Point of View

The point of view of Peace Like a River is that of Reuben Land, the main character and narrator. He is telling a story about his experiences as an adolescent pre-teen, with his family and deeply religious father. But the story is told from the perspective of Reuben as an adult, long after the events of the book occur. This produces two points of view in the book, one with Reuben as an adolescent and the other with Reuben as an adult, reflecting on his adolescent thoughts and experiences and commenting occasionally on related events occurring at the present time.

Reuben's perspective is that of a man who has struggled with his Christian faith even early in life. He often reports that he was in awe of his father's faith but was often frustrated by his father trying to live in line with the Christian moral...