Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

 

Summary (from the publisher): New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family— which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother— he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

Review: In Minnesota in 1961, Frank Drum is 13 years old and enjoying the summer break, often with his younger brother Jake in tow. But the summer quickly becomes overshadowed by a series of deaths, some accidental and some less so. As the deaths become increasingly close to home, Frank finds himself pulled into a very adult world filled with lies, betrayal, and secrets. Both a coming-of-age tale and crime mystery, this novel is told from the perspective of Frank forty years in the future, looking back at a summer that changed the trajectory of his life. 

This book truly recounts a time gone by. Frank and his brother are allowed to explore the neighborhood on their own, which is exactly how they get caught up in some of the horrifying events in this book, as they stumble upon scenes they shouldn't have. In today's world, it's hard to imagine parents allowing their young kids to wander around near railroad tracks, where a young boy has just died no less, only to discover another gruesome scene. Frank has a freedom and maturity that rival his age. 

I was not particularly impressed by the mystery of the deaths in this book. It felt very drawn out and Frank's connection to some of the characters who died felt undeveloped. In short, I felt like he should have been more affected than he appears. He also doesn't appear particularly affected by gruesome scenes, which didn't feel realistic for a kid of his age or just a person in general. The great reveal was sort of underwhelming. I would have enjoyed the book much more just as a coming-of-age tale without all the murder/death elements mixed in. 

On the other hand, there were a lot of elements of this that I appreciated. Frank's father is a Methodist minister and clearly a man that relies heavily on his faith. Frank seems very moved by his father's spirituality and more called to follow in his footsteps than in those of his cynical mother. I was also very moved by the relationship between Frank and his younger brother, Jake. The two are very close and Frank is kind and protective to his brother, who suffers from a stutter. In many ways, the great love story of this story to me was that of these two brothers. Jake seems wise beyond his years, perhaps because of the abuse he has taken because of his stutter during a time period when people were even less accepting of such physical imperfections. It was interesting how many characters suffered from physical impairments: blindness, deafness, a stutter, a harelip - these are flawed characters who recognize that they have to work with the fragments and find purpose and meaning without allowing these impairments to fully define them. 

Stars: 3