In the past, whenever I’ve written about books, I’ve gotten some negative feedback from readers who’ve told me these are their least favorite columns. But I’m going to clench my teeth, step bravely into the breach and take a chance. I’m going to write about a book, “Ordinary Grace,” by William Kent Krueger.
I’m a huge fan of Krueger’s because of his series of books featuring a Northern Minnesota “crime-fighter,” Cork O’Connor. Some of the books in the series are “Iron Lake,” “Boundary Waters,” “Purgatory Ridge,” “The Devil’s Bed.” In all, there are about 15 books featuring Cork O’Connor. I highly recommend them to lovers of crime fiction. Krueger’s prose is wonderfully written; his word choices, his settings, his emotions — everything rings with verisimilitude.
But “Ordinary Grace” is a stand-alone novel, not a Cork O’Connor story. The book is set in the fictional town of New Bremen, Minnesota, in 1961. It’s the Minnesota Twins’ first season in Minneapolis, JFK is our new young president, and the country seems to be hopeful. For our protagonist and narrator, 13-year-old Frank Drum, however, it is a grim summer in which death stalks New Bremen in several forms: nature, accident, suicide and murder.
Frank tells the story some 40 years after the events of the novel, describing himself as a boy about to become a man trying to understand his small-town world, which seems to be falling apart around him. The other characters in the novel are a wonderfully compelling cast: his father, the town’s Methodist minister; his mother, hardly the prototypical minister’s wife and a talented singer; his Juilliard-bound 18-year-old sister; his little brother, a stutterer and wise beyond his years; the blind music teacher and his deaf sister.
Krueger’s artistry is in his ability to create pictures in the reader’s mind. Consider this passage about his mother singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”:
“When my mother finally sang it was not just a hymn she offered, it was consummate comfort. She sang slowly and richly and delivered the heart of that great spiritual as if she was delivering heaven itself and her face was beautiful and full of peace. I shut my eyes and her voice reached out to wipe away my tears and enfold my heart. … And when she finished, the sound of the breeze through the doorway was like the sigh of angels well pleased.”
In one of the most poignant episodes, Nathan Drum, the narrator’s father, delivers a sermon on the weekend after his daughter has disappeared. No one expects him to preach, but preach he does. Here are just two paragraphs from the deeply moving sermon he delivers:
“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 cry out 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. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us exactly what they are: 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 take them back. It is we who choose to discard them.”
“Ordinary Grace” seems very dark at times, but the message it delivers is quite optimistic. Thanks to the author’s artistry with words, his skill in building tension drama, and redemption, the story is uplifting, and a positive spirit shines through and leaves the reader with a warm feeling. I highly recommend this book.
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