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    Ordinary Grace
    Ordinary Grace
    Ordinary Grace
    Audiobook11 hours

    Ordinary Grace

    Written by William Kent Krueger

    Narrated by Rich Orlow

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From "New York Times "bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961. New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were at the ready at Halderson's Drug Store soda counter, and "Hot Stuff "comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a summer in which death assumed many forms. When tragedy unexpectedly comes to call on his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his years kid brother, Frank finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal. On the surface, "Ordinary Grace" is the story of the murder of a beautiful young woman, a beloved daughter and sister. At heart, it's the story of what that tragedy does to a boy, his family, and ultimately the fabric of the small town in which he lives. Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, it is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 26, 2013
    ISBN9781470335939
    Ordinary Grace
    Author

    William Kent Krueger

    William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), and the original audio novella The Levee, as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Lightning Strike and Fox Creek. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Learn more at WilliamKentKrueger.com.

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    Reviews for Ordinary Grace

    4.5/5

    1,261 ratings155 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The summer of 1961 in New Bremen, Minnesota, was haunted by death. It began with young Bobby Cole on the railroad tracks followed by a deceased itinerant found under the railroad trestle. These deaths were not related and may or may not have been accidental, but the next three are connected and have more sinister undertones. The 13-year-old narrator, Frankie Drum, made this book much less morbid than it sounds. Frank and Jake are PKs (Preacher's Kids) so funerals are fairly common events to them. Here are some beautiful thoughts expressed by Frank as he attends the small service for the unknown man: "It seemed to me a good day to be dead and by that I mean that if the dead cared no more about the worries they'd shouldered in life and could lie back and enjoy the best of what God had created it was a day for exactly such. The air was warm and still and the grass of the cemetery which Gus kept watered and clipped was soft green and the river that reflected the sky was a long ribbon of blue silk and I thought that when I died this was the place exactly I would want to lie and this was the scene that forever I would want to look upon." (Pg. 70)Frankie and his tag-along younger brother have the usual childhood adventures until the deaths hit closer to home and two boys are forced to shoulder responsibilities beyond their years. As Frank looks back and tells this story of a summer over 40 years ago, he relives the times when he outwitted the town bully, made friends with an Indian on the run, and learned an even greater respect for his father. There is a mystery to be solved but the book is more about the life lessons that Frank and Jake learn and the way that families stick together no matter what. This is an extraordinary book about making sense out of tragedy. The story may be set in simpler times but the events read much like the daily misfortunes that we see on the nightly newscasts or read about in the daily newspapers...those catastrophes that can strengthen or break us.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Once again, another book definitely worth listening to. Makes me ponder life and childhood and circumstances.
    • 5/5
      Well written and poignant. It’s a tragic story, and also one of beauty and hope. The narrator is easy to listen to and to follow; the characters are people I came to love. Something about the mood and style of prose reminded me of Leif Enger’s “Peace Like a River,” which is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend this listen.
    • 5/5
      This is a beautiful treatise on grief and loss, and the awful — please read that as full of awe—grace of God that gets us through it. It’s the story of one terrible summer that caused young brothers Frank and Jake to leave their childhoods behind too early, and the story of how sometimes God grants a clear and undisputed miracle. It also reminds us that people too often hate without reason, and are quick to place blame without basis.

      I love Krueger’s writing; his prose is just lovely and he can draw me into a story so that I feel as if I’m there. This one is going to stay with me for a long, long time.
    • 1/5
      I really wanted to know who killed Ariel and why. I already suspect who the father is and who the killer was but how it all fits together is beyond my ken. I can't wait until the book is over and I know how it ends.
      The repetition is annoying and the length of the story unbearable.
    • 5/5
      Oh, so good! Highly recommend. I will remember this one for a long time to come.
    • 5/5
      A little melancholy, but it’s got great themes and mood.
    • 4/5
      40 years after his sister is killed Frankie tells the story of that summer. Very enjoyable and well-paced novel about a death in small town America.
    • 5/5
      Won the Edgar Award In 2014. Very strong writing and themes that starts off presenting us with a family made up of: a WWII Vet Minister/father, a musically talented discontent wife, a brilliant singer-composer daughter just about to leave for Juilliard, his youngest son who is sensitive and a stutterer and his oldest boy who is the narrator of this mixed genre book that is part mystery and family story about the awful grace of God. Unfortunately, the ending is too neat and tidy.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful! Great characters, well written story, and good ending. A must read.
    • 5/5
      I almost turned around and reread this book! So great!
    • 4/5
      Quite a good book from an excellent teller of stories from the rural Mid-West. The young son of a small town minister and his even younger brother, who stutters, observe and ponder the too numerous and strange deaths that bedevil a community during a single year, 1961.
    • 5/5
      I’ve read almost all of William Kent Krueger’s novels, with only a couple of his most recent work remaking. “Ordinary Grace” takes us into a realm of spiritual exploration at which he hints in the Cork O’Conner novels but explores more fully here. I’ve read it once and listened to the audio-book twice, discovering new insights every time. The theme and characters of this wonderful novel cannot help but inspire meaningful introspection on so many personal levels.
    • 5/5
      This was the story of Frankie Drum, a pastor's son, aged 10, growing up in Minnesota during the summer his sister was murdered. It's really a great coming of age story as well as a "who dunnit." Frank tells the story 40 years later. 307 pages 5 stars
    • 5/5
      I admit that I picked up the book out of loyalty to Kent Krueger and his fabulous Cork O'Connor series. I read the first paragraph out of duty. I read the rest because I became completely enthralled. Mr. Krueger has said that he put "everything I have learned about writing" into this book and it shows in every paragraph. The voice of young Frank Drum is compelling, authentic, and mesmerizing. The other characters are rich, complex, and I cared for them through their acts of goodness and acts of weakness and fear. And through it all, there plays a subtle love song for the small Minnesotan town.
      Although I eagerly await the next Cork O'Connor mystery coming this August, I hope Mr. Krueger takes a future break to craft another beauty like Ordinary Grace1
    • 5/5
      A deep, richly satisfying story.
      The audiobook offered a wonderful escape in which the experience of brokenness, hope, pain, ordinary and awful in such a beautiful passage of time.
    • 4/5
      Excellent story.... it draws you in. I recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      The characters were so well developed and each one so interesting and unique.
    • 5/5
      Engaging story & characters. I'm a fan of Cork O'Connor books too.
    • 4/5
      very well written! Very glad I took a chance on a Scribd Select title I was unfamiliar with!
    • 5/5
      A Study in Grace

      One summer a family is tested to the limits by tragedy, suspicions, and unfocused anger. How a minister’s family struggles is a lesson in ordinary grace.
    • 5/5
      This is a moving, well written book. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      Good story, enjoyed hearing it from the POV of a 13 yr old boy. But slow moving and predictable.
    • 5/5
      Highly recommend. Words for thought. Real life issues,,,we all r quick to judge
    • 5/5
      This is the fictional 1961-era tale from the accounts of one thirteen year old boy Frank Drum and his eleven year old brother Jake.The location is New Bremen, Minnesota and the occasion is summertime.This book has everything that young boys experience and some things they should never go through, like murder and tragedy.One thing I really liked about this book is the author really knows how to bring you back to 1961, really setting the scene.Some areas of the books was kinda predictable, some were a surprise. It was still a fantastic read.I would recommend this mystery to anyone who loves mysterious mysteries.
    • 5/5
      Thought provoking novel and a great story!
    • 5/5
      Have long loved this author and finally catching up on the works I haven't yet read. This one is a treasure. If you are unfamiliar with this author, please give him a read. I am especially impressed with this particular narrator's reading. Smooth and flowing and absolutely perfectly matched to the story. A well-done piece all the way around.
    • 5/5
      A coming of age story that takes place in the Summer of 1961 in a small town. The story is told by the point of view of 13 year old Frank. It is his growth and understanding of life that summer as many tragic things happen. It is a tearjerker but somehow you come out at the end feeling better and wiser. This is my second book I have read by William Kent Krueger. I will definitely read more of his books.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed the audio. A bit conservative, slightly moralistic story. (Spoiler alert.) The overall ethic of non-judgement is personified in the father; this makes the story very appealing for anyone looking for an ideal father. Don’t we all wish there were more men like Nathan? Heck, were that there were more non judgmental Christians like Nathan, “right” or “left”. But that’s why it’s called fiction.

      Nathan’s loss in WW2 is never fully revealed, yet he holds the heroic place for all other other characters. I’m uncomfortable with how this secret loss in war is privileged over other character’s loss of love and belonging to their local community or family because of their race/ethnicity, sexuality, or ability/disability. There are also characters who missed the “moral lesson” of war that Nathan got, which only serves to elevate Nathan, and further privileges the losses experienced in war over other losses. The author’s choice to idealize Nathan’s behavior seems a stretch at trying to pull patriarchy and war out of all its messy consequences.

      The complex losses of other characters are put out in a few words though their voices are never really spoken or heard, nor is the community itself, and its failure to extend love, failure to choose to act from love, truly held to account. Other characters briefly state their struggle or fear, then each is dealt with via stereotypical tropes: The hunted Sioux runs away, the gay boy kills himself, the woman whose husband beats her hides in shame and the message is she just needs to tolerate it. This of course, is not fiction, and we are all still suffering, healing from and cleaning up the consequences of patriarchy, patriarchal structures, and patriarchy’s history of choices devoid of love.

      The characters are mostly treated humanely. The perspective and actions of 13 year old Frank are convincing. The setting and details of place are beautifully articulated. A rich telling and overall, thoughtfully written story told inside an idealized system, that is changing and losing power simply because so few white men could be, or ever did live, choose and behave as Nathan does. We are no longer dependent on this concrete version of a “savior” coming in the form of an ideal father. The salvation is incarnate, here and now, in the choice to love, act from love, and give up judgement, as Nathan frequently and consistently does. This possibility for living is no longer only the responsibility of one type/gender/race/etc. of person, and no longer out of reach as patriarchy looses its oppressive grip. A terrific nonfiction counterpoint to this story is Tattoos on the Heart, and especially Barking to the Choir by Greg Boyle.
    • 5/5
      This was the story of Frankie Drum, a pastor's son, aged 10, growing up in Minnesota during the summer his sister was murdered. It's really a great coming of age story as well as a "who dunnit." Frank tells the story 40 years later. 307 pages 5 stars