This Tender Land

Odie is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. A small boy with an active imagination, Odie naturally expresses himself in music and storytelling. According to Sister Eve, Odie’s deepest desire is home, though he isn’t sure what that means at first. The promise of home, lost when his parents died, is again denied him when Mrs. Frost dies just before adopting him. Her death sends Odie on a spiritual journey to come to terms with disappointment. His spiritual journey takes place alongside a physical journey that challenges and molds him.

Though Odie is just under 13 years old, the novel’s action facilitates his coming of age in several senses. Major turning points include DiMarco’s death, Jack’s assumed death, Albert’s snakebite, falling in love with Maybeth, and learning the truth about his mother. When things go poorly, Odie at first tends to blame God, whom he thinks of as a kind of tornado. Later, he assumes more responsibility, to the point that he shoulders a burden of guilt that is not entirely his. Only after awakening to the need to both extend and ask for forgiveness constantly does he begin to make peace with himself and others.