The Grace That Keeps This World: A Novel

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The Grace That Keeps This World: A Novel

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 361 ratings · 90 reviews

Gary and Susan Hazen—high school sweethearts married for many years, born and bred in the Adirondack community of Lost Lake—live a simple and honest life and have instilled values in their two grown sons by example. But despite their efforts, Gary senses that his sons are starting to pull away and can’t help but feel he is at fault. His younger son, Kevin, has ambitions th...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published July 25th 2006 by Broadway Books (first published May 1st 1991)

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Jul 08, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Becky by: Kenny

Shelves: 2012, library, religion-related, reviewed, romance, tear-jerkers, real-life-bookclub, challenge-1010

If it weren't for my bookclub, I probably would never have even heard of this book. But it was chosen, and so I read it. I finished it in less than a day, so it's compelling enough, I'm just not sure I can say exactly why.

This is just the story of a family, the Hazens, trying to make it season by season, year after year, living close to and off of the land, and with faith. They don't work 9 to 5 jobs so that they can go down to the Super Wal-Mart to pick up the things they need. Instead, Susan...more If it weren't for my bookclub, I probably would never have even heard of this book. But it was chosen, and so I read it. I finished it in less than a day, so it's compelling enough, I'm just not sure I can say exactly why.

This is just the story of a family, the Hazens, trying to make it season by season, year after year, living close to and off of the land, and with faith. They don't work 9 to 5 jobs so that they can go down to the Super Wal-Mart to pick up the things they need. Instead, Susan grows their vegetables, Gary and their sons hunt or fish for their meat, they barter for goods, etc. That's not to say that they are completely cut off from modernity - Gary does odd jobs for money to buy generators and freezers and such, and surely to pay taxes, though that wasn't mentioned specifically, but they try to live by an ideal of respect for the land and simplicity.

The two boys, Gary David (24) and Kevin (19) were raised to this life... but Kevin is itching to get out of it. He's the first in their family, ever, to go to college, and hates that he feels trapped by obligation to live a life he's no longer sure he wants. He's got a liberal vegetarian girlfriend who doesn't believe in killing animals for any reason, including meat, and she tries to get Kevin to refuse to hunt in the upcoming season.

Gary David is more accepting of the lifestyle they choose to live and responsible, a role he sees as being necessary as the first born, but in his own way he's rebelling too, by choosing a life with someone not North Country born, and in a position of authority over the Hazens - an Environmental Conservation Officer, investigating the Hazens for a reported hunting violation.

The story begins with a prologue from Susan's perspective, recounting the early morning departure of the three men on hunting season opening morning, and leaves us with a sort of aimless sense of foreboding. The remainder of the book takes us through the weeks leading up to that day, and we get to see how the Hazens live and interact with each other and their community.

Gary and Kevin are drifting apart. They both want life on their own terms, but their terms are completely opposite, and so they butt heads and each resent the other for making things difficult and not understanding the other's perspective. Gary's lifestyle is a tradition based on necessity that's no longer truly necessary in this society of modernity. He doesn't understand how life could be fulfilling in any other way. His lifestyle gives him purpose and a sense of accomplishment, as well as an ingrained respect for the nature around him. Kevin just sees it as a ball and chain holding him back from his own chosen path.

To tell the truth, not very much happens in this book. There's not very much conflict, aside from the familial type I mentioned above. There are a lot of beautiful descriptions of the Adirondacks and the community in which the Hazens live, but for much of the book, what I've written above just about covers it. It's definitely a slowly building story, which makes the end and the resolution feel like it was on super fast-forward, unfortunately.

This book's told in quite a lot of different perspective chapters, all in 1st person narrative except for Kevin's chapters, which are in 3rd person. I honestly do not have any idea why Kevin was singled out for a different narrative style. It really doesn't make sense to me. The only thing I can figure is that we're supposed to associate the difference in narrative with the foreboding from the prologue, and it's supposed to generate some suspense and worry about what will happen to Kevin. And I guess, in a way, there was that, because obviously it came to mind, but mainly it just stood out like a sore thumb. And even now, after finishing the story, I still have no idea why the choice was made to change the narrative for Kevin. His perspective could easily have been written to match the others, and in my opinion, would have worked better that way. Third person created a distance from him that I didn't want. I wanted to know him as I knew everyone else in the story. Why should I get to hear the innermost thoughts of a waitress that is only in the story for a few pages here and there, but be kept distant from one of the main, pivotal characters? Frustrating.

Coming back to the ending, I have to admit it was a bit of a let-down. There was all this build-up, all this manufactured suspense, and then the main event is completely skipped, and we only see the outcome, with an explanation of what apparently happened from those who weren't there. And then the epilogue is just a pat, too conveniently perfect resolution, one that doesn't fit what I know of the characters. Honestly, I wish that the epilogue had been left off. I think the ending would have been better that way, even if it was problematic.

One other note about the writing. Some of the phrasing and sentence structure was a bit awkward, and I'd have to read a line 2 or 3 times to get what was being said. It felt like it was trying too hard to be beautiful prose, and it didn't need to try at all. In fact, considering the stark way of life they chose, less would have been more.

Overall though, I can't say that I disliked the book. I read it in less than a day, and something about it kept me turning the pages. I don't know what that was, but it was there. (less)

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May 22, 2008 Carolyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. (listened to the audiobook version) This book didn't quite work for me. I think my sister read it a couple of years ago, and I don't know if she said that a hunting accident takes place, or if I read it in a review, but I kept waiting for this tragedy to happen, and it didn't come until almost the end. I thought the book was going to follow this family in the aftermath of the event, but instead it tells the story leading up to it. (Obviously, it's not the author's fault that I misunderstood!) Th...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I wanted to hate this book in the worst kind of way. The author was my professor in college and I really liked him a lot ... until he sold this book. After that, I always thought him to be rather full of himself (one of those "Well this is what *I* would do if *I* were writing your story" types. If your idea of creativity didn't perfectly align with his, he didn't really have time for you). So I read this book in 2006 with every intention of disliking it.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't. In fact,...more I wanted to hate this book in the worst kind of way. The author was my professor in college and I really liked him a lot ... until he sold this book. After that, I always thought him to be rather full of himself (one of those "Well this is what *I* would do if *I* were writing your story" types. If your idea of creativity didn't perfectly align with his, he didn't really have time for you). So I read this book in 2006 with every intention of disliking it.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't. In fact, I really liked it.

Part of the reason I liked this book so much was because I was fortunate enough to witness its evolution. In 1999, when I attended writing camp and had the author as my instructor, he shared a short story with us called "Snow Dreams." It was inspired by a story he'd heard on the radio in which a father had accidentally shot his son during a hunting accident.

While I was in college and this author was my professor, I witnessed "Snow Dreams" become a novel -- The Grace That Keeps This World. I witnessed its publication. Very cool, to be sure, but again... the professor.

And now, it is apparently being turned into a movie starring Glenn Close and James Franco.

This story tells the tale of Gary and his family, with particular focus on the father-son relationships at play, and the dynamics that Gary experiences with each of his two sons. Also touches quite a bit on religion's role within this family and how that affects things. It's a pretty moving story that does a good job of making you really care about the characters, which is important to the climax (I'm not going to give any spoilers here).

Ultimately, it was fun to see references to my college town, other professors, and members of the staff at Susquehanna in the text. It gave me a thrill to see my classmates' names in print in the acknowledgments. That personal connection definitely impacted my reading, but I think that, even outside of that, this is a solid, powerful story, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story stays with you after you close the book. (less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Marcia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Discomforting comfort was the feeling that remained with me as I closed the book on The Grace that Keeps This World by Tom Bailey. Although keeping track of the first-person narrators (with one notable exception) was at times confusing early on, it quickly became a trusted pattern as the novel moved toward the tragedy clearly foretold by Susan Hazen in the Prologue. I began to hope that the citizens of Lost Lake would turn out to have enough faith and strength of belief to fend off the inevitabl...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Marissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Grace That Keeps This World
By Tom Bailey
Review by Marissa Sanderson

The Adirondacks are the heart and soul of the wilderness in upstate New York. Filled with acres upon acres of dense wilderness, people come from all over to hike and camp. But, others call the Adirondacks home and make their living off of the land. Gary Hazen and his family are just a few of these people who rely on the land to live, but living in the wild is the easy part of the Hazen’s life. The love that they experience f...more The Grace That Keeps This World
By Tom Bailey
Review by Marissa Sanderson

The Adirondacks are the heart and soul of the wilderness in upstate New York. Filled with acres upon acres of dense wilderness, people come from all over to hike and camp. But, others call the Adirondacks home and make their living off of the land. Gary Hazen and his family are just a few of these people who rely on the land to live, but living in the wild is the easy part of the Hazen’s life. The love that they experience for each other and others is what make their lives hard, blurring their line of vision and forcing secrets to be kept.
Gary Hazen, The protagonist of the story, has lived in the small Adirondack community of Lost Lake his entire life, along with his wife and high school sweet heart, Susan Hazen, and their two boys, Gary David and Kevin. Working as a logger, Gary Hazen doesn’t make much money and therefore relies on the land to keep him and his family alive. While Gary Hazen loves his boys, he wants them to lead the same life that he has led. This stubbornness keeps his boys from living their own lives and forces them to keep secrets.
Gary Hazen has raised his boys to live off of the land. His son, Kevin, however, has different plans. Going to school at a nearby university, Kevin wants to make something more of his life. His goals and dreams, however, are discouraged by his father who wishes for him to remain in Lost Lake with him and the family. Because of Kevin’s strong need to please his father and several unexpected events, Kevin is unable to live his life the way he wants to.
Gary David, Gary Hazen’s older son, is the complete opposite of his younger brother Kevin. While Kevin has always been the one to have more qualities in comparison with their father, Gary David is the one who has always been more “loyal” to their father, wishing to remain in Lost Lake and live his life as he had been raised to. Although Gary David loves his father and wishes to lead the same life, he keeps an important secret from his father, in fear of his father’s disapproval.
The story is not just made up of the Hazen family, however. There are also other important characters that live in Lost Lake. These include Officer Josephine Roy, a conservation officer in the area, and Father Anthony, the local priest. These characters are also important to the books plot and ending. More importantly (and the main reason why I loved this book), the author writes the story from all of their points of view. Each chapter changes point of view. While one chapter may be from Gary Hazens point of view, the next might be from Officer Roy’s point of view. This style allows the reader to get inside the heads of all of the characters.
The entire novel leads up to one major day in the story, the opening day of deer season. This day is important to the entire Hazen family, as this is the day they must get their share of deer, which will keep them fed through the harsh, Adirondack winter. But this day ends up adding up to more than just deer. The entire Hazen family learns an important lesson about love and relationships. This book is one of my very favorites and is a great read for anyone!
(less)

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Nov 29, 2008 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bailey has a beautiful writing style. Some parts were a little slow but the background was needed to tie it all together in the end.

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Sep 13, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oh what a sad, little, tragic book. While the plot was somewhat predictable (angst, fights, death), I must admit to really enjoying descriptions of the Adirondacks and forestry and the love of outdoors. This author was almost poetic in his descriptions of scenes and sounds and smells of that magical part of NY. And his forestry was spot on, which in epilogue I found out he worked closely with a northwoodsman... so kudos for not watering down the hard life of folks who choose to live off the land...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Molly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Initially I found the writing style overly simplistic and a bit bland, somewhat like a high school creative writing student trying to hard to make it perfect, but in time the simplistic style matured to provide a very poetic and tastefully suspenseful read. The true strength of this book lies in the character development, and the manner in which the author tells a linear story through multiple characters' eyes, providing an array of perspectives and a deep, questioning suspense. I couldn't belie...more

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Mar 17, 2009 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who has ever had to kill a goose

Recommended to Pam by: The bookstore I frequent because author lives in nearby college-

Shelves: read-in-09

Part of me wants to give this book five stars. It wasn't until the third part that I really, really enjoyed it. The climax is unexpected, and ties together everything I previously didn't like about the book together in a package that I can say is a good book.

I wish it was written in the third person changing the focus on the specific characters as the chapters change. I don't like how the book is told from different characters' perspectives in first person and then, inexplicably Kevin's narrativ...more

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Aug 20, 2012 theresa Younce rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. This features a good Catholic family in a community in the Adirondack mountains in upper state New York. The father, like his forebears, is a woodman. But, one son wants to follow in these footsteps and the other does not. Conflict there of course. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of separate characters. A tragedy occurs and many lessons are learned. The theme is that God's grace is always there even when we are too stubborn to see it. this is not one of those "C...more

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Sep 27, 2009 Jonelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, death, family, literary, coming-of-age

This morning I woke up a little before 2 am, unable to sleep and read The Grace That Keeps This World by Tom Bailey.

What a wonderful way to spend my time! In addition to being well-written, the book is very moving and thought provoking.

I really enjoyed getting to know the Hazen family and their Adirondack neighbors. The story slowly unfolds over the span of about a week, following Gary Hazen, his wife Susan and his two adult sons as they prepare for the opening of deer hunting season.

It's a stor...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Cortney rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book started off kind of clunky as each of the many narrators came on the scene, but once they had all been introduced the switching amongst them was nice. It was nowhere near the masterpiece of Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible" multiple narration, but it was a good device for moving the story along. It ends abruptly, and it did make me cry at the very end, but it wasn't altogether that moving. It's great for a well-written, quick read, but nothing spectacular. The setting was most interestin...more

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Oct 04, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the Author’s Note, Tom Bailey explains how a radio broadcast about a hunting accident inspires him to speculate on the nature of the individuals involved, leading to a short story and then finally the full length novel The Grace That Keeps This World. Examining the nature of community, family dynamics, and the complex relationships of fathers and sons, Bailey has created an unforgettable story. His prose in both elegant and cinematic, his attention to detail and characterization is flawless....more

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Nov 04, 2008 Victoria rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

my book club's choice to discuss November 4th.

I was REALLY disappointed in this book. I think the idea for the story was a good one - and their were a few lines that I took with me - but overall, I thought the author took a good story idea and chose to write about the most uninteresting things surrounding it. You learn from the opening chapter there has been a horrible hunting accident that has resulted in one of the family member's death. The following story unfolds how it happened and develops...more

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Sep 10, 2008 Jodi rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: ????

Recommended to Jodi by: One Book, One Community Selection

Shelves: book-club-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 09, 2008 Barb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Selection for community read ...I had the opportunity to actually hear Tom Bailey read the first chapter at our local library. Interesting to hear the southern accent in his voice, as the novel takes place in New York state!

While the story is actually interesting and almost too well written, I don't think it is great reading! Each character has their own voice, which makes reading it rather dis-jointed. The author uses glowing language, and sometimes lapses into "professor mode" with is eloquen...more

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Sep 19, 2008 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Read this book as the OBOC selection for my local area. I've enjoyed all of the selections so far, although some I probably wouldn't have selected on my own and this is one of them. I thought the story was well laid out, but at times the writing seemed to be forced -- too poetic or words out of sync with the character. I like how different chapters were written from the different characters' points of view. I think this often helps with character development. At least once it was a little confus...more

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May 04, 2011 Kristy Trauzzi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

Recommended to Kristy by: book club

I think I was supposed to see the bigger picture in this book. Like, the killing what you need. The father/child relationship and how it was flawed but everyone still loved. Ish. Buuuuut - I'm really not getting that.

It was a bunch of different people (with a few random side people - who cares that you moved to Florida and enjoy the heat and your husband hates it. I mean, REALLY!?) with trails of thought that didn't really go into much depth. You got what was happening on that day and that maybe...more

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Aug 12, 2009 Rachel Furey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Part of the reason I love this book may be that it's set in upstate New York and about a family struggling to live off the land in a world in which very few people dare to do so. The voice is compelling, the language often poetic. It's a story seen from the point of view of several different characters, whose stories converge throughout. The ending is vivid and heartbreaking. Few books seem to have the power of giving me goose bumps, and this was one of them.

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Aug 13, 2011 Linda added it

Novel of family that lives off the land through timbering. The two sons struggle to part as young men from their father who they work with. The mother, Susan, is the gardener/preserver that feeds the family literaly and emotionally. The sons, Kevin and Gary David are involved with young women but they do not share this with their family keeping the women to themselves...short and intersting read about survial as a family and living in the North woods.

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Mar 11, 2010 Emme rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and I didn't think I would to begin with. I was put off by the words of Susan Hazen in the first section but once I got further into the book I found myself compelled to read it just to know what was going to happen. I have to say I was disappointed in the turn the book took towards the end especially with the actions of Gary because I just didn't feel like they fit his character but I'm not the author so...

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May 01, 2009 Sqwalsh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Exquisite! This books kept me up nights reading and I'd wake up in the morning wondering whether I'd been hallucinating (especially the part about Lazarus) - when I finished I went out and bought the books for all my family members. It has a tragedy (this becomes apparent early on) so you spend much of the book dreading it but the ending is more satisfying and beautiful than any book I've ever read.

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Jun 15, 2011 Michale rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tell-me-a-story

Hauntingly beautiful, this story is a classic Aristotelian tragedy with perfectly fitted Christian iconography. Even though the ending is set up for the reader in the prologue, I became attached enough to these characters to want to journey with them. I then felt the searing burst of pain at the climax, when this carefully constucted tragedy reached its inevitable conclusion.

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May 26, 2011 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

A good reflection on parent/child relationships when one child doesn't choose a path his parents had planned/expected for him. A quick ending and reflection on the future. However, I would've like to read more about that; especially, on the parent/child relationship. I was surprised that I liked this book due to the deer hunting! Probably wouldn't have chosen this on my own, but I was glad I had to read it for book club!

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Aug 11, 2009 Puneet rated it 3 of 5 stars

Briefly knowing the author perturbed any chance of an objective reading, especially since he's a not-fondly-remembered teacher. The prose is stilted and not up to the mismatched first person perspectives (far short of Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying'). But, the plot is compelling and generates page-turning momentum; I happily finished it in a couple of couch sittings.

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Dec 29, 2008 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great character book that brought me to tears. If you're looking for a complicated plot, this book doesn't provide too many surprises. However, it's a beautifully written study on the characters that live in a rugged small town and the challenges that they face - both from the natural world and within their own community. I'd highly recommend it.

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Jun 22, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found many aspects of the book appealing, from the story's unfolding through the different voices to rustic life in the Adirondack to the complexity of the father son relationship,especially when one plans a different path in life. I found myself thinking about the characters and their relationships for a few days after I finished reading the book.

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Jul 22, 2010 Margie Bruce rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who love the Northwoods

A book with tragic ending and I seldom like stories that end in tragedy, except perhaps when the writer is Shakespeare. The writing style is different. As I'm writing this review, I'm still trying to get used to it. A good depiction of hunting and winter life in the Adirondacks, though.

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Jan 12, 2009 Connie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I am reviewing this book simply to advise AGAINST it - never mind its appealing title and the fact that it was the One Book/One Community selection for 2008. Sex is disgustingly explicit and without reading much of the story,given the title,I figure the end is pretty obvious.

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Jul 22, 2009 Lorileinart rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes a person just needs a good, simple story. If it happens to include beautiful writing and characters that begin to feel like old friends, so much the better.
I loved the The Grace That Keeps This World. It is both sad and sweet. Throughout, I wanted to scrap all of my luxuries and just learn to live an uncomplicated life that is in sync with the world around me. That is the power of this book.

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