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Booked for the Day

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

On Monday, September 11th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

  • The group decided that this is much more than just a coming of age story told from the perspective of a young boy. It was also a spiritual journey, not just for the characters who all seemed to grow as a result of the events, but for us as well.
  • Surprisingly, the story turned out to be uplifting and positive but at the same time it showed the darker side of life. We agreed with Frank’s quote, “You might think that I remember that summer as tragic and I do, but not completely.”
  • One member pointed out that the story was similar to To Kill a Mockingbird in narration and tone. The preacher, Nathan Drum, a quiet, honorable and intelligent man was reminiscent of Atticus Finch.
  • One member mentioned that some really insightful quotes and moments in the story were, in itself, enough to make the book worth reading:
    • "The dead are never far from us. They are in our hearts and in our minds and in the end, all that separates us from them is just a single breath, one final puff of air."
    • “Gus had once told us that he came from a long line of Missouri gravediggers. ‘Famous in that part of Missouri,’ he said, only he pronounced it Missoura. ‘Folks would call on my grandpap or my dad to come dig the grave of a loved one. It’s not just digging, you know, boys. It’s carving a box in the earth that’s meant to receive and hold forever something very precious to someone. When it’s done right, folks look at it different from just a hole in the ground, and the time’ll come when you understand this for yourselves.”
  • The conclusion to the mystery was a bit predictable for some of us, nonetheless the book still held our interest to the end.
  • Everyone enjoyed Krueger's writing style, it had a logical flow with just the right tension with the plot.
  • Everyone liked the epilogue that nicely wrapped up what happened to the characters we cared about.
  • The story’s characters had it all giving us a lot to think about. The characters were well developed and represent every type of person and personality found in any town; PTSD, alcoholic, hearing impaired, blind, debilitating stutter, juvenile delinquent, Native American, sexy neighbor, disappointed wife, musical genius, mysterious vagrant, tragic sister, and homosexual. But it barely interfered with our desire to follow the events to the ending and it became clear that even those we did not like had their own pain.
  • Everyone agreed that they would recommend the book.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.

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