced perspective.
Loneliness, Solitude, and Alcohol Misuse
Loneliness, Solitude, and Alcohol Misuse are all motifs that speak to the theme of The Scars of War. Almost all the men in this story are veterans, and they all bear the physical and psychological scars of conflict. Noah, Brody, Sam, Connie, Felix, Tyler Creasy, and others are shown to be wounded men who struggle against the weight of traumatic memory. Brody, who was forced to kill one of his own fellow soldiers, has nightmares about the war and has been unable to form meaningful, healthy relationships in the years since returning to Jewel. He is a solitary figure who, although he loves his dog and his brother’s wife, spends much of his time alone. He lives above the sheriff’s office and spends his evenings drinking beer and playing guitar. Connie is often depicted alone, drinking and feeling guilt over his role in his wife’s death. Tyler Creasy returned from the war a changed man, and his alcoholism and role as a domestic abuser evidence his inability to process the years he spent as a soldier. Felix’s bouts of alcohol misuse pepper the novel, and he too is a solitary figure. What these men have in common is the difficulty they experience as they try to re-enter society and live “normal” lives during their post-war years. What might today be called post-traumatic stress disorder is, in this novel, portrayed as a constellation of symptoms including nightmares, misplaced anger, alcoholism, violence, and loneliness.
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