Leif Enger wrote two of the best books I ever read: PEACE LIKE A RIVER and VIRGIL WANDER. So I expected that I CHEERFULLY REFUSE would be another winner. But I didn't get it.

This book confused me. It's mostly doom and gloom in the near future. But it felt like Enger was trying to make a point; I just could not tell what the point was. At the same time, though, I was enjoying the way he writes, his sly humor and his remarks that were so like those in his books I loved.

I CHEERFULLY REFUSE starts out in Minnesota and ends up in Canada by way of Lake Superior. The main character, Rainy, meets bad guys all along the way but meets good guys in Canada.

Is that a message? If so, Enger would be insulting most of his readers, and I doubt he would do that. I'm just searching for a point.

Another possible point could be his "astronauts." These were the bad guys who made life hell for everyone else because they had most of the money and, therefore, all of the power. Nowadays I hear lots of complaints about the dangerous oligarchy we live in. Could that be what this is, a complaint about oligarchy?

Whatever the point is with I CHEERFULLY REFUSE, I did enjoy Enger's sentences, i.e., I love the way he writes. He's working on another book, and I know I'll want to read it.