Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Most of us can look back over our lives and recall an event or an experience that changed us and moved us from the innocence of youth to a new awareness of the realities of life that can be cruel and painful.  William Kent Krueger in his novel, Ordinary Grace, tells his story through Frank who looks back 40 years to the summer when he was 13, the summer of his passage to maturity.  The novel could be described as a mystery, but it is so much more even though Frank and his brother, Jake, find their lives changed by the five mysterious deaths in their small Minnesota town in the summer of 1961.  They find they are tied in one way or another to each of the people lost through accidental deaths, naturally caused deaths, suicidal deaths and murder. It becomes clear that they must understand the reason for each death in order to accept it.  Solving the mystery is not nearly as important as the realizations Frank and Jake make about the people in their lives.  The realization that no one is perfect and that the people who might have been heroes to a child (parents, soldiers, policemen and ministers) are not beyond sinning.  During the summer of discoveries, Frank comes to see that everyone is in need of redemption and "ordinary grace."  Despite the dark subject matter, the story is uplifting.  Krueger does a masterful job of showing the "gray areas" of life.  We are reminded that none of us live in a vacuum; we all face disappointment and despair, but we do have the benevolence of God's "awful grace" to bear us up even under the most dire circumstances.  This is a novel that stays with you long after you finish reading.  It comes to you in quiet moments inviting you to read passages again just for the joy of the experience and the enlightenment the book offers page after page. As with all great literature, this book opens us to new understandings and more compassion for all.