Ordinary Grace
From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger, a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.
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Readers say *Ordinary Grace* is a deeply moving coming-of-age story set in 1961 Minnesota, narrated with poignant wisdom by a boy reflecting on a summ...
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Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
307 pages
What's it about?
It is the summer of 1961 in a small town in Minnesota. Frank Drum is thirteen years old and his life is about to change. Forty years later, Frank looks back at this summer and tells us the events that transpire. While death plays a major role in the summer, so do family, faith, and forgiveness.
What did I think?
This was the best coming of age story I have read in years. I savored every page. Mr. Krueger captures what it must have felt to be a thirteen year old, coming to grips with hard realities, in that time and place. This book has a mystery to keep you turning the page, characters that make you care, and much wisdom to impart.
Should you read it?
Yes!!!!
Quote-
"It seems to me that when you look back at a life, yours or another's, what you see is a path that weaves into and out of deep shadow. So much is lost. What we use to construct the past is what has remained in the open, a hodgepodge of fleeting glimpses. Our histories, like my father's current body, are structures built of toothpicks. So what I recall of that summer in New Bremen is a construct both of what stands in the light and what I imagine in the dark where I cannot see."
If you like this try-
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Burns
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
307 pages
What's it about?
It is the summer of 1961 in a small town in Minnesota. Frank Drum is thirteen years old and his life is about to change. Forty years later, Frank looks back at this summer and tells us the events that transpire. While death plays a major role in the summer, so do family, faith, and forgiveness.
What did I think?
This was the best coming of age story I have read in years. I savored every page. Mr. Krueger captures what it must have felt to be a thirteen year old, coming to grips with hard realities, in that time and place. This book has a mystery to keep you turning the page, characters that make you care, and much wisdom to impart.
Should you read it?
Yes!!!!
Quote-
"It seems to me that when you look back at a life, yours or another's, what you see is a path that weaves into and out of deep shadow. So much is lost. What we use to construct the past is what has remained in the open, a hodgepodge of fleeting glimpses. Our histories, like my father's current body, are structures built of toothpicks. So what I recall of that summer in New Bremen is a construct both of what stands in the light and what I imagine in the dark where I cannot see."
If you like this try-
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Burns
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I picked this up thinking I was getting a gentle coming-of-age story. You know. Nostalgia. Small town charm. Maybe a lemonade stand. Perhaps a wholesome life lesson delivered by a kindly adult who smells faintly of pipe tobacco and wisdom.
Instead, William Kent Krueger handed me emotional devastation wrapped in poetic prose and said, “Enjoy your suffering.”
Set in 1961, when the Minnesota Twins were new, soda fountains were sacred, and childhood still had that sun-washed glow, the book feels at first like The Sandlot meets The Wonder Years. This book lures you in with vibes so wholesome you start to relax. Big mistake. Because suddenly: death. Secrets. Betrayal. Existential reflection. Childhood innocence filing for permanent leave.
Frank Drum narrates his younger self’s worst summer ever with the calm wisdom of someone who has clearly spent decades processing trauma so the rest of us can read about it and spiral recreationally.
Things this book contains:
• Gorgeous writing that makes you stop and reread sentences like you’re savoring literary chocolate.
• Emotional gut punches disguised as “character development.”
• A slow realization that this is not a cozy story — this is an all-out feelings ambush.
Krueger’s prose is so beautiful it’s frankly suspicious. I don’t trust any author who can describe grief in a way that makes me pause and whisper, “rude, but poetic.”
If you want a story that looks wholesome, feels nostalgic, and then quietly rearranges your emotional furniture while you’re not looking — this is a masterpiece.
Instead, William Kent Krueger handed me emotional devastation wrapped in poetic prose and said, “Enjoy your suffering.”
Set in 1961, when the Minnesota Twins were new, soda fountains were sacred, and childhood still had that sun-washed glow, the book feels at first like The Sandlot meets The Wonder Years. This book lures you in with vibes so wholesome you start to relax. Big mistake. Because suddenly: death. Secrets. Betrayal. Existential reflection. Childhood innocence filing for permanent leave.
Frank Drum narrates his younger self’s worst summer ever with the calm wisdom of someone who has clearly spent decades processing trauma so the rest of us can read about it and spiral recreationally.
Things this book contains:
• Gorgeous writing that makes you stop and reread sentences like you’re savoring literary chocolate.
• Emotional gut punches disguised as “character development.”
• A slow realization that this is not a cozy story — this is an all-out feelings ambush.
Krueger’s prose is so beautiful it’s frankly suspicious. I don’t trust any author who can describe grief in a way that makes me pause and whisper, “rude, but poetic.”
If you want a story that looks wholesome, feels nostalgic, and then quietly rearranges your emotional furniture while you’re not looking — this is a masterpiece.
C
This was my first audio book. The narration reminded me of the wonder years like how the main character was talking about a time in his past. I loved how the author gave you an update on where the characters are in present time. I really enjoyed this book. Gave it a 7 because at times it was slow for my liking but otherwise I thought it was well written.
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