Ordinary Grace is story of a  family living in small town in Minnesota in the summer of 1961.  Forty years later, Frank Drum reminisces about the events in New Bremen when he was just  13 years-old.   His father is a Methodist minister, his mother and sister are musicians, and his younger brother Jake suffers from stuttering and is ridiculed by others.    The lives of the family and community members are changed by tragedies, but there are also secrets, betrayals, and lies that emerge as Frankie and Jake enquire and pursue the trails on their own.   The third death is a family member and it undermines their faith in God, their trust in others, and their connection to each other.

From the outset the narrator states there were a number of deaths over that summer that became a keystone time in his life.   All of the main characters are shaken by each tragedy, but the third one leaves Frankie and his family devastated to the point of questioning the grace of God.    The old question is how a omniscient, all-powerful, and caring god could let such cruelty occur.    This is what that each character asks and seeks answers to.    It is Jake who provides the start of reconciliation by offering an “ordinary grace”, a step in healing and acceptance.

“The dead are never far from us. They’re in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air.   The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day.   God never promised us an easy life.”

The author crafted the story in a straightforward  but strong narrative style that is rich in the sense of  place and time, in the detailed lives of children, and in the presentation of the complexity of shades of grey when considering right and wrong.   The book won the Edgar Award in 2014 and has been on many lists of favorite novels.   This is a well-written book and one that deserves a close reading.   Recommended – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

An audiobook excerpt: