ORDINARY GRACE by WIlliam Kent Krueger

Frank, a thirteen year old on the cusp of manhood, is the main character in William K Krueger’s book “Ordinary Grace.” On its surface it is a tale of death - a murder, an accident, in war, stupidly or deliberately done, of age or illness. On a much deeper level it is the story of a family, the love that binds them together and the faith that sustains them.  This is not an explicitly “Christian” book and yet you will finish the book and know why faith is and what it is. 

Krueger uses words in wonderful and unique ways to evoke a time and place that will live with you long after you finish reading this book.  His description of a mother’s sorrow is expressed “She was flesh without spirit, eyes without sight” (page 182) and setting sun “was caught in the branches of the trees and the light across the lawns was yellow-orange and broken (page 133). 

This is a lovely book. Now that I have finished it, I want to read it again – only slowly so I can savor each word.  His writing is believable. You know that is just what each character would say or do or think. His metaphors and similes are precise and unique and exactly right, yet they do not make think “oh, he learned that lesson on metaphor well.” Instead you are simply lost in the time, the place and the character.