Hello All,
I am a lucky reader of an advance reader's copy of Benediction by Kent Haruf. I fell in love with Kent's writing and characters with Plainsong, which remains my favorite of his books.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/benediction defines benediction as 1. A blessing.
2. An invocation of divine blessing, usually at the end of a church service, among several other definitions. These two I feel are most appropriate to this book.
As with other books by Mr. Haruf, this book has several storylines: the end of Dad Lewis's life as he succumbs to cancer; the story of young Alice as she adjusts to living with her grandmother, neighbor to the Lewis's; how a minister and his family come to an early end of his career; and how a older mother and daughter move in and out of the lives of these people of Holt, Colorado.
There is sadness in this book, but also happy moments, as people come together, and look over the good moments in their respective lives. Regrets exist too, but those are there for everyone.
I believe the title Benediction refers to the blessing that people can be in other people's lives. Almost all of these characters are a blessing to each other. It's what we can do for others, and what we can appreciate when others do for us.
Happy Reading,
Patti
Benediction by Kent Haruf 2013 Knopf ISBN 9780307959881
This book was sent to me for review by Knopf; no other compensation was offered or accepted for this review.
