Ordinary Grace: A Novel

Wow, what a storyteller. Captivating throughout. Life lessons and insight provided in wonderfully worded writing. I felt like I was the main character in the book walking in his footsteps.

I read this as assigned reading for a book group of fellow moms who have special needs children. I found it engrossing and, at times, difficult to read due to the emotions it brought forth (especially regarding certain characters with "special needs" who, in the early 1960s, were disparaged as "retarded"). The book is reminscent of To Kill A Mockingbird (the father is a hero, there are several Boo Radleys), the narrator looks back 40 years later with perspective, but places you in the action of the past. It reminded me also of the movie Stand by Me in that it is a coming of age story of 2 young brothers, both of whom I came to love quickly. The author insightfully describes flawed characters and families and the dynamics and weakness/strengths of families and the thin line between characters pulling together in love and becoming stronger and/or completely falling apart in their unhappiness due to circumstances beyond their control and the dangers of taking others down with them. It is a sad, but redemptive tale. [I would give the book 5 stars (meaning "I loved it" rather than "I liked it" 4 star) except for the fact that it was so emotionally wrenching for me personally to read as it deals with so much death/loss in just 1 year and, similarly I am still grieving the loss of my own brother, father, and mother in law in a similar time frame. Still I feel I gained comfort and insight from it.] It offers many parables that boil down to death is a part of life, tho some of those deaths are much, much harder to accept than others, we do and it is human nature to seek escapes and even laugh shortly after tragedy, to lesson our pain. There are many brilliant passages that belong on sympathy cards and in funeral services. Without giving any spoilers, I'd like to quote wise words from one greiving character trying to comfort others at the funeral of one of the story's "Mockingbirds" felled that I found, in the context of the stories surrounding it, particularly moving: "When we feel abandoned, alone, and lost, what's left to us? What do I have, what do you have, what do any of us have left except the overpowering temptation to rail against God and to blame him for the dark night into which he's led us, to blame him for our misery, to blame him and cryout against him for not caring? What's left to us when that which we love most has been taken? "I will tell you what's left, three profound blessings...faith, hope, and love. These gifts, which are the foundation of eternity, God has given to us and he's given us complete control over them. Even in the darkest night it's still within our power to hold to faith. We can still embrace hope. And although we may ourselves feel unloved, we can still stand steadfast in our love for others and for God. All this is in our control. God gave us these gifts and he does not thake them back. It is we who choose to discard them. "In your dark night, I urge you to hold to your faith, to embrace hope, and to bear your love before you like a burning candle, for I promise that it will light your way. And whether you believe in miracles or not...you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you've prayed for. God probably won't undo what's been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day. "Jesus suffered the dark night and death and on the third day he rose again through the grace of his loving father. For each of us, the sun sets and the sun also rises and through the grace of our Lord we can endure our own dark night and rise to the dawning of a new day and rejoice...in the beauty of this morning which he has given us." Rereading those words out of context, I guess they could come out of any pulpit on any given Sunday, but within the novel the words were quite moving to me, much like Atticus' closing arguments. In short, Ordinary Grace offers wise lessons revealed through interesting characters and relationships. The engrossing story could take place in any small town USA back in 1961. It is refreshing to be placed in the "simpler" times many are nostalgic for (forgetting the awful prejudices of many toward Native Americans, the disabled, and homosexuals), if for no other reason than it is devoid of cell phones and computers and so many modern day distractions. The author paints a believable portrait full of bologna sandwiches, "jello salads" as well as forgotten chores like ironing. His peaceful descriptions include gardens, the natural beauty of a flowing river but also the excitement and tension of railroad tracks and trellises and believable characters capable of drama, secrets, prejudices and injustices--as well as compassion, love, forgiveness and the necessary acceptance of "the awful grace of God."

What a joy to read this thoughtful book. I read it slowly and savored it. The themes of faith, hope and love resonate with most of us, as do the themes of forgiveness and justice. Nathan's sermon about grace and forgiveness was a masterpiece and one I will always remember. The characters felt like people I know. I liked the cultural references to 1961: tuna casserole, Kool-Aid, endless smoking, homophobic people. Just as I remembered it! A very satisfying ending. Highly recommend.

William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace is a heart wrenching coming of age novel full of secrets, deaths, compassion, and God’s grace. The tale is told through the eyes of a thirteen year old boy, Frank Drum, who struggles to understand adult situations as his childhood innocence is slowly taken away. A series of unexplainable deaths occur in the summer of 1961 in the small town of New Bremen, Minnesota; moreover, Frank and his younger brother Jake seem to hold all of the clues. A quick read, this book kept me always wanting more. Fascinated by the series of events, I found the plot straightforward yet engaging, and I was never bored. Krueger does not sugar coat anything; he exposes normal people’s everyday struggles and reveals the raw side of life. I think this is why I was so fond of the story: everything is real, and new conflicts are constantly arising. The only critique I have is Krueger’s ominous foreshadowing; at the beginning of each chapter I feared for the inexorable murder of another character. However, through the many deaths and hardships, Krueger’s message of God’s grace was clear. He emphasizes the companionship God gives to each and every one of us through every struggle we conquer. At the itinerant’s burial service, Frank’s father highlights this truth as he preaches, “God never promised us an easy life. He never promised that we wouldn’t suffer, that we wouldn’t feel despair or loneliness and confusion and desperation. What he did promise was that in our suffering we would never be alone...We are never separated from his love” (page 71). Nearly every adult character has led a fairly immoral life or overcome travail, but the preacher grants complete forgiveness and compassion; he shows ordinary grace. Krueger also uses historical context to further his theme of compassion. Set in 1961, a majority of the male characters are World War II veterans. Gus, the preacher’s alcoholic friend, is suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. Emil, a music teacher who got the preacher’s young daughter pregnant, is blind and physically scarred from his service, and Warren Redstone, the assumed murderer, is a recluse who lives on the outskirts of town. Each of these men are touched by the war, but the preacher sees God in each and graces them with mercy and compassion. With the acknowledgment of post traumatic stress disorder today, it is not an arcane truth that military service can change people for the worst. Krueger skillfully uses this legitimacy to portray the emotional struggles that these men undergo, but develops the preacher’s character to ensure the reader that God presence is ubiquitous. It is a beautifully written novel and true testament to the power of God’s grace.

A rites of passage type book, beautifully written, attention grabbing. When I started this book I decided to read it slowly, but couldn't stop reading. I had to find out what happened next. I am glad to read it. enjoyable read. The book takes place in the mid west, a small town in southern Minnesota during a long, hot summer in the year of 1961. Life was quiet, slow, people knew each other. The story is told by Frank Drum, thirteen years old that year. He tells of what happened in that town in that year forty years ago. Frank is middle aged now, married, grown children. I like the midwestern writers. They tell a good story, write good books. Frank is a middle child, older sister, Ariel, eighteen, musically gifted, getting ready to go east to Julliard, younger brother, Jake, eleven, who stutters badly, hates to speak and is teased by others. A boy who watches quietly, says nothing, knows much. That summer a young boy, only child of older parents is killed by a train. The boy was slow, Frank's age but two years behind in school. Frank's father, Nathan Drum, is the minister of the Methodist church so the family knows many people. That year, everything seems to have gone wrong. Things are not what they seem in this quiet midwestern town. Ruth Drum is musically gifted as is her daughter. She loves leading the choir and is active in everything musical in town. There is a mean teen age boy in and out of trouble, Morris Angdahl, who torments the Drum boys, a rough, mean cop, Doyle, Nathan's war buddy, Gus, another rough,drinking man with a heart of gold but a friend and protector of the Drum boys. There are some strange, interesting characters good to read about. The members of the wealthy Brundt family who own the finest home in town, midwestern royalty. Karl Brundt is the boyfriend of Ariel, His uncle, Emil, is a piano virtuoso, composer, well known, who went to war and returned blind, face badly scarred. His younger sister, Lise, is different, deaf, never leaves her home and keeps house for her brother. Lise will not relate to others except for Jake, keeps a lovely home, beautiful garden. There is the fascinating Indian, Warren Redstone. Frank is nosy, always being places he has been told to stay away from, dangerous, listening to conversations he has no business hearing. There is so much truth in the book. It has won several awards, well deserved. This is the first book I have read by Mr. Krueger. He is a wonderful writer who pulls readers into his books.

I've long been a fan of Mr. Krueger's Cork O'Connor mysteries and I suspect that one of the greatest problems any author with a long string of successful novels built around one character faces is resistance from fans if you try something new--it must be tremendously risky--especially for a best-selling author. For me, what has distinguished the Cork O'Connor series from those of other successful mystery writers is that Mr. Krueger does not just write mysteries, although many readers will take his series as such. What distinguishes his series from those of others is that the series story line is accompanied by the personal development of several of the main characters,especially Cork. These books are not just mystery following mystery, but about characters growing and evolving as human beings. I like the fact that Mr. Krueger has always displayed respect and sensitivity to the Native American people and their culture in his books and his character Cork has embraced much of his Native heritage. Cork O'Connor is a man who is continually evolving as a human being as the series has progressed--the stories are about his personal journey as much as they are mystery stories. While Cork lives a life built around violence, the moments of self-questioning and introspection about the "rightness" of his actions are as much a part of the story line as the solving of the current "mystery". We are seldom privileged to see such introspection in a male character and it has elevated this series above many others. We were all warned that "Ordinary Grace" would be different--I was actually a bit hesitant to read it. But this book will stay with me long after the mystery plot-lines have disappeared from recollection. This is a beautiful story about ordinary people--I can not say any better what others have already stated. It takes the type of personal character development seen in the Cork O Connor Series and elevates it to a whole new level. This new novel will not be for everyone, but it may gain him new fans from those looking for "literature" as opposed to just a good tale. It is a worthy first effort in a new direction and I will be looking for more. Bravo!

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger is anything but an ordinary book. It is filled with wonderful insight, characters that you grow to know like your own friends, lives that are rich and bountiful, despair and heartbreak, and spiritual wisdom that takes a place in your heart. The book is narrated by Frank Drum in the year 2001. It is about his memories of one summer in his life 40 years ago. Frank Drum is thirteen years old and a bit of a rebel. He is the son of a minister and a mother who loves music and did not plan to be married to a minister. Originally, his father had planned to be a lawyer but the experiences of war changed this. It is the summer of 1961 and Frank lives in the small town of Bremen, Minnesota where his father has his primary parish. Jake is Frank's younger brother who is wise beyond his years. He has a stuttering problem and does not like to speak much. People often think he's simple but he is very smart and observant. Both boys are very independent and incredibly adventurous though they are also respectful of adults. They go to three church services each Sunday because their father conducts the services at three small community churches each week. Their mother runs the choir. The book is about many things but it centers primarily on the coming-of-age of Frank Drum. The story opens with death - the death of a young boy on the railroad tracks. He was known as being simple-minded and the town is not sure whether he was murdered or just did not pay attention to the oncoming train. It is followed by the death of an itinerant man who is found by Frank. Further deaths follow and the boys try to get their heads around all this loss. Frank and Jake spend a lot of the book trying to make sense out of death and despair as there is a lot of this in the telling of the story. While Jake has a deep faith in God, Frank is not a believer. As he says, "In his sermons my father often talked about trusting God and trusting that no matter how alone we might feel God was always with us. In all that terrible waiting I didn't feel the presence of God, not one bit. I prayed but unlike my father who seemed to believe that he was being heard, I felt as if I was talking to the air. Nothing came to me in return." I thought a lot about the title of this book. Augustinian Grace is a beautiful thing, a rare gift from God to the chosen few. The Grace that Frank's father talks about is a heavy `gift'. "There was a playwright, Son, a Greek by the name of Aeschylus. He wrote that he who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." To Frank's father, grace arrives from God and through the pain of grace comes wisdom. This is a novel that is filled with spirituality, philosophy and wonderful characterizations. The people I met will stay with me a long time and this will be a book that I will not soon forget.

It took me a long time to finish Ordinary Grace because, after reading the first chapter, I let Kindle-Fire-time (non-reading time; puzzles, word games, exploring music) get in the way. But a couple of days ago, I began reading in earnest and finished the book. I gave it only three stars, and I'm ambivalent about that because the writing was really excellent. The reason for the lower rating is that I knew immediately who caused the death of the narrator, Frank's sister, Ariel. I faulted Krueger for making it so obvious to the reader, yet so obscure to all the characters in the book. I thought the author should have made us work a little more; after all, trying to guess the killer and his/her motives are half the fun of reading a murder mystery. The death happens roughly at the middle of the book, so there was a lot more to read, and I found myself wanting at least one of the characters’ suspicions to be raised much sooner. I feel that the book needed that kind of tension. I also found Frank’s family, especially his father, Nathan, a Methodist minister, a little too perfect. That said, all the characters were interesting and enough flawed to give them life. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but it was more that their perfection came when they formed a group rather than when viewed individually. I liked Frank very much. He was a gutsy kid, whose actions were very believable. And I liked the mother, Ruth, for bucking the expectations of a minister’s wife and living her life on her own terms---even though, as she said, she hadn’t signed up for being a minister’s wife; before the war, she thought she was marrying a lawyer. As I said, I think Krueger is an excellent writer, and I was curious enough to explore a few of the many books he’s written. But I didn’t find any of the ones I read about that made me want to put them on my reading list. The descriptions sounded too much like so many, many other formula mysteries. I have so many books on my “Want to Read” list that I don’t need to add any more that sound only mildly interesting.

The unfolding of a tale and the journey you are on with the coming of age novel with events that occur that give you the feelings that get into learning the characters and their own graces and their burdens and how well they deal with what they are tested with. Flawless like Kruegers other books

How I adored this masterful piece of literature. The writing was sublime, the story was enthralling and the whole book was unforgettable. As an avid reader of over 65 books a year, I read many novels that are quickly forgotten as soon as I finish the last page, but I know that this one is a life lesson for me. Perhaps it's because Frank Drum, our protagonist, was thirteen in 1961 which puts us in the same general age group, or that he grew up in a place where it wasn't necessary to lock the door, as I did, or his two parents were very different from each other, but stayed married until death did them part which happened in my life too. So obviously I identified with him and the time. A time before devices or cell phones and social media. A time when a new, young president with a beautiful wife and small children occupied the white house. Then Frank meets the grim reaper nearly face to face when several deaths occur in his idyllic setting. All the characters in this book are real to me. This book almost seems autobiographical. This is the coming of age year for Frank Drum and the lessons he learned carried with him forever as he explains later in the book which is forty years on. This is not solely a murder mystery. The story lingers on long after you finish the last page.

Absolutely loved the book and so did my book club. Great characters and characters development. A combination of Bildungsroman and murder mystery.

いつもの森林保安官の話しかと手にしたらまったく新しいタッチの珠玉の作品に出会えた。1961年、ミネソタの閑静な田舎町で13歳の僕「フランク」は弟「ジェイク」と18歳の姉「アリエル」の３人で優しい牧師の父「ネイサン」と聖歌隊を指揮する母「ルース」のもとで町の人たちから可愛がられながらちょっぴり大人の仲間にいれてもらったりして楽しい日々を過ごしていた。11歳の「ボビー」が列車に轢かれて死亡しているのがみつかり、保安官「ドイル」が捜査にあたるが、僕を大人並みに扱ってくれる父の友人「ガス」黒人「ワレン・レッドストーン」や盲目の「エミール・ブラント」、そして姉のボーイフレンド「カール」などが絡んで次々に事件が起き、腰巾着のジェイクと一緒にミネソタ川の周りを歩き回る。13歳の子がビールを飲んだり大人っぽい推理行動をするのが日本的には珍しく、ハックルベリーの世界だなあ、と感心する。「僕」の一人称で語られ、最後の数ページで40年後の今、年老いた父と故郷への再訪で切ない想い出を振り返るという、重い内容を子供の目線で優しく描いた、本をおくのが勿体ないぐらいの余韻を貰った。

This is a very beautifully written book about a boy coming of age and discovering all is not well in the world. Frank Drum is the son of a small town pastor in the early 1960's. He has an older sister Ariel and a younger brother Jake who is afflicted with a stutter. Frank's safe world is shaken by the death of another child. This leads to he and his brother discovering the dead body of an itinerant man and a chain of events kicks off. There are some very complex characters including his father's friend Gus with whom he shares the horrors of a war they would rather forget, and Emil Brandt, the former boyfriend of Frank's mother who was scarred and blinded by the war. This is not a fast moving whodunnit, this is a slowly revealed mystery that is more about the impact on lives than solving a crime. It is about love and forgiveness. If you are a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird then I am sure you will love this too.