The River We Remember

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• What was your initial impression of the protagonist, Brody Dern? Did your understanding of him change over the course of the novel? What was your emotional response to the character, and did that change at all as the story continued?
• Krueger entered the mystery genre in 1998 with the Cork O’Connor series. With The River We Remember, Krueger introduces a new Minnesota town and a new protagonist. How does this novel compare to the Cork O’Connor series?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Krueger’s characters keep secrets, even from those they love. Discuss the role that secrets play in our lives. Are the characters justified in their secret-keeping? Are there times when keeping a secret is the moral choice?
• How did you react to Brody’s experience of the war and the way it still resonates throughout his life? How might things be different for Brody, post-war, in the present time?
• In the novel, Krueger probes the idea of what makes a community. How does the community of Jewel reflect or diverge from your own experience of community?
• Consider Krueger’s depiction of societal ideas of masculinity. How do these ideas affect some of the male characters in the novel? Do you find his depiction accurate?
• Alcohol use and misuse play a large part in the story and the lives of the characters. How does Krueger’s inclusion of alcohol misuse in the novel contribute to a larger conversation about society’s attitudes toward it?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Krueger is known for his exploration of racism against Indigenous people in small, tight-knit communities. What aspects of the narrative offer compelling representations of this issue? What aspects does the novel fail to address?
• Like many of the men in Jewel, Brody is a World War II veteran. How does Krueger probe the lasting effects of war through Brody and the other characters?
• How does Krueger explore American societal constructs of masculinity? What has changed since the novel’s 1958 time period, and what remains the same?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Discuss the importance of setting to the novel. How do the particular time and place in which it is set contribute to the plot and character development?
• Analyze how Krueger uses the conventions of the murder mystery genre to explore larger thematic issues in the novel.
• Discuss the importance of the river as a facet of the narrative. What does it symbolize for the various characters, and how does it function as a plot element as well?
• Many of the characters in the novel are struggling with the effects of past events on their present lives. How did your understanding of the characters change over the course of the novel as their pasts were revealed and dealt with?
• Krueger delves into the importance of perspective when telling a story, reminding the reader that “there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past.” How does Krueger highlight the importance of perspective throughout the novel?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• At the end of the novel, Krueger shares the futures of some of the characters. Choose one of the characters and write a story that develops their life beyond the end of the book, using Krueger’s brief synopsis as your framework.
• The novel is set in 1958, but imagine it set in a different time period. How does the shift in time period change the story? What changes, and what remains the same?

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