Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (2013. Atria Books. ISBN 9781451645828)
72. That’s the ranking of William Kent Krueger’s latest effort on Amazon. 2,479,690. That’s the ranking of Laman’s River, my latest novel on the same website. Though the two books have about the same ratings in terms of readers’ reviews (4 and 1/2 stars out of 5 for both on Amazon; 4.17 for Ordinary, 3.89 for Laman’s on Goodreads; 4.5 for Ordinary, 5.0 for Laman’s on the BN site), I’ve never had a title crack the top 20,000 titles on Amazon, including The Legacy, my first novel which sold out its initial printing in 6 weeks. So far as I am aware, every one of Mr. Krueger’s novels has made the NYT’s bestseller list. Every one.
Why am I disclosing this information in a review of Mr. Krueger’s latest work of fiction? Simple. While, as a judge (my vocation) I may be somewhat thick skinned and able to “roll with the punches” so to speak, as an author (my avocation) my ego, at least thus far, is about as fragile as a DDT infected eagle egg. It’s tough, this self-publishing gig, especially now, my third decade into writing, my second decade as a published author. Few folks outside of a tiny cadre of loyal readers, family, and friends know who the hell I am. So when I review books written by folks who are from my “neck of the woods” and who’ve done well for themselves in the publishing world, given my fragile writerly self, I’m always on guard. I remain diligent that envy, the “green headed monster” I’ve written about in the past, doesn’t infect my critiques of other Minnesota authors. I am not perfect in this quest. This I know. But I am at least willing to recognize the flaw and try to address it.
That’s a long-winded introduction to this, my first review of a William Kent Krueger book on this site. I’ve read Purgatory Ridge and at least one other Cork O’Connor mystery penned by Mr. Krueger and while I enjoyed them, they weren’t what I would consider to be compelling reads. Entertaining. Well written. But not compelling. Ordinary Grace is a much different book than the formulaic fiction I’ve read from this author in the past. It is, in a word, grand. Grand in its literary tone, grand in its treatment of the folks who inhabit the story, and grand in plot. Grand. I’ve never used that word in a review before, but I think that slender word captures nicely my opinions concerning this period murder mystery wrapped in the guise of a literary novel. I see Ordinary Grace as sort of a Midwestern Rebecca told from the perspective of an adolescent boy.
Early on in the tale, a child’s body and the body of a drifter are discovered. Upon first encountering these revelations, I felt that Krueger might be borrowing too heavily from Stephen King’s coming-of-age masterpiece, Stand By Me. But my fears of authorial mimicry were soon alleviated. As the story unfolds, the main protagonist, teenager Frank Drum, emerges as a viable, believable character in this quiet yet riveting drama. As I was pulled deeper and deeper into the story, I discovered character-driven, literary fiction much different from anything I’d read by this author. And despite Krueger’s attention to each character’s psychology, Krueger doesn’t forget his roots. He builds a plausible, intriguing plot that unfolds in a thoroughly described small town placed along the sandy banks of the Minnesota River. There’s nothing missing in this story. Nothing.
I read somewhere that William Kent considers this to be his finest piece of writing. Having read but a few of his more traditional mystery tales a long time ago, I can’t support or deny the author’s claim in this regard. But I can say this: I hope to include writing this good in at least one of my books.
Anytime an author writes outside his or her genre and tries something new, regardless of the result, they deserve respect. Here, Krueger, much like John Grisham did with A Painted House not only tested the waters of literary fiction but he swam confidently across them.
A fine summer read and a story you will remember long after you close the book or turn off your Kindle or Nook or Kobo.
5 stars out of 5.
