Our Ordinary Grace book banter

William Kent Krueger wrote a 2014 best-selling book, Ordinary Grace. As we banter about this book, we promise not to reveal any plot twists, or to even reveal too much about the characters and the situations they encounter during their lives in Minnesota. Simply, this is our Ordinary Grace book banter and review.

I have mixed emotions about Ordinary Grace. On one hand, I loved that it was a difficult book to put down. I wanted to keep reading so I could find out what happened to the likable characters, especially the two young brothers and their older sister.

In one sense, the book was well-written, and that explains why I was compelled to keep reading, even when I had other chores to do.

On the other hand, there were elements about this book, like the stereotyped characters and their predictable reactions, that made me not such a big fan of Ordinary Grace.

There were some moments when the characters did surprise me. But, when they did confront a problem or conflict, much of the drama fell flat.

The narrator and characters conveyed the plot twists and surprises in such a matter-of-fact way. Unfortunately, they made the dramatic moments sound like the bland evening news.

However, there was one especially heart-wrenching moment that really moved me. Here’s a quote that does not reveal the plot, but you will not even understand its potency unless you read the book:

“Heavenly Father, for the blessings of this food and these friends and our families, we thank you. In Jesus’s name, amen.”—The youngest son prayed, after his mother had pleaded with her pastor-husband to offer an ordinary grace, just once.

That was a moving moment, and I think it will move you, too. Especially when you understand the context of the prayer.

Despite all the interesting twists-and-turns in the plot that had the potential for lots of drama, I found much of the story was predictable. Maybe it was because of the stereotyped characters, or just the way the book was written —I don’t know for sure.

It seemed like the plot twists turned out to be too-easily explained by the characters. It just fell flat for me, especially when there could have been much more drama with more multi-dimensional characters.

The father was a Protestant pastor of three small rural churches in Minnesota. The Bible verses that the author interspersed throughout the book were very natural and relevant, especially with the life-and-death struggles that were happening in that community.

Thankfully though, and refreshingly, there were no politics mixed into the religious discussions. This book had many philosophical overtones, but it remained a politically free zone. As far as I’m concerned, that is a very good thing.

Despite my minor misgivings about Ordinary Grace, the book received mostly stellar reviews on Amazon and other book-reviewing websites. Of course, we all have heard about fake reviews on the internet. Yet, in the case of the Amazon reader reviews, most looked like they were written by actual buyers, and their stellar reviews seemed genuine to me.

Many Amazon reviewers wrote about how they could identify with the characters. I also felt I could identify with the two boys, and especially their father’s grave-digging friend.

Reviewers also wrote about how the book had an emotional appeal, and I also have to agree with that. The place where the young son offered a simple, ordinary prayer to people who were in mourning was very touching, and it did move me.

In fact, I had made an appointment to have maintenance done on my air conditioner right when I had read that most-emotional part of the book. I hoped that the service person was late, and would not see my red eyes.

Thankfully, he was, and I recovered. But, I had to stop reading because that part did get to me on an emotional level.

The youngest son seemed to have a sixth sense about people and events. I appreciated that, because sometimes I have experienced premonitions in my own life. In addition, the youngest son felt like an outcast, and I have also felt those emotions.

However, there were two sections involving the youngest son that reminded me of the excellent, but old movie, The Sixth Sense. That similarity really bothered me, and it relates back to my thoughts that the characters weren’t well-developed, but were more stereotyped in their personalities.

While I didn’t find the entire book very satisfying, I did enjoy and appreciate the epilogue. There, the narrator, who was the oldest son, looked back on the events from a different perspective. Many decades had passed, and he told what had happened to the characters since that fateful year in Minnesota.

The epilogue was well-written, and I liked how the narrator revealed later developments. He didn’t come right out and tell everything like he did in the book, but he cleverly implied some developments, and that really stirred my imagination.

At the end of the book, there were impressive question prompts and discussion ideas. That’s an excellent idea, and I think this book could be the impetus for many good book club discussions, as well as engaging social media posts.

Ordinary Grace won the 2014 Edgar award for best novel. Being nominated by the Edgars is a prestigious award for mystery writers, and Ordinary Grace certainly contained its share of mysteries and small-town intrigue.

In fact, another book which I had just read last month titled Killers of the Flower Moon also won an Edgar award for the Best Fact Crime category. That also was an excellent book, and one you might consider for your bookshelf.

TAKEAWAYS AND RECOMMENDATION

Ordinary Grace, the 2014 best-selling novel by William Kent Krueger, is an award-winning and well-reviewed book. I found it to be a real page-turner, and it did touch me on an emotional level.

However, there were certain aspects of this interesting novel that disappointed me. The characters acted predictably—it was easy to predict what they were going to do. I also found the many plot twists to be predictable.

Despite my reservations, I enjoyed many parts of the book, and loved how the epilogue gave us a new perspective on the events from that year, and what happened in later decades to all the characters.

I suspect that you, too, will enjoy this compelling, award-winning book.

Thank you for reading our Ordinary Grace book banter and book review. Please share your thoughts about this wonderful book in the comments section below!

Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter